HHS touts health law for creating jobs, expanding care

Federal health officials announced that new grants under the the healthcare reform law will expand clinic access to more than 1.25 million Americans and create roughly 5,640 jobs.

The grants were awarded Wednesday to 219 local health centers. They are worth $128.6 million, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

"The health care law is making our community health centers stronger and ensuring more Americans get the care they need," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.

The announcement comes as the Supreme Court prepares to rule on the Affordable Care Act. If the law is declared unconstitutional — one possible outcome — HHS will have to unravel several programs like these that have distributed money to parts of the healthcare system.

Obama administration officials are expected to continue implementing whatever parts of the law are left standing.

In early May, HHS announced the law will fund the construction of more than 300 new community health centers by 2014, and that 67 had been completed so far. Nearly 200 local clinics had also been renovated — a figure that HHS said will more than triple in the next two years.

Wednesday's announcement will direct funds to health centers in 41 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, HHS said.

The awards "will infuse critical dollars into health centers and their surrounding communities, enhancing health centers’ ability to serve more patients and creating thousands of jobs across the country," according to a statement.

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