The Affordable Care Act (ACA), which marks its tenth anniversary this year, has facilitated the rapid growth of community health centers, allowing them to reach millions of new patients nationwide. Between 2010 and 2018, the number of patients served by health centers increased by nearly 46 percent, from 19.5 million in 2010 to 28.4 million in 2018. This expansion of accessible, community-based health care represents one of the law’s greatest achievements, concludes a new report.
The report was authored by Sara Rosenbaum, Peter Shi, Jessica Sharac and Maria Velasquez, researchers at the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative, based at the George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health.