Study Projects Community Health Center Expansion Would Save $212 Billion
Bethesda, Md. – A study released today reveals that if the nation’s network of Community Health Centers were expanded to accommodate an additional 20 million patients, the result would be $212 billion in savings for the health care system over a ten-year period. The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) welcomed the findings, which are consistent with other research that has underscored the cost-effectiveness of health centers but which are the first to measure projected ten-year savings.
The study by The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services showed federal Medicaid savings of $59 billion within the larger figure over a time period of 2010 to 2019. (Total savings far exceed the $39 billion investment in health centers included in the July 14 version of the U.S. House health reform bill.) The report further indicates that additional savings may result, depending on circumstances. For example, if health reforms result in the establishment of an insurance exchange, and insurers' payments to health centers are set at Medicaid's prospective payment rate, the results would be even larger numbers of patients served and a total savings of $251 billion.
The study – “Using Primary Care to Bend the Curve: Estimating the Impact of a Health Center Expansion on Health Care Costs” – can be found online here, with a news release from The George Washington University providing additional information here.
“Today’s report confirms what so many experts have said for years now, which is that health centers produce a significant return on investment to both taxpayers and private payers alike,” said Dan Hawkins, NACHC Senior Vice President of Policy and Research. “Other studies have shown even greater savings, although none have ever attempted to quantify the savings produced by health centers over a 10-year period. This is the most significant aspect of today’s report – especially at a time when nearly everyone is searching for what works today to both lower costs and improve the health of the American people. Simply put, health centers work.”
The study was funded through the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative. It is the third brief in a series on health centers and health reform.
Health centers serve as the health care home for 20 million people in more than 7,500 communities, providing primary and preventive care regardless of patients’ insurance status or ability to pay. With 60 million people now struggling without access to health care, an aggressive plan to preserve, strengthen and expand health centers is being carried forward. Called ACCESS for All America, the plan proposes to invest in new and existing health centers and bring affordable health care access to all of those 60 million.
Founded in 1971, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance and expand access to quality, community-responsive health care for America’s medically underserved and uninsured. NACHC represents the nation’s network of more than 1,250 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), which serve more than 20 million people through 7,500 sites located in all of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam.