Congressman Henry Cuellar, (D-Laredo), announced today a $224,286 grant award for the Gateway Community Health Center in Laredo, Texas. Funding will assist local health centers in Texas enroll uninsured individuals and families in new coverage options available through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

“These funds will go directly to helping families get health insurance,” said Congressman Cuellar. “It is a simple equation: health insurance means access to affordable care, which results in healthier families.  Families who have health insurance are more likely to seek out preventative care, avoiding major health crises. This enrollment program is a crucial first step in reducing the millions of dollars local hospitals and the government spends to cover the uninsured.”

Miguel Treviño, Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Community Health Center, added “Gateway is elated to have received outreach and enrollment supplemental funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The goal of the program is to expand current outreach and enrollment in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program to eligible health center patients and service area residents in the counties of Webb, Zapata, and Jim Hogg. The current economic situation has left many with limited resources to take care of their health and that of their family. Gateway hopes to improve the health of eligible persons through this outreach and enrollment effort.”

According to the U.S. Census’ report on “Small Area Health Estimates”, Webb County has one of the highest rates of uninsured of Texas' most populous counties, at 36.8% of the total county population. This means over 80,000 people--many of them children--lack even basic health insurance coverage. Gateway projects the number of individuals to be assisted by all their O/E Assistance Workers will be 15,000 and the projected number of individuals to be enrolled with the assistance of all their O/E Assistance Workers will be 3,750.

Cuellar concluded, “As many as 45,000 people nationwide die prematurely each year because they lack health insurance.  And, the uninsured cost the government over $49 billion each year. This is unacceptable and we need to do better. I encourage the public to take advantage of the resources already available for them to get informed and ensure Americans are preparing to take advantage of new coverage opportunities under the Affordable Care Act.”

If you wish to learn more about the Affordable Care Act, visit www.HealthCare.gov and to learn more about the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Health Center Program, visit http://bphc.hrsa.gov/about/index.html. To get additional information on the Gateway Community Health Center, Inc call (956) 523-3645.