About 20,000 individuals will still be able to access health care services thanks to another one-year extension of federal funding provided to the St. Louis Regional Health Commission.

The $30 million from the government funds the commission's Gateway to Better Health Program, which gives certain eligible individuals in St. Louis City and St. Louis County access to urgent cares, primary care physicians and specialists.

Before the extension, the program was supposed to expire at the end of 2015. This is the second extension the program has received.

Eligible individuals are between the ages of 19 to 64 and earn up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level.

These individuals were supposed to be added to the Medicaid rolls after expansion took place. But the state of Missouri has yet to expand the program, which is part of the Affordable Care Act.

“This gives us a bridge for when Missouri comes up with a long term solution,” Rob Fruend, CEO of the commission, told the Post-Dispatch Friday.

Since its launch in 2012, the program has annually paid for 55,000 primary care visits, 29,000 specialty care visits and 230,000 medications, according to the commission.

Samantha Liss is a business reporter at the Post-Dispatch. Follow her on Twitter @samanthann and the business section @postdispatchbiz.

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