Butterfield Applauds HHS Grants to NC Health Centers to Help the Uninsured Gain Health Coverage

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today applauded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for awarding $4.1 million in grant awards to 31 health centers in North Carolina, including 10 in the First Congressional District.  The grant award will be divided amongst the community health centers and used to hire additional staff that will help enroll uninsured North Carolinians in new health coverage options made available by the Affordable Care Act. 

In North Carolina, 31 health centers operating more than 180 sites served over 430,000 patients last year, 52 percent of whom were uninsured.  With these funds, the awardees expect to hire 87 additional workers, who will assist 48,465 North Carolinians with sign up for affordable health insurance coverage.  Across the nation, 1,159 health centers will receive $150 million in grant awards.

“Expanding health care coverage to uninsured Americans will require trained workers on the ground to educate people about their benefits and help them understand how the health care law will affect them and their families,” said Butterfield.  “This investment is essential to enrolling as many eligible Americans as possible into new health insurance plans, which will lower the cost of medical care nationwide.”

Specifically, the health centers will help Americans understand the coverage options available in the new Health Insurance Marketplace, determine their eligibility for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, search for any available financial assistance, and enroll individuals in affordable health plans. 

Open enrollment for Health Insurance Marketplace plans begins on October 1 and fully implemented and operational on January 1, 2014,

The community health centers in the First Congressional District receiving grant awards include: Albemarle Hospital Authority ($67,195), Bertie County Rural Health Association ($67,151), Carolinas Family Health Center ($203,034), Greene County Health Center ($356,187), Kinston Community Health Center ($109,457), Lincoln Community Health Center ($300,076), Metropolitan Community Health ($77,795), Opportunities Industrialization Center ($80,505), Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center ($84,498), and Rural Health Group ($142,842).

The complete list of recipients follows.

 

 

http://Butterfield.House.Gov