BRIEF: City must pay for health centers [Philadelphia Daily News]

June 28--THERE'S A PRICE to running the city's health centers, but health-care reform could mean more funding.

The city's eight comprehensive health-care centers provide a wide range of care for some of the city's most vulnerable and uninsured residents.

Health Department spokesman Jeff Moran said that the estimated cost of running the centers for fiscal year 2011 was $59.7 million, up from $58.2 million the year before. The city paid $36.7 million of the bill, with the rest covered by state and federal sources, patient fees and medical insurance, and Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement.

The Affordable Care Act, should it withstand the Supreme Court challenge, would mandate health insurance for all people, a big help for the centers.

"Of the 50 percent of our patients who are uninsured, a higher portion will be insured and we'll have more revenue," said City Health Commissioner Donald Schwarz. "Revenue can do one or two things ... it can either reduce the deficit in the general fund for the city, or, if it's kept in the Health Department, it can help fund more care." n

Contact Jan Ransom at 215-854-5218 or Ransomj@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @Jan_Ransom. Read her blog, "PhillyClout," at www.phillyclout.com.

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