Advocates for Community Health (ACH) is calling on congressional leaders to advance a year-end policy agenda that protects patient access, strengthens community health center funding, and supports the workforce delivering care in underserved communities.
In an October 15 letter, ACH outlined six priorities:
- Delay the 340B rebate model. Pass the bipartisan 340B Rebate Model Delay Act to postpone the pilot program for two years and preserve upfront discounts. Requiring health centers to purchase medications at full price and wait for reimbursement would create significant financial and administrative burdens, diverting resources from patient care.
- Protect and strengthen 340B. Advance comprehensive reform that preserves health centers’ ability to reinvest savings in patient services, protects access through contract pharmacies, and establishes practical transparency and accountability standards.
- Invest in community health centers. Increase the Community Health Center Fund to $7.87 billion annually for at least three years before its year-end expiration, and provide $2.88 billion in discretionary funding for fiscal year 2027.
- Modernize Medicare payment. Enact the bipartisan CHC REBASE Act to better align reimbursement with the cost of care, update qualifying services, establish payment parity for medical visits delivered through telehealth, and streamline Medicare Advantage payments.
- Strengthen the primary care workforce. Advance the Developing the Community Health Workforce Act, increase National Health Service Corps funding to $950 million annually, and support community-based training through the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program.
- Protect Medicaid access. Preserve stable funding, adequate reimbursement, and patient coverage as states implement new requirements that could disrupt care and increase administrative burdens.
ACH’s 55 member health centers serve more than four million patients across 22 states and the District of Columbia. The letter urges Congress to build on health centers’ longstanding bipartisan support with policies that sustain comprehensive, affordable care.