A recent study conducted by the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing has shown that Medicaid patients that visit community health centers are one-third less likely to have emergency room visits, impatient hospitalizations and hospital re admissions compared to those patients that use hospital related services.
Not only does this data show that using community health centers reduce hospital visits but that they also reduce medical costs. Polly Anderson, Policy Director of the Colorado Community Health Network said in a recent press release,
“As Congress and President Obama negotiate reductions to the federal budget, they must consider what programs work and which ones provide the best return on the federal dollar. CHCs are essential to the success of Medicaid, to the health of Medicaid clients, and as this study shows, to getting the best return on taxpayers’ dollars that we can get.”
The study which is not the first of its kind just further demonstrates that Community Health Centers are an essential part of communities and help to provide better health outcomes and reduce medical costs.