Overview

In 2000, approximately 39 million people in this country were uninsured and even more had no access to regular care.¹ The healthcare system is rapidly changing and local health departments (LHDs) have a responsibility to ensure that needed health services and functions are available. The primary responsibility of LHDs in most locations is not necessarily to deliver primary care services, but to ensure that the health needs of the community are being met. LHDs, through different approaches to their assurance function, contribute directly or indirectly to the delivery of primary care services to the populations they serve.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) supports a number of programs that increase access to high-quality primary care, promote positive relationships among organizations involved in healthcare, and ensure that undeserved populations are identified and their needs addressed. The mission of HRSA's Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) is to increase access to comprehensive primary and preventive healthcare and to improve the health status of undeserved and vulnerable populations.

Through a cooperative agreement with the BPHC, NACCHO works to enhance the capacity of local health officials to:

• Assess the availability of primary care services in their jurisdictions;
• Encourage the participation of community health centers in the President's Initiative to Expand Health Centers (Issue Briefs);
• Develop policies to meet needs of vulnerable populations; and  
• Ensure that all who need care receive it, by directly providing services or by working with community health centers and others to ensure that they are provided.

Other organizations concerned about access to care include:

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• Center for Law and Social Policy
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• Families USA
• Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
• International City/County Management Association
• National Association of Community Health Centers
• National Association of Counties
• National Conference of State Legislatures
• National Governors Association
• National Rural Health Association

NACCHO has created a Primary Care distribution list for updates on various topics related to primary care/community health, including announcements on funding opportunities and conferences, resources from national organizations, issue briefs, and resource lists. To subscribe, send an e-mail to primary-care-sub@lists.naccho.org, with the subject "SUBSCRIBE primary-care-list."

1 Daily Policy Digest, "Number of Uninsured Declined Last Year," National Center for Policy Analysis, September 28, 2001. Available at http://www.ncpa.org/iss/hea/pd092801c.html, accessed August 25, 2002.