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星期五, 9月 12, 2014

HHS awards more than $295 million in Affordable Care Act funds to increase access to primary care at health centers

HHS awards more than $295 million in Affordable Care Act funds to increase access to primary care at health centers
Funding creates an estimated 4,750 new jobs; Helps newly insured access care
 
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced today $295 million in Affordable Care Act funding to 1,195 health centers in every U.S. State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Basin to expand primary care services.

Today’s awards enable  health centers to increase access to comprehensive primary health care services by hiring an estimated 4,750 new staff including new health care providers, staying open for longer hours, and expanding the care they provide to include new services such as oral health, behavioral health, pharmacy, and vision services.  These investments will help health centers reach an estimated 1.5 million new patients nationwide, including over 137,000 oral health patients and more than 38,000 mental and substance abuse patients.

“Health centers are a key part of how the Affordable Care Act is working to improve access to care for millions of Americans,” said Secretary Burwell. “These funds will enable health centers to provide high-quality primary health care to more people including the newly insured, many of whom may be accessing primary care for the first time.”

Health centers are helping to implement the Affordable Care Act, not only as providers of care but also by linking individuals to coverage through outreach and enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace.  Recent statistics show that health centers provided enrollment assistance to more than 6 million people over the last year.

“Health centers provide comprehensive primary and preventive services in their communities” said HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. “Today’s awards will be used to expand access to care, to the people that need it most.”

Today, nearly 1,300 health centers operate more than 9,200 service delivery sites that provide care to over 21.7 million patients. Since the start of this Administration, health centers have increased the number of patients served by health centers by more than 4.5 million people.

To see a list of award winners, visit www.hrsa.gov/about/news/2014tables/expandedservices/.

To learn more about the Affordable Care Act and Community Health Centers, visithttp://bphc.hrsa.gov/about/healthcenterfactsheet.pdf.

To learn more about HRSA’s Community Health Center Program, visithttp://bphc.hrsa.gov/about/index.html.

To find a health center in your area, visit http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov.



HHS Awards $3.2 million to Help Support Minority Enrollment in Health Insurance Coverage

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS), Office of Minority Health (OMH) announced $3.2 million in grant awards to 13 organizations to help support health coverage enrollment of racial and ethnic minorities.  The Partnerships to Increase Coverage in Communities (PICC) Initiative will help identify, assist and educate minority populations about the Health Insurance Marketplace (Marketplace) and coverage opportunities made possible by the Affordable Care Act.

Because of the health care law more minorities now have access to affordable, quality health care coverage.  However, gaps in health coverage continue to persist among minority populations. Data reported in 2013 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that two out of five Latinos and one out of four African Americans are classified as uninsured.

“Racial and ethnic minorities have lower rates of health insurance coverage than the national average and stand to benefit greatly from the Affordable Care Act,” said J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health and Director of the Office of Minority Health.  “Grantees under the Partnerships to Increase Coverage in Communities Initiative will play a critical role in connecting eligible, underserved minorities to coverage that meets their needs and the needs of their families.”

The PICC Initiative awards will support organizations, partnerships and coalitions in developing culturally competent and linguistically appropriate services designed to reach racial and ethnic minorities and underserved communities.  Programs funded through PICC are intended to increase minority enrollment in health insurance coverage through the Marketplace, Medicaid and CHIP.  Information on financial assistance, education and translation services to support health insurance enrollment is also funded through the PICC grant awards.

The PICC Initiative awardees are listed below:
•       AltaMed Health Services Corporation, Los Angeles, CA -- $249,898
•       Benefits Data Trust, Philadelphia, PA -- $247,268
•       Bexar County Hospital District as University Health System, San Antonio, TX -- $236,394
•       Chicago Family Health Center, Inc., Chicago, IL -- $250,000
•       Gateway to Care, Houston, TX -- $250,000
•       Jessie Trice Community Health Center, Inc., Miami, FL -- $250,000
•       My Brother’s Keeper, Inc., Ridgeland, MS -- $250,000
•       National Alliance for Hispanic Health, Washington, DC -- $248,731
•       National Association of Hispanic Nurses, Little Rock, AR -- $250,000
•       Neighborcare Health, Seattle, WA -- $242,640
•       New Hampshire Voices for Health, Concord, NH -- $241,166
•       The Dannon Project, Birmingham, AL -- $250,000
•       University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA -- $237,816

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