Health Care Reform and Primary Care — The Growing Importance of the Community Health Center

TLDR

Community health centers (CHCs) are a longstanding national asset that play a critical role in expanding primary care access, yet they received little attention during U.S. health care reform debates. The Affordable Care Act supports CHCs to serve nearly 20 million new patients and adds about 15,000 providers to meet the primary care needs of 32 million newly insured Americans.

Abstract

During the debate over U.S. health care reform, relatively little attention was paid to the long-established network of community health centers (CHCs) in the United States. And yet this unique national asset constitutes a critical element of any reform intent on expanding access to health care through a primary care portal. With an eye toward meeting the primary care needs of an estimated 32 million newly insured Americans, the recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act underwrites the CHCs and enables them to serve nearly 20 million new patients while adding an estimated 15,000 providers to their staffs by . . .