More Patients Gain Access to Care Thanks to ARRA Funds

America's Health Centers have put funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to good use – rapidly expanding access to care and generating economic benefits for low-income communities.

A new fact sheet from the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), shows that health centers have been able to expand access dramatically.  Health centers committed to reaching nearly 2.9 million new patients during ARRA’s two-year funding window. One year later, they have nearly met that goal at 2.1 million patients –73 percent of the two-year target. Health centers have also surpassed their two-year national target of uninsured patients within the first year of funding, serving over one million uninsured patients.

The data also demonstrates that the $2 billion in ARRA funding invested in health centers generated an additional $1.4 billion in economic benefits to communities. In total, health centers’ stimulus funding is projected to yield $3.4 billion in new economic benefits annually, according to an analysis completed by Capital Link.