By Micah Clemens
The Miami Herald wrote an in-depth article about what further cuts to health center funding would mean for patients in their communities. This is just a snapshot of what communities across the country are facing.
Borinquen Health Care Center held a small ceremony last week near Midtown with soft drinks and snacks to celebrate the opening of a new chronic disease center for the poor and uninsured — a $200,000 project done with federal stimulus funds.
It may be the last such celebration for a while.
Federal support of clinics like Borinquen took a big hit in the recent deficit reduction deal in Washington and may be taking an even bigger one when Congress starts a new round of budget-cutting in the near future.
The article also looks at the cost-saving value that Community Health Centers provide:
[NACHC President and CEO Tom Van Coverden] said any reductions to primary care centers would be “penny wise and pound foolish. You can cut the health centers and people don’t stop getting sicker.’’
Worse, he said, less primary care tends to lead to sicker people and more visits to hospitals — “where they will get treated.”