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H H S Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration

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Bureau of Primary Health Care

The Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) funds Health Centers in underserved communities, providing access to high quality, family oriented, comprehensive primary and preventive health care for people who are low-income, uninsured or face other obstacles to getting health care.

Health Center Program

For more than 45 years, Health Centers have delivered primary health care to patients, regardless of their ability to pay, becoming the essential provider for America’s uninsured. The nation's most vulnerable populations – people who are homeless, farmworkers and residents of public housing rely on the Health Center Program for care.

Health Centers champion preventive care and advance the medical/health home model of coordinated, comprehensive, and patient-centered care, coordinating a wide range of medical, dental, behavioral, and social services.

Recent expansions of the program, including $11 billion provided by the Affordable Care Act and $2 billion provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are helping 1,128 Health Center grantees with more than 8,500 sites nationwide serve more patients, stimulate new jobs, and meet the significant increase in demand for primary health care services among uninsured and underserved people.

Did You Know?
  • Health Centers cared for 20.2 million patients last year.
  • About 4 million of these patients received dental services and 1 million received mental/behavioral health care.
  • About 36 percent of health center patients have no health insurance.
  • Health Centers provide primary care, defined by the Institute of Medicine as: The provision of integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community.
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