by
Barbara Kram, Editor | December 10, 2009
Government investment
from primary care
to health IT
President Obama announced more than $500 million in stimulus money to support construction and renovation of 85 community health centers nationwide and to encourage adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Health Information Technology. It's part of $2 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds earmarked for health centers.
The President also announced a new demonstration initiative to support the delivery of advanced primary care to Medicare beneficiaries through community health centers (CHCs).
"I especially want to recognize the leaders ... from health centers across the country for what all of you are doing in your communities every day -- working long hours to provide quality care at prices that people can afford, with the dignity and respect they deserve, and in a way that takes into account the challenges that they face in their lives," the president said Wednesday.
"For you folks, health care isn't just about diagnosing patients and treating illness, it's about caring for people and promoting wellness. It's about emphasizing education and prevention, and helping people lead healthier lives so they don't get sick in the first place. And it works."
He cited studies showing that people living near a health center are less likely to go to the emergency room and less likely to have unmet critical medical needs. And the medical expenses of regular CHC patients are nearly 25 percent lower than those who get their care elsewhere.
To qualify for funding, a health facility must be a Federally Qualified "Community" Health Center. Grants of $508.5 million will be provided through the Facility Investment Program (FIP) program to address pressing health center facility needs. Also, as much as $88 million will be available to help Health Center Controlled Networks improve operational effectiveness and clinical quality in health centers by providing management, financial, technology and clinical support services.
The new Recovery Act funds are the latest in a series of grants awarded to community health centers, which deliver preventive and primary care services at more than 7,500 service delivery sites around the country to patients regardless of their ability to pay. Health centers serve more than 17 million patients, about 40 percent of whom have no health insurance.
Both programs will be administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Also announced were demonstration projects for the "medical home" practice model of advanced primary care.
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