HHS Invests in Facility Expansion to Empower Patient Access to Care

The Department of Health and Human Services will give $260 in funding toward primary care facility improvements, finally empowering patient access to care.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has declared a total of $260 million worth of funding toward the reconstruction of several primary care services, assisting to make better the care quality and patient access to care, in accordance to a press release.

These funds will give benefit to primary care facilities in forty-five states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. By reconstructing these spaces, HHS expects to modernize the care that is given and encourage patient access to quality healthcare. The agency also expects these improvements will assist to empower the various patients served.

 “Health centers are cornerstones of the communities they facilitate,” stated HHS’s Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell.  “Today’s awards will boost health centers to make more capacity and offer required health care to hundreds of thousands of extra people and their families.”

This funding comes following a same declaration in the month of September of previous year, during which HHS declared over $500 million toward empowering patient access to care through the construction of new care locations and facility improvements.

A totality of $350 million was funneled toward assisting more care service extend their significance of primary care to involve medical, oral, behavioral, pharmacy, and vision care. The left over $150 million went toward assisting several facilities to reconstruct their spaces to give better, more advanced care to their sufferers.

Entire funds come from the Affordable Care Act, and were a part of a greater mission to assist in expanding patient access to care. In accordance to a public statement, the ACA has assisted approximately 12 million people get primary care, and through these improvements, HHS leaders expect that number increases.

“These awards will offer 1.4 million more Americans across every state approach to comprehensive, quality health care,” stated Secretary Burwell. “ With these proposed awards, health centers will be capable to do things such as increase their hours of operation, employ more behavioral health contributors, add dental services,  better treat sufferers with opioid use disorders, and assist persons to get coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace and make the tour from coverage to primary care.”

Patient access to care has been a prominent topic across government health networks as of late. Just previous week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued reports on inadequacies at the Indian Health System and Department of Defense. Between longer wait period and deficiency of caregivers, both organizations have reportedly been falling short in giving proper care to their respective populace.