Overview

The South Carolina Primary Health Care Association (SCPHCA) is the unifying organization for Community Health Centers (CHCs) in South Carolina. CHCs are time-tested models of community-based care. They represent public and private partnerships working together to improve the health status of their respective communities. First established in 1964, CHCs are community-based, non-profit organizations that provide comprehensive, high-quality, patient-focused health care services in a culturally appropriate manner. With a focus on primary care, prevention, education, and case management, CHCs accept most health insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid and for those patients without insurance, services are provided on a sliding fee scale based on the patient's income and family size. CHCs receive federal grants through the United States Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) to partially support the cost of providing health care to the nation's growing uninsured population.

CHCs are one of four types of health centers funded by the federal government under the Consolidated Health Center Program. Core requirements for all health centers include:

Governance by a patient majority Board of Directors
Service in a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) or to a Medically Underserved Population (MUP)
Provision of services regardless of ability to pay
Provision of primary, oral, mental health/substance abuse services to patients in all stages of the life cycle
Board approved sliding fee scale based on patient income and family size
Compliance with all federal and state regulations

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The South Carolina Primary Health Care Association (SCPHCA) has been working to increase the availability of quality health care to low-income, uninsured, isolated, vulnerable, and special need populations since 1979. The SCPHCA is committeed to meeting the unique health care needs of these populations and to reduce health disparities across the state by providing capacity-building services and coordinating initiatives necessary to strengthen Community Health Centers (CHCs) in SC.

Specific groups served include:

the uninsured
those with public health insurance coverage
chronically ill
elderly
individuals suffering from mental illness
those living with HIV/AIDS
children
migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families
and homeless individuals

These populations continue to experience barriers in accessing high quality preventive and primary health care services in the state.

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In addition to meeting the health care needs of our patients, our CHCs serve as economic engines in the counties that we serve and serve as entry level employers for many health care and administrative disciplines.