Clinics awarded grants to help uninsured, underinsured in Mich.

DETROIT (AP) - Nearly four dozen clinics will share $860,500 through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's Strengthening the Safety Net program. The funding will help the clinics provide free or low-cost medical, dental and mental health care services to uninsured and underinsured Michigan residents, according to Blue Cross. The funding also pays for substance use disorder treatment. Grants of up to $25,000 each were awarded to 17 clinics. Another 30 clinics were awarded up to $15,000 each. Recipients expect to provide care to more than 60,000 people this year. More than 50,000 people received services through the program last year. Health care organizations offering primary care services also received more than $190,000 in matched funding through the program. Blue Cross has provided more than $15 million in grants since 2005 so safety net clinics can care for the uninsured and under-insured. Detroit-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is a nonprofit mutual insurance company. Published: Tue, Jan 14, 2020