The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded Texas with over $5 million for community health clinics. The money is a part of the Affordable Care Act’s pursuit of improving access to healthcare by providing medical service for Texans who can’t afford it.
"In Texas, ten community health centers were awarded more than $5.6 million and we hope that that money will help them serve an additional 46,000 plus patients," said Martin Kramer with the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.
That’s only a sliver of the 1.4 million working Texans who can’t afford insurance but make too much to qualify for Medicaid services. Kramer said the funding is part of the $11 billion that the Affordable Care Act enacted to provide medical services to underserved areas of Texas.
"The community health center will see patients regardless of their health insurance status or ability to pay," Kramer said. "Each health center establishes its own sliding fee scale to determine how much each patient will have to pay."
Kramer said HRSA is the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that improves access to healthcare services for people who are isolated and medically vulnerable. He said as of now this is the only money being awarded to community health centers in Texas.
