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  • Community Health Centers in a Time of Change: Results from an Annual Survey

    Issue Brief

    With health centers playing an important role in the response to the coronavirus pandemic, findings from the KFF/Geiger Gibson 2019 Community Health Center Survey provide important information on health centers’ financial situation and their experiences in a changing policy environment. After years of growth following implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), changes in Medicaid, public charge, and Title X family planning policies, among others, carry important implications for low-income patients as well as health…

  • Community Health Centers Prepare for Funding Uncertainty

    Issue Brief

    With the Community Health Center Fund, a key source of federal funding, set to expire in September, community health centers across the country are considering steps to reduce staffing, close some locations and eliminate or reduce services as they cope with uncertainty about their future financing.

  • Health Center Patient Trends, Enrollment Activities, and Service Capacity: Recent Experience in Medicaid Expansion and Non-Expansion States

    Issue Brief

    In thousands of medically underserved communities across the U.S., community health centers enroll low-income people in health coverage and provide care to millions of patients. Against the backdrop of significant health center expansion over several years and a full year of expanded health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this brief examines change between 2013 and 2014 in the volume and health coverage profile of health center patients, and health center enrollment activities and…

  • New Survey Examines the Provision of Family Planning Services by Community Health Centers

    News Release

    A new national survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and George Washington University finds few of the nation’s community health centers report they can handle a significant increase in patients. Less than one in five clinics report that they could increase their patient caseload by 25 percent or more in the next year. This finding suggests that community health centers may be challenged to fill the void if Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest network of freestanding family…

  • The Health Center COVID-19 Vaccination Program is Prioritizing Hard-to-Reach Communities

    Policy Watch

    As part of the Biden administration’s plans to facilitate more equitable access to vaccinations, the administration has formed a partnership with community health centers, known for providing health care to some of the hardest-to-reach populations. This Policy Watch post examines the initial group of health centers to participate early in the Health Center Vaccination Program and the patient populations they serve.

  • Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care for Low-Income Non-Citizen Adults

    Issue Brief

    This brief analyzes health insurance coverage and access for low-income non-citizen adults and discusses provider insights into the obstacles this population faces in obtaining coverage and receiving care. Overall, non-citizen adults account for just under one-fourth of all non-elderly uninsured adults. Low-income uninsured adults are at particularly high risk for being uninsured due to very limited access to both private and public coverage. The brief finds that, largely due to their high uninsured rate, low-income…

  • Community Health Centers in an Era of Health System Reform and Economic Downturn: Prospects and Challenges

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief reviews the role of community health centers in the nation's health care safety net. The centers provided comprehensive primary care to 16.1 million patients in 2007, many of them from lower-income families and medically underserved communities. The role of the centers is even more critical during an economic recession when families are more vulnerable to economic loss and unmet health needs. Issue Brief (.pdf)

  • Community Health Centers Are A Key Source of COVID-19 Rapid At-Home Self-Tests For Hard-To-Reach Groups

    Policy Watch

    As part of an effort to promote equitable access to tests, the Biden administration launched a testing supply program that has set aside 25 million rapid at-home self-test kits for distribution by community health centers. Under the program, health centers will be distributing self-tests to patients and community members, with a focus on populations at greatest risk from adverse outcomes related to COVID-19.

  • Impact of Shifting Immigration Policy on Medicaid Enrollment and Utilization of Care among Health Center Patients

    Issue Brief

    On August 14, 2019, the Trump administration published a final rule to broaden the programs the federal government will consider in public charge determinations to include Medicaid coverage for non-pregnant adults and certain previously excluded nutrition and housing programs. To learn about the possible early effects of the public charge rule and other immigration policies on patients at community health centers, this brief draws on interviews and survey data to capture health center directors’ and…

  • A Profile of Community Health Center Patients: Implications for Policy

    Issue Brief

    Community health centers are a key source of primary care in underserved areas. Their role will grow as coverage expands under the ACA. To sharpen understanding of the health center patient population, this brief compares them to the low-income population overall, using the Health Center Patient Survey and National Health Interview Survey. The pre-ACA profile of health center patients that emerges sets the stage for measuring change and highlights important implications of states’ Medicaid expansion…