Community health centers form partnerships to increase capacity, improve service

Community health centers, the leading providers of primary health care to the nation ’s poor and uninsured populations, need strong partnerships and effective strategies to strengthen the current health care safety net, and to prepare for what may happen in the future, according to a new policy brief by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.The brief looks at a selection of Federally Qualified Health Centers, referred to as community health centers, in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles and New York state that collaborate with other regional centers, local hospitals and health departments to improve and expand care, or work with legislators and advocacy groups to push for changes in health policy.Their proactive strategy is a blueprint for community health centers nationwide, given the current administration ’s proposed plans to cut billions of dollars in federal Medicaid benefits to vulnerable Americans, said Steven Wallace, associate director at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and  co-author of the report.“These centers are working to do their best in the current environment,” Wallace said. “But all centers will also need a robust Plan B if resources provided by the Affordable Care Act are stripped away.”The brief, based on findings from UCLA ’s REmaining Uninsured Access to Community Health Centers project, looks at specific strategies community health centers in the four regions undertook to increase capacity and improve service after the Aff...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news