An analysis produced by the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) concluded that if the Community Health Center Fund is not restored, millions of patients served by community health centers may lose access to crucial health care and up to 161,000 jobs could be lost in communities across the nation.
The analysis addresses the state-level economic and employment consequences that would occur if the Community Health Center Fund is not renewed. Here are some findings of the report:
- Community health centers’ ability to provide care to underserved patients will be seriously compromised if the $3.6 billion cut in funding is not immediately restored. Nine million patients, a third of those currently served, may lose care.
- As many as 76,000 to 161,000 jobs could be lost nationwide in 2018. About two-fifths of jobs lost would be in health care, but the majority would be in other sectors, such as retail, construction, and other fields.
- State economies would be shortchanged by $7.4 to $15.6 billion in 2018.
- Because health centers are located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and United States territories, substantial losses would occur in all areas and could be especially severe in states that did not expand Medicaid.
Click below to access the brief, “State Economic and Employment Losses If Community Health Center Funding Is Not Restored.”
Contact: Kathy Fackelmann
Phone: 202.994.8354
Email: kfackelmann@gwu.edu