Xavier Becerra United States Secretary of Health and Human Services | Official Website
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), has released new data showing that HRSA-funded health centers served over 31 million patients in 2023, marking an increase of 2.7 million since 2020.
“Community health centers play a pivotal, and growing, role in America’s health care system. They are especially important in our effort to reduce health care disparities in underserved communities,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “More than 31 million people across the country - in every U.S. state, territory, and the District of Columbia - depend on health centers, making them a vital resource. The Biden-Harris Administration wants all Americans to have access to high-quality primary health care services, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, and community health centers help make that possible.”
“HRSA-funded community health centers make it possible for anyone in the community to access high-quality primary health care, regardless of income,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “We are proud to serve millions more people and expand the community health workforce in rural and underserved areas all across the country.”
HRSA-funded health centers are required to treat all patients regardless of their ability to pay. In 2023, more than 90 percent of these patients had incomes below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. The data shows that these centers now serve one in eight children nationwide, over 9.7 million patients in rural areas, more than 6.4 million patients living in or near public housing, and over 1.4 million people experiencing homelessness.
Additionally, these centers have expanded preventive services by screening hundreds of thousands more individuals for cancer and infectious diseases while also caring for patients with substance use disorders.
Health centers continue to be leaders in quality care by increasing access and improving clinical quality measures across various conditions since 2020:
- Administering more than four million HIV tests
- Treating approximately 585,000 prenatal care patients
- Improving clinical quality measures for chronic conditions such as hypertension control (+8%) and depression screening (+7%)
For further details on these outcomes see Four Years of Health Center Outcomes.
The HRSA’s Health Center Program remains a cornerstone of the nation's healthcare system particularly for those who are uninsured; enrolled in Medicaid; living in rural or underserved areas; struggling with healthcare costs; experiencing homelessness; residing in public housing; or otherwise having trouble accessing medical care.
Each year during National Health Center Week (#NHCW24 #HealthCenters), HRSA releases Uniform Data System (UDS) data from nearly 1,400 supported health centers.
