Blog
Learn more about the FY23 Omnibus Package
| Congress passed an omnibus spending bill to fund the government for the remainder of FY23. Read on to more about what the package means for community health centers in this week's blog! |
| Community health centers receive a portion of their funding, known as discretionary funding, through the annual appropriations process. Congress passed an omnibus spending bill to fund the government in FY23, which included $1.86B dollars in funding for community health centers. Additional health-related provisions like a date for the end of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement were also contained in the bill. |
| What's the total FY23 omnibus spending package? |
| At the end of December, Congress passed a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package to fund the government for the remainder of FY23, which ends September 30, 2023. During the negotiation process, there were significant disagreements over the level of non-defense and defense spending that should be included in the bill. The bill ultimately included $787B for non-defense spending and $858B in defense spending.1 |
| Community Health Center Funding |
Within the legislation, there are also a variety of health care provisions. Most notably for community health centers, the FY23 omnibus package includes $1.86B in funding, an increase of more $100M from FY22. Health center funding is dedicated to the following specific priorities:
|
In addition to funding for community health centers, the omnibus includes funding for primary care workforce programs including the following:
|
| Medicaid Redeterminations to Resume |
| Beyond community health center funding, one of the key health-related provisions in the omnibus is an end date to the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement. For the duration of the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, Medicaid agencies paused the process of redetermining eligibility, which allowed additional folks to receive and maintain Medicaid coverage. A provision in the FY23 omnibus spending package de-links the status of COVID-19 the Public Health Emergency with the requirement to provide continuous coverage. Medicaid agencies, including TennCare will begin processing redeterminations April 1, 2023. TennCare issued a press release in response to passage of the omnibus package about next steps the agency will take to conduct outreach to TennCare members, attempt to automatically enroll as many enrollees as possible, and connect ineligible individuals with the federal marketplace. For now, TennCare remains in Phase II of its Phase IV unwinding plan. Phase II will continue until April 1, 2023 and emphasizes increased communication with TennCare members to alert them that the redetermination process will be beginning. TennCare members are encouraged to ensure their contact information is updated so they can be reached during the redetermination process. |
| [1] McPherson, L. (2022) House clears omnibus package as end nears for 117th Congress, Roll Call. Available at: https://rollcall.com/2022/12/23/house-clears-omnibus-package-as-end-nears-for-117th-congress/ (Accessed: January 12, 2023). |