ATLANTA - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday that it is awarding more than $5.3 million in Affordable Care Act funding to support new health care centers in Georgia.
The funding will help expand the delivery of health care services in the state and is expected to impact more than 41,800 Georgians, department Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. The funding is expected to support 10 new health center sites in Georgia, officials said.
"Georgia health centers are key partners in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and new health center sites will increase access to those who need it most," Sebelius said.
The state's health care centers served more than 321,000 patients last year, and more than 50 percent of those people were uninsured, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
The grants are part of a national pool of about $150 million being used to expand services at 236 health care centers nationwide, officials said.
The money is being split among health care centers in Atlanta, Marietta, Brunswick, Wrightsville, Morgantown, Colbert, Augusta and Blakely, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration, a branch of the federal health department.