Four community health centers in Maryland will receive a total of close to $3.4 million to expand their capacity and provide primary health care to more patients in medically underserved areas, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The funds are part of a $260 million pool handed out to 290 centers nationwide under the Affordable Care Act.
The centers are expected to renovate or acquire new clinical space and provide care to more than 800,000 new patients. Nearly $150 million was doled out in September 2015 for the same purpose.
Health centers are considered a key resource for many patients who newly acquired health insurance under the ACA, including those joining expanded Medicaid programs for poor and low-income consumers.
The centers are estimated to now serve nearly 23 million people a year at about 9,800 sites nationwide.
The centers in Maryland receiving funds include the Community Clinic in Silver Spring ($1 million), Park West Health Systems Inc. in Baltimore ($1 million), Total Health Care Inc. in Baltimore ($1 million) and Western Maryland Health Care Corp. in Oakland ($363,557).