This analysis indicates that the expansion of community health centers (CHCs) will make a major contribution toward bolstering the capacity of the nation’s primary care system and reducing the long term growth in health care costs.
The report indicates that the $11 billion in additional federal grants for community health centers will 1) increase the number of patients receiving primary care at CHCs by at least 18 million by the end of the decade, effectively doubling the number of people served and 2) reduce total national medical costs by more than $180 billion over the next ten years. If CHCsreceive additional funding through appropriations in future years, medical costs could be reduced by up to $300 billion over the next ten years.
