Findings

The Congress finds as follows: (1)Community, migrant, public housing, and homeless health centers are vital to thousands of communities across the United States. (2)There are more than 1,000 such health centers serving nearly 16,000,000 people at over 5,000 health delivery sites, located in all 50 States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and other territories of the United States. (3)Health centers provide cost-effective, high-quality health care to poor and medically underserved people in the States, the District of Columbia, and the territories, including the working poor, the uninsured, and many high-risk and vulnerable populations, and have done so for over 40 years. (4)Health centers provide care to 1 of every 8 uninsured Americans, 1 of every 4 Americans in poverty, and 1 of every 9 rural Americans. (5)Health centers provide primary and preventive care services to more than 700,000 homeless persons and more than 725,000 farm workers in the United States. (6)Health centers are community-oriented and patient-focused and tailor their services to fit the special needs and priorities of local communities, working together with schools, businesses, churches, community organizations, foundations, and State and local governments. (7)Health centers are built through community initiative. (8)Health centers encourage citizen participation and provide jobs for 50,000 community residents. (9)Health centers make health care responsive and cost-effective through aggressive outreach, patient education, translation, and other enabling support services. (10)Health centers help reduce health disparities, meet escalating health care needs, and provide a vital safety net in the health care delivery system of the United States. (11)Health centers increase the use of preventive health services, including immunizations, pap smears, mammograms, and HBa1c tests for diabetes screenings. (12)Expert studies have demonstrated the impact that these community-owned and patient-controlled primary care delivery systems have achieved both in the reduction of traditional access barriers and the elimination of health disparities among their patients. (13)Congress established the health centers program as a unique public-private partnership, and has continued to provide direct funding to community organizations for the development and operation of health centers systems that address pressing local health needs and meet national performance standards. (14)Federal grants assist participating communities in finding partners and recruiting doctors and other health professionals. (15)Federal grants constitute, on average, 24 percent of the annual budget of such health centers, with the remainder provided by State and local governments, Medicare, Medicaid, private contributions, private insurance, and patient fees. (16)Reauthorizing the health centers program for 5 years will strengthen and expand health centers in order to put them on a path to become the health care home for nearly 30 million patients served by the year 2015, creating further systemic savings and a healthier Nation.