FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 |
CONTACT:
HRSA PRESS OFFICE
301-443-3376 |
HRSA Will Award $24 Million in Grants to Establish Health Centers
in 120 High Poverty Counties
HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will award at least $24 million in new health center grants to help an estimated 360,000 Americans -- many of whom have no health insurance -- obtain comprehensive primary and preventive health care services.
Up to 120 grants will be made under President Bush’s new High Poverty County Initiative, which will bring the benefits of health centers to low-income counties that do not currently enjoy such access.
“This new Presidential initiative greatly expands health centers’ capacity to reach those communities in greatest need,” HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said. “These grants will strengthen and support efforts to transform our health care system by extending the safety net to more Americans who otherwise might not have access to health care.”
The new initiative builds on President Bush’s Health Center Initiative, which will add 1,200 new and expanded health center sites and increase the number of people served annually from about 10 million to 16 million. Since the President announced the Health Center Initiative in 2001, HRSA has funded almost 900 new or expanded health centers and increased the number of patients served annually to an estimated 14.8 million in 2006.
Health centers deliver preventive and primary care services to patients regardless of their ability to pay; charges for health care services are set according to income. Almost 40 percent of the patients treated at health centers have no insurance coverage and others have inadequate coverage.
Two hundred counties in the following 33 states are eligible to apply for funds under the High Poverty County Initiative: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
“Currently, 92 percent of the poorest counties in America have access to health center services. We’re proud of that, but we want to reach everyone,” HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke said. “President Bush’s new initiative will put health center sites in as close to 100 percent of low-income counties as we can manage.”
Applications are due by May 23; awards for up to 120 New Access Point grants will be announced in September.
The national health center network managed by HRSA includes more than 3,800 service delivery sites, comprised of community health centers, migrant health centers, health care for the homeless centers and public housing primary care centers.
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The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. For more information about HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov.
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