US Health Centers for Poor, Uninsured See Ranks Swell

Twenty million Americans now receive health care services through 8,500 community health centers, up from 17 million four years ago, according to a new report issued by the White House.“Those numbers really took a big jump,” Mary Wakefield, who heads the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, told reporters in the first week of May. “A lot of those folks were people who, when they lost their jobs early on, lost their coverage.” The Obama Administration said health centers were able to accommodate larger numbers
of patients thanks to funding provided by the president’s embattled health care reform law and
economic stimulus efforts.
The White House report, the latest in a series of government releases, appeared to be timed to underscore the value of health care reform as the U.S. Supreme Court deliberates the future of the law known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
— David Morgan, Reuters