Information collected in the census influences the way public officials distribute more than $1.5 trillion in federal funds every year for services like schools, fire departments, hospitals and community health centers.
In 2016, community health centers served more than 25 million patients in urban and rural locations. Community health centers are often the only source of care available to low-income patients, and are playing an increasingly important role in providing treatment for people impacted by the opioid epidemic. Additionally, we have seen the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, making access to healthcare all the more important.
If your community isn’t fully counted, its needs won’t be represented in census figures, and it could miss out when officials decide where health clinics should be located and how much funding they will get.