In a new report, titled “Community Health Centers and the Economy: Assessing Centers’ Role in Immediate Job Creation Efforts,” the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative examines the potential economic benefit, including job creation opportunities, resulting from investments in community health centers. Building on an earlier 2008 analysis, the authors find that investment in community health centers generates an estimated return of 8:1 while creating thousands of jobs. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would have provided $36 billion in new economic benefits and would support 316,000 new jobs. A subsequent $600 million federal spending reduction in April 2011 translates to an estimated $1 billion loss in economic stimulus for rural and urban medically-underserved communities and 10,000 fewer job opportunities.
This report was authored by Sara Rosenbaum and Peter Shin.