Medicaid Expansion a Boost for Health Centers, Survey Shows:-


Safety net health clinics have fared better in states that have expanded Medicaid coverage to more low-income residents than those in states that have not expanded the health program, according to a new survey.

Federally qualified health centers, along with look alike clinics that lack the same grant funding, provide low-cost primary, behavioral health and dental care, serving millions of people – and 1 in 6 medical patients across the country. Federally qualified health center patients are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions, but the centers spend considerably less to care for patients than other providers.

The Affordable Care Act allocated $11 billion to operate and expand such community health centers over a five-year period. Since the law was enacted in 2010, millions of low-income people have obtained health coverage, in large part through the act's push for states to expand Medicaid coverage. The survey and accompanying report from the Commonwealth Fund points to the increase in insured patients in particular as fueling the improved financial stability of community health centers – especially in states that expanded their Medicaid programs.

"The Affordable Care Act not only expanded health insurance coverage, but also helped usher in a variety of reforms in the way care is delivered," Dr. David Blu menthal, president of the Commonwealth Fund, said in a statement.

The survey of nearly 700 health center officials found that since 2010, significantly greater shares of community health centers in Medicaid expansion states said they'd been able to more easily care for patients and expand their operations than health centers in non-expansion states.

For example, 76 percent of health centers in expansion states reported being better able to provide affordable care to more patients, compared with 52 percent of centers in non-expansion states. In expansion states, 62 percent of health centers said they saw improved funding for services and facility upgrades, compared with 46 percent in non-expansion states.

"While many factors other than Medicaid expansion likely influence these differences, the increased Medicaid revenue that health centers in expansion states receive may help them improve the way they deliver care," the report says.

In expansion states, 87 percent of community health center patients were insured through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, compared with 58 percent of health center patients in non-expansion states, according to the report. Uninsured patients typically pay for services at these health centers on a sliding fee scale tied to income.

Improved insurance coverage in expansion states – and thus increased revenue to federally qualified health centers – "also may incentivize health centers to offer the behavioral health care and non medical services that a growing share of patients requires," the report says.

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