Do people live longer when they have access to a primary care provider? A growing body of evidence suggests there is a link between access to primary care and a longer life. A case in point is a study recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine which found that mortality rates are lower in U.S. counties with …
Category: Health Care News
Latest on ACA Litigation: Community Health Center Patients Are Still Covered
A federal judge recently ruled that the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional, sparking a great deal of speculation and confusion among health care advocates about the future of health coverage. We will talk in a little more detail about the ruling and potential next steps below, but it is important to start with …
The 2018 Midterm Elections: What We Know Now and What it Means for Health Centers in the Year Ahead
After one of the more highly anticipated elections in quite some time, we finally know what the political landscape will look like in 2019: Democrats are taking back the House of Representatives and Republicans will maintain control in the Senate. Democrats will hold at least 231 seats in the House (a gain of 36 seats) …
With New Guidance, Possible Changes to Health Insurance Marketplaces Loom
The Trump Administration recently issued new guidance that drastically changes the degree to which states can seek federal approval to make reforms to their health insurance marketplaces. Just as the country has entered the sixth open enrollment period, more changes to coverage options are likely to emerge in the near future as a result of …
Open Enrollment Begins This Week
The following is a guest blog post from Ronald Yee, MD, Chief Medical Officer of NACHC. Open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act began this week (November 1 – December 15). For Community Health Centers, which now serve 28 million people nationwide, it is our job to continue to educate people about their health insurance …
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is always a busy month for Community Health Centers as they ramp up efforts to reach out to America’s underserved and promote the importance of breast cancer screenings for early detection of breast cancer. In 2015, the latest year for which incidence data are available, 242,476 new cases of breast cancer were reported among …
The Surgeon General’s Report on Opioids
A few developments worth highlighting in our nation’s ongoing war against opioid use disorder. The U.S. Surgeon General has released a report, “Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Spotlight on Opioids.” Among other things, the report calls for a cultural shift in the way we talk about the public health crisis and recommends actions …
A Boost for the Primary Care Workforce Pipeline
We are pumped that A.T. Still University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona‘s (ATSU-SOMA’s) work to foster the primary care workforce of tomorrow has been recognized. The university has received a $1,999,650 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) [view press release here]. The funding, which will be …
NHCW Health Center Hero Nominee: Martha Ayano
Nominee: Martha Ayano, NP Organization: Brockton Neighborhood Health Center Martha Ayano was nominated by Brockton Neighborhood Health Center (BNHC) Assistant Medical Director Dr. Joe Panerio-Langer and many of her colleagues at BNHC. Her nomination centers around her tireless work with the homeless population. Ayano, lovingly dubbed with the nickname “Martha Theresa,” is the sole provider at BNHC’s …
Tools for Building a Health Center Workforce
We regularly invite writers to share ideas and topics helpful to the health center community. Today’s guest blog post is by Shannen Camarena, Marketing Coordinator, UST Community Health Centers nationwide face common challenges like recruiting and retaining workforce. According to a NACHC report, 95 percent of all health centers have a clinical staff vacancy and …