New Data Show Highest Number of Health Center Patients in Nearly 60 Year History of the Program

HRSA-Funded Health Centers Served 2.7 Million More Patients Over Past Four Years, Reaching High of More than 31 Million Patients

Today, to mark National Health Center Week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released new data showing over 31 million total patients served at HRSA-funded health centers in 2023—an increase of 2.7 million since 2020.

“Community health centers play a pivotal, and growing, role in America’s health care system. They are especially important in our effort to reduce health care disparities in underserved communities,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “More than 31 million people across the country - in every U.S. state, territory, and the District of Columbia - depend on health centers, making them a vital resource. The Biden-Harris Administration wants all Americans to have access to high-quality primary health care services, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, and community health centers help make that possible.”

“HRSA-funded community health centers make it possible for anyone in the community to access high-quality primary health care, regardless of income,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “We are proud to serve millions more people and expand the community health workforce in rural and underserved areas all across the country.”

HRSA-funded health centers are required to treat all patients regardless of ability to pay, and in 2023 more than 90 percent of health center patients had incomes less than 200 percent of the 2023 Federal Poverty Guidelines. Health centers are now serving one in eight children across the country, more than 9.7 million patients in rural areas, over 6.4 million patients who live in or near public housing, and over 1.4 million people experiencing homelessness. Health centers have also expanded their preventive services, screening hundreds of thousands more people for cancer and infectious diseases and caring for patients with substance use disorders.

Health centers continue to be leaders in quality of care, increasing access and improving clinical quality across the board. Quality improvements since 2020 include:

• Administering more than 4 million HIV tests;
• Treating 585,000 prenatal care patients; and
• Improving clinical quality measures for chronic conditions, including hypertension control (+8%) and depression screening (+7%).

For more details on these and other Health Center Program outcomes see Four Years of Health Center Outcomes.

HRSA’s Health Center Program is a cornerstone of our nation’s health care system, especially for those who are uninsured; enrolled in Medicaid; living in rural, remote, or underserved areas; struggling to afford their health insurance co-pays; experiencing homelessness; residing in public housing; or otherwise having trouble finding a doctor or paying for the cost of care.

Each year during National Health Center Week, HRSA releases the prior year’s Uniform Data System (UDS) data, which all of the nearly 1,400 HRSA-supported health centers report annually. Look for #NHCW24 #HealthCenters posts on social media throughout this week.