Supporting the Commonwealth's Community Health Centers

(Boston, MA) - Rep. Tom Stanley and Rep. Kevin Honan (D-Boston) filed a bill to establish a community health center transformation fund. The legislative will likely tackle health care reform this session, and Rep. Stanley says his bill will help ensure community health centers are part of that discussion. Community health centers provide quality, patient-focused, comprehensive medical care and services to communities and employ more than 10,000 full-time employees across Massachusetts.

“I am honored to be a part of the community health center movement and will continue to be a champion of it throughout this session and beyond. There are too many people, patients and employees at the community health centers that need our support,” said Rep. Stanley.

Rep. Stanley, Rep. Honan and Senator Julian Cyr this past week hosted a State House legislative briefing on the importance of community health centers. Community health center representatives including CEOs, staff and patients spoke about the important work of community health centers around the state.

This legislation is important to community health centers including Charles River Community Health, which offers locations in Waltham, Allston/Brighton and surrounding communities. According to 2017 statistics, Charles River Community Health was in the first quartile nationally for providing access to prenatal care in the first trimester and in control of high blood pressure—among other things.

“These statistics highlight not only the successful model at the community health center, but also the wide range of services a health center can offer to anyone in the care spectrum,” added Rep. Stanley.

Community health centers also help reduce health care costs across the board. According to the Health Policy Commission’s 2018 Cost Trends Report, an inpatient stay at a hospital in Massachusetts averages almost $3,000 per day. In 2017, Charles River spent approximately $1,200 per patient in providing comprehensive primary and preventative services. This equals a cost-savings of more than $1,800 per patient.

In 2017, community health centers in Massachusetts produced over $2.6 billion in economic activity. They poured nearly $1.3 billion of that directly back into the communities they serve and provided an additional $408 million in tax revenue to the state and federal governments.