Webinars

NCSL Webinars allow attendees to participate in meetings taking place around the world from the comfort of their desk. They are collaborative, interactive and easy to use. Most webinars will be recorded for those who are unable to attend the live meeting.

Community health centers' role in the health system, now and in the future
Friday, March 8, 2013

ARCHIVED RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE!
 
Community health centers (CHCs) provide health care services for over 22 million people nationwide. As community-directed nonprofits, they provide primary health care and other services.  Most of CHCs patients are poor and uninsured or enrolled in Medicaid.  They also tend to be members of racial and ethnic minorities. Additionally, about half their patients reside in rural areas.
 
Over the last decade, community health centers have played an important role in the health system. In 2001, President George W. Bush made a significant commitment to expand the Health Centers Program, nearly doubling the number of health centers across the nation. The Affordable Care Act continues to expand the reach of community health centers in the U.S. health care system.
 
This webinar will explain how health centers operate and how their patient mix presents funding challenges. Health centers must rely heavily on third-party payer reimbursement (such as Medicaid, CHIP,  and Medicare) — since one of the largest groups served by health centers – the uninsured – account for less than 6 percent of their total revenue. The webinar will also discuss how changes in Medicaid eligibility or benefits directly affect health centers and the biggest concerns facing health centers in the coming years.