H.R. 5378, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, to provide a multi-year extension of health center funding will come up for a vote next week! Without Congressional action, health center funding will expire on January 19. Read on to learn how you can take action to urge your members of the House to vote yes on this critical bill!
Community health centers receive federal funding through the Community Health Center Fund and through the annual appropriations process. The Community Health Center Fund, which is multi-year base funding for health centers, accounts for about 70% of federal funding and was last reauthorized three years ago. Health centers also receive about 30% of their federal funding through the annual appropriations process. September 30 marked the end of the fiscal year, the date on which both forms of health center funding were set to expire.
House Health Center Funding Bill Set for a Vote
Congress has passed two short-term continuing resolutions, which are temporary measures to keep the government and health centers funded through January 19. There are proposals in both the House and the Senate that would provide multi-year extensions of community health center funding and key workforce programs- the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program.
The House bill, H.R. 5378, the Lower Costs More Transparency Act, is scheduled to come up for a vote as early as Monday of next week. This bill includes the following provisions:
- $4.4B per year for the Community Health Center Fund for the next 2 years
- $350M per year for the National Health Service Corps for the next 2 years
- Seven years of funding for the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program, increasing to $300M per year
- Without Congressional action, health center funding will expire on January 19!
How to Take Action
Act now by emailing your members of Congress and urging them to VOTE YES on bill H.R. 5378 to secure long-term, stable funding for health centers!
Visit https://hcadvocacy.quorum.us/campaign/53748/ to send your personalized email!