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Washington, D.C. – Congressman Pete Visclosky today announced that Gary Community Health Center will receive a $325,458 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“We need secure, affordable, quality healthcare for all,” said Visclosky. “Gary Community Health Center offers a critical service to under- and uninsured people in Gary and surrounding communities in Northwest Indiana by offering primary healthcare to everybody, regardless of their ability to pay. With our economy struggling and healthcare costs rising, it is reassuring to know that community health centers offer people a place where they can go to get the care they need.”
The Department of Health and Human Services awarded the grant through the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Consolidated Health Centers program. The program is intended to improve the health of the nation's under- and uninsured by assuring access to comprehensive, quality healthcare. Specifically, the funding will be used to improve the availability and accessibility of primary care services.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an average of 732,000 people in Indiana, about 11 percent of the state’s population, had no health insurance during 2006 and 2007. Nationwide, the number of Americans under the age of 65 living without health insurance was over 45 million. Community health centers serve those under- and uninsured people through efforts to overcome the many impediments they face while trying to access healthcare. For example, centers may operate extended hours to accommodate patients’ work schedules and charge a sliding fee scale so that patients can afford to get the care they need. |
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