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Get to Know: FY23 Community Health Center Appropriations

 
The FY23 appropriations process is underway in Congress. Read on to learn more about community health center appropriations.
 
Community health centers are supported by two federal funding sources, mandatory funding from the Community Health Center Fund and discretionary funding through the annual appropriations process.
 
The Community Health Center Fund accounts for the largest portion of health center funding and was first authorized in FY10 for five years. Congress has reauthorized funding for the Community Health Center Fund four additional times in varying increments. The most recent extension was passed in December of 2020 for level funding of $4B a year for three years.1
 
In addition to the Community Health Center Fund, health centers receive discretionary funding through the annual appropriations process. In FY22, Congress appropriated $1.7B for community health centers.2  
 
President Biden's proposed FY23 budget, released in March, included an additional $155M in funding for community health centers, which would bring total funding to $5.7B.3 The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), TPCA, and community health centers across the country have been advocating for additional health center appropriations to support priorities such Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative, Early Childhood Development Experts, and new access points. 
 
How can Members of Congress support community health center funding? 
Each year, members of the House and Senate lead bipartisan ‘Dear Colleague' letters, which are letters to the appropriations committees in each chamber that express support for community health center funding. The ‘Dear Colleague' letters don't include a specific amount of funding for community health centers, but rather encourage Congress to support robust funding for health centers in the coming year. 
 
The FY23 community health center Dear Colleague letter was led by Representative DeGette (D-CO) and Representative Bilirakis (R-FL), and accumulated 288 signatures, including signatures from Tennessee's members of the House. TPCA is grateful to Representative Harshbarger (R-1), Representative Burchett (R-2), Representative DesJarlais (R-4), Representative Cooper (D-5), Representative Rose (R-6), and Representative Cohen (D-9) for signing on to the FY23 community health center appropriations letter! 
 
The Senate also circulates a community health center ‘Dear Colleague' letter each year. This year's letter is led by Senator Stabenow (D-MI) and Senator Wicker (R-MS) with a deadline of May 13, 2022.  
 
 
 
[1]  FY2023 Appropriations • Health Center Advocacy Network. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.hcadvocacy.org/fy2023-appropriations/
[2]  Ibid.
[3]  Department of Health and Human Services. (2022).Department of Health and Human Services FY 2023 Health Resources and Services Administration Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees. Retrieved from https://www.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/hrsa/about/budget/budget-justification-fy2023.pdf

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