Today is a national call-in day for community health center funding! Health center funding still needs to pass Congress before January 19! Read on to learn how you can take action.
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. Congress has since passed multiple short-term continuing resolutions to fund the government and health centers for a few months.
What is the status of health center funding?
Congress returned to Washington, D.C. this week, with only a few more working days until the January 19 deadline when health center funding will expire. Before the holiday recess, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5378, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, which includes $4.4B for community health centers for the next 2 years, and an extension of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) Program. However, we need an agreement on CHC funding from both chambers of Congress!
January 10 National Call-in Day
The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) is holding a call-in day, today, Wednesday, January 10 to urge Congress to act on community health center funding and key primary care workforce programs before funding expires on January 19. Below is all the information you need to call your members of Congress and advocate for health center funding:
- A sample script will appear on the page after you enter your address.
- You will be calling 1 Representative and 2 Senators based on your address.
- Your experience IS your expertise. You live or work in their district and you matter to them. (You do not need to be a policy expert.)
- The staff who answers your call is responsible for sharing your feedback with the Congressional Member's team. Ask for their boss' commitment to
- VOTE for a bipartisan funding solution for Community Health Centers.
Thank you for your advocacy!