01-09-2018, 02:20 PM
Quote:It has been 52 years since I and my colleague, Dr. Count Gibson, launched the first two community health centers in this country under the auspices of Tufts University Medical School. One was in rural Bolivar County in the Mississippi delta and the second in a Boston public housing project. Since then that model has become the very backbone of the national health safety net in the United States, with over 10,000 sites caring for 27 million people living in or near poverty, and in many cases without health insurance.Health care for the poor at brink of expiration | TheHill
Yet now, as a consequence of congressional paralysis, these health centers are faced with a potential loss of billions in federal support. Without action in the next few weeks, 9 million patients will lose access to primary and preventive care; over 51,000 providers and other staff will lose their jobs; health centers will be forced to close at least 2,800 sites; and economically stressed communities will lose $7.5 billion in local health-care investment. Health centers provide a full range of primary care and are designed to emphasize prevention, accessibility, and affordability, and they have been credited with significantly improving the health of both their individual patients and the communities they serve.