Increasing Access To Health Care and Reducing Minority Health Disparities: A Brief History And The Impact Of Community Health Centers
Author: Strelnick, A.H.
Date Published: 2005
This paper concentrates on the community health centers (CHCs) contributions to providing access to primary health care and reducing minority health disparities the history of CHCs and the challenges that they currently face. Access to health care in the United States varies greatly from state to state and from community to community depending on a number of factors, including the number of poor, uninsured, and medically indigent people; the breadth, depth, and generosity of Medicaid to patients and providers; the local public health and private medical care systems; local political and economic conditions; and the extent of the programs targeted specifically toward the poor, uninsured, and other vulnerable and high risk populations, such as the homeless. Among the core providers of these health care "safety nets" are public hospitals, community health centers, school-based clinics, and local health departments--which include community and teaching hospitals that provide care for significant Medicaid populations and private physical physicians who provide care to Medicaid and uninsured patients, partuicularly in rural and inner city settings.
Date Published: 2005
This paper concentrates on the community health centers (CHCs) contributions to providing access to primary health care and reducing minority health disparities the history of CHCs and the challenges that they currently face. Access to health care in the United States varies greatly from state to state and from community to community depending on a number of factors, including the number of poor, uninsured, and medically indigent people; the breadth, depth, and generosity of Medicaid to patients and providers; the local public health and private medical care systems; local political and economic conditions; and the extent of the programs targeted specifically toward the poor, uninsured, and other vulnerable and high risk populations, such as the homeless. Among the core providers of these health care "safety nets" are public hospitals, community health centers, school-based clinics, and local health departments--which include community and teaching hospitals that provide care for significant Medicaid populations and private physical physicians who provide care to Medicaid and uninsured patients, partuicularly in rural and inner city settings.
