Obamacare puts free health clinics on the chopping block

Free health care clinics in 28 states and Washington, D.C., have been shuttered due to Obamacare and the fallout of funding shortfalls.

The Wall Street Journal found that low demand — due to insurance expansions from Obamacare — has also contributed to the clinics’ closings.

Some herald the closings as a sign of Obamacare’s success, pointing to the expansion of Medicaid as filling in the coverage gaps. But others — particularly, low-income former patients — say the closings have actually decreased health care options and led to longer lines at the doctors’ offices.

Roughly 1,200 medical clinics that target low-income patients are struggling to survive under Obamacare, primarily because of the drop in government funding and private sector donations, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“As soon as there was the perception of universal health care, the likelihood of receiving donations goes down,” said Colin McRae, a lawyer who served on the board at Savannah’s Community Health Mission in Georgie, the Wall Street Journal reported. “You fight a lot of perception.”