Community Health Centers in an Era of Health System Reform and Economic Downturn: Prospects and Challenges

Publication Date: March 2009

Publisher: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

Author(s): Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

Research Area: Health

Keywords: community; healthcare; recession

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

This issue brief reviews the role of community health centers in the nation's health care safety net. The centers provided comprehensive primary care to 16.1 million patients in 2007, many of them from lower-income families and medically underserved communities. The role of the centers is even more critical during an economic recession when families are more vulnerable to economic loss and unmet health needs.