PURPOSE.

The legislature finds that:

(1) community health centers play a significant role in the delivery of medical care and related services to the residents of this state who cannot afford health insurance;

(2) community health centers are a cost-effective way to provide primary and preventive health care to populations lacking quality health care by reducing hospitalizations and the inappropriate use of emergency rooms;

(3) the financing sources available for the capital needs of community health centers, such as buildings and equipment, are inadequate; and

(4) increasing community health centers' access to capital would benefit residents of this state in poor and underserved communities and foreign-born residents who are uninsured, by providing greater access to primary care and preventive health services and by targeting the common health problems of these residents.