Health centers face staff shortages, more patients
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Community health centers' staffing shortages are getting worse as the demand for their care grows.
Why it matters: The federally funded clinics play a crucial role in the American health care safety net because they're required to care for patients regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.
- They served a total of 31 million patients across the country in 2023 — the most people in the program's 60-year history, the Health and Human Services Department announced Monday.
The big picture: "Health centers are stepping up to the plate" to keep their communities healthy amid rising demand, said Amanda Pears Kelly, CEO of Advocates for Community Health.
- "But the reality is ... it's also not sustainable," she said.
- Congress needs to increase long-term federal funding to both health centers and workforce programs like the National Health Service Corps to meet the demand for care, she added.
Driving the news: Health centers reported a rise in workforce shortages for all types of care providers between 2018 and 2024, according to new survey data released Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund.
- 70% of health centers reported not having enough nurses — up from 54% in 2018.
- 49% of centers reported shortages of nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other advanced practitioner shortages compared with 39% in 2018.
- The percent of health centers reporting shortages of mental health providers, primary care doctors and other service providers like social workers and insurance counselors also increased between the two surveys.
At the same time, patient rosters have increased by 2.7 million patients since 2020, per HHS.
- More than 90% of last year's health center patients had incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level.
State of play: Lawmakers renewed and slightly increased health center funding through the end of the year in a March legislative package.
- But a bigger proposal from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) that would dedicate more than $26 billion to expand primary care access and tackle workforce shortages hasn't gotten traction.
