The nation’s community health centers play an increasingly visible role in the maturing, post-Affordable Care Act (ACA) market and continue to show major growth, according to two new studies issued by the Geiger Gibson / RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
“Community Health Centers’ Experiences in a More Mature ACA Market,” published in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation, reports findings from a comprehensive survey of community health centers to provide a snapshot of health centers’ outreach and enrollment activities, as well as changes in service capacity and overall financial condition since implementation of the ACA. The report also examines growth in health center services and capacity in the past calendar year, finding the most commonly reported increases were for mental health services and staff, substance use disorder treatment services and staff, chronic care management services, and dental services and staff.
A second study, released as part of the Geiger Gibson/ RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative’s signature policy brief series, “Community Health Centers Continued to Expand Patient and Service Capacity in 2017,” examines the continued growth of community health centers in 2017, when health centers served nearly 28 million patients. Based on newly released data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Uniform Data System, the report documents a five percent growth in the number of patients served between 2016 and 2017 and a near-tripling of the number of patients served between 2000 and 2017. Between 2010 and 2017, the number of Medicaid and privately insured patients served increased by 78 percent and 77 percent, respectively.
Community health centers have emerged as an indispensable part of the health care system, providing ongoing, high-value care to many of the nation’s most vulnerable people. These studies show that both a strengthened grant program and insurance expansion are essential to maintain growth in capacity and services.
Click below to access the brief, “Community Health Centers Continued to Expand Patient and Service Capacity in 2017.”
Contact: Feygele Jacobs
Email: fjacobs@rchnfoundation.org