The Safety Net On The Edge
Author: Proser, Michelle
Date Published: 2005
Noting that the federal Health Centers program is one of the few remaining legacies of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s declared ‘War on Poverty,’This report released by the National Association of Community Health Centers shows that increasing numbers of low-income, uninsured, or publicly insured persons are using health centers at a time when declining federal and state grants are stretching health center budgets. The report notes that health centers are facing the same rising health care costs that are seen across the medical system, but payments from public and private insurance are on the decline. According to the report, Medicaid is the most reliable payer, paying an average of 87 percent of health centers’ costs, with private insurance the worst payer, covering only 57 percent of costs. Projected and actual cuts in Medicaid payment rates and enrollment adversely affect health centers’ capacity to treat their patients, the report points out. With eroding public insurance and the attrition of other revenue sources, health centers will be unable to meet the health care needs of a national that, by all accounts, is gripped by a deepening health care crisis.
Date Published: 2005
Noting that the federal Health Centers program is one of the few remaining legacies of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s declared ‘War on Poverty,’This report released by the National Association of Community Health Centers shows that increasing numbers of low-income, uninsured, or publicly insured persons are using health centers at a time when declining federal and state grants are stretching health center budgets. The report notes that health centers are facing the same rising health care costs that are seen across the medical system, but payments from public and private insurance are on the decline. According to the report, Medicaid is the most reliable payer, paying an average of 87 percent of health centers’ costs, with private insurance the worst payer, covering only 57 percent of costs. Projected and actual cuts in Medicaid payment rates and enrollment adversely affect health centers’ capacity to treat their patients, the report points out. With eroding public insurance and the attrition of other revenue sources, health centers will be unable to meet the health care needs of a national that, by all accounts, is gripped by a deepening health care crisis.
