Happy National Health Center week! So, what are we celebrating? Hospitals? No! National Health Center Week is a weeklong celebration of Community Health Centers around the United States in an effort to raise awareness about the mission and accomplishments of Community Health Centers as a solution for affordable and accessible healthcare.
Well, what’s the difference between Community Health Centers and Hospitals?
- Community Health Centers are local, non-profit, community owned health care providers who typically offer primary care services in their community regardless of a patients insurance status or ability to pay for the services.
- Hospitals, with nearly two-thirds being non-profit with the remaining being split between for-profit and government owned, most often offer treatment by specialist in both inpatient and outpatient settings along with emergency services.
Think of Community Health Centers as government subsidized medical facilities which are strategically placed in medically-underserved communities. Community Health Centers are open to everyone, regardless of insurance status and ability to pay, and often offer patients a sliding fee discount based on their income. Such discounts are often offset in part with support from federal grants. Community Health Centers play a key role in American’s healthcare system:
- Number of Community Health Centers around the country: 1,202
- Number of Community Health Center service delivery sites/locations: 9,208
- Number of Patients Treated Annually: 22 Million (The number of patients Community Health Centers has serviced has doubled in the last decade)
- Estimated number of patients below poverty line: 72%
- Estimated number of patient uninsured: 36%
- Number of patient visits: 86 Million
- Cost Savings: $24 Billion in annual health system savings
- Cost Savings Driven By: Lower utilization of Specialty Care, Emergency Departments, and Hospital Utilization.
Community Health Centers act as a front-line entry into American’s healthcare system offering a much needed and less expensive care option than private practices and all physician settings that you often find in hospitals. Consultations take place as a preventative care check-ups or symptom/condition consultations leading to diagnosis and treatment. The most often services offered at a CHC are:
- Primary and Preventive Health Care
- Obstetrical and Gynecological Care
- Dental Services
- Mental Health/Substance Abuse
- X-Rays and Lab
- Pharmacy
- Hearing/Vision Screening
- Testing for Blood Lead Levels
- Case Management
- Health Education
- Parenting Education
- Nutrition Education
Community Health Centers cost of care rank among the lowest and can help reduce the need for more expensive hospital in-patient and specialty care. However, if a patient does need specific specialty care or specialty diagnostics such as an MRI or CT Scan patients will often then be referred with a procedure prescription, also known as Doctors Orders, to a facility which offers such specialty services, medical procedures (e.g., surgeries) or diagnostic test (e.g., MRI or EKG). This is where you can shop for care on NewChoiceHealth.com and compare providers of such services and save a significant amount of money…often up to 40%.
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