A recent analysis found that Americans using community health centers showed $1,000 per patient in yearly savings compared with hospital outpatient operations.
But to attract these new patients, community health centers will have to make themselves more attractive than waiting in an ED and engage in community outreach, such as providing transportation and registering people in the community for health insurance.
“Just because someone has a health insurance card doesn’t mean they’re going to access it,” a representative at a Boston clinic said.
The federal government is trying to help community health centers expand. Eight Massachusetts centers are sharing $80 million in federal stimulus money for buildings and technology.
Read the Boston Globe report on community health centers.
