Tucson, Ariz. – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today congratulated the 17 Arizona health centers that received grants from the Department of Health and Human Services last week to help Arizonans enroll in new health insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act exchange. The grants are part of $58 million in grants to 1,157 health centers across the nation.

The awards will help health centers expand the hours of current outreach and enrollment assistance workers and hire new or temporary workers. Health centers around the country operate more than 9,000 service delivery sites nationwide and serve more than 21 million patients annually.

The funds are being issued by the Health Resources and Services Administration to complement other federal efforts to help Americans get access to affordable health insurance coverage. The new awards follow an earlier $150 million first round of health center investments to support outreach and enrollment activities.

“Local health centers with a connection to their communities are a natural place for people to look for help and information, and these grants are going to the right place to make sure Arizonans get the full benefits of the Affordable Care Act,” Grijalva said. “Rather than voting over and over to repeal the law, I hope my Republican colleagues start helping their constituents get the assistance they’re entitled to and the savings they deserve. These grants are part of making the law work, and I look forward to hearing the success stories they generate all over the state.”

Full information about Arizona recipients is available below.

Total: $3,502,914 to 17 health centers ($2,271,003 in Fiscal Year 13 plus $1,231,911 in Fiscal Year 14)

Arizona has 17 health centers with 140 sites that served 423,160 patients last year, 27.24 percent of them uninsured. With their FY13 Outreach and Enrollment funding, the health centers listed below expected to hire 45 additional workers, who will assist 61,638 people with enrollment into affordable health insurance coverage.