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The grants will allow the new and expanded centers to serve more than 500,000 additional people in rural and inner-city areas where people with no health insurance or inadequate coverage find it difficult to get needed treatment and services.

"The grants will allow these health centers to expand their services and provide greater access to medical, dental, mental health and substance abuse services to those in need," Secretary Thompson said. "President Bush and I are committed to expanding services through community health centers nationwide as part of a broader strategy to help those Americans who lack health insurance. We urge Congress to fund the President's $1.5 billion request for health centers next year and keep our health center expansion plans on track."

The grants are part of President Bush's plan to add 1,200 new and expanded health center sites over five years and increase the number of patients treated annually from 11 million to 16 million.

Health centers serve patients regardless of their ability to pay. Nearly half of the patients treated at health centers have no insurance coverage, and others have inadequate coverage. Charges for health care services are set according to income, and fees are not collected from the poorest clients.

HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) manages the Consolidated Health Center Program, which received more than $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2002. The program funds a national network of more than 3,400 community health centers and clinics, migrant health centers, health care for the homeless centers, public housing primary care centers and school-based health centers.

President Bush's fiscal year 2003 budget requested almost $1.5 billion for health centers -- a $114 million increase from the current year's allocation and about $280 million above the funding level of two years ago. The proposed increase for fiscal year 2003 alone would provide services to a million additional patients around the country.

Community health centers, the largest part of the consolidated program, received 49 of the grants announced today. The other awards include 13 grants to support critical services for over 24,000 homeless individuals and families; four grants to support school-based health centers that provide access to comprehensive primary health care services to 22,000 students and their families; three Migrant Health Center grants to support primary care services to about 25,000 migrant and seasonal farm workers and their families; and one special grant to support primary care services for 4,000 residents of Tutuila Island in American Samoa. In addition, Secretary Thompson today awarded seven grants totaling $1.1 million to expand critical oral health services to underserved communities.

The list of health center grant recipients is available at newsroom.hrsa.gov/releases/2002releases/70grants.htm.

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