WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) today announced that 15 community health centers across New Mexico will receive over $2.2 million in grants to help enroll uninsured individuals into new affordable health coverage options that will go into effect on October 1, 2013. Currently, approximately 20 percent of New Mexico residents are uninsured.
The awards are issued by the Health Resources and Services Administration, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and will allow the health centers to hire an additional 47 workers who will assist New Mexicans in understanding their coverage options through the new Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, determining their eligibility and what financial help they can get and enrolling in new affordable health coverage options made available by the Affordable Health Care Act.
"In October, New Mexicans will have new ways to obtain affordable health care coverage, and a major component is making sure they understand what plan best suit their needs," said Udall. "These grants will help New Mexico increase the outreach, awareness and enrollment into our state exchanges. Additionally, a number of them are going to rural communities, which is especially important for those health centers that support residents who travel long distances and often work with limited resources."
Community health centers have a long history of providing eligibility assistance to patients along with delivering high-quality, primary health care services. New Mexico has 15 health centers with 145 sites that served 284,246 patients last year, 42.07 percent of them uninsured.
The Health Resources and Services Administration is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.
The following is a list of New Mexico recipients:
$97,852 - Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, Albuquerque
$262,566 - Ben Archer Health Center, Hatch
$150,817 - La Clinica de Familia, Las Cruces
$66,062 - De Baca Family Practice Clinic, Fort Sumner
$123,713 - El Centro Family Health, Espanola
$330,590 - First Choice Community Healthcare, Albuquerque
$222,669 - First Nations Community Health Source, Albuquerque
$91,912 - Hidalgo Medical Service, Lordsburg
$144,459 - La Casa de Buena Salud, Portales
$63,598 - La Clinica del Pueblo, Tierra Amarilla
$142,061 - La Familia Medical Center, Santa Fe
$99,436 - Las Clinicas del Norte, El Rito
$65,446 - Mora Valley Community Health Services, Mora
$76,182 - Pecos Valley Medical Center, Pecos
$263,116 - Presbyterian Medical Services, Santa Fe
Total: $2,200,479
