Summary
While many discretionary grant-in-aid programs received little or no increases in funding over the last 10 years, health centers appropriations more than doubled. Funding for this group of programs flows directly to such centers, often bypassing state and local governments. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) continues the growth, with 125 centers funded to date. This brief provides background on the program so that states are able to place it and its expected growth into context.