Advocates for Community Health (ACH), a nonpartisan membership organization representing community health centers, is gravely concerned about the ongoing funding challenges facing community health centers. ACH has received reports from across the country that community health centers are unable to access federal funding, which is directly impacting their ability to serve their patients, staff, and communities. ACH is especially troubled that these challenges persist despite two court orders blocking the funding freeze that had been put in place by the White House on January 28. The funding community health centers are trying to access has been authorized and appropriated by Congress and obligated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
“ACH has been working to understand why some health centers in certain areas like Virginia, Maine, Nebraska, Illinois, and Michigan are still unable to access federal funding from the federal Payment Management System (PMS), but other health centers remain unaffected,” said Amanda Pears Kelly, CEO at Advocates for Community Health. “While we don’t have an answer for the reasoning behind it, we do know that health centers cannot afford to wait, and it is critical that Congress and HRSA get to the bottom of it. Health centers in Virginia have already been forced to close their doors and cancel patient appointments this week because they are unable to access payments, and we fear that more closures and furloughs are on the way.”
“Health centers have a long record of bipartisan support, and we appreciate Congress’s bipartisan commitment to ensure timely funding access for all health centers. However, any pause in federal funding will harm Americans’ health and has the potential to impact the lives of more than 32.5 million patients served by the Health Center Program,” added Pears Kelly.
When health centers close, people with chronic conditions miss appointments, pregnant women miss prenatal visits, and behavioral health services are interrupted, worsening outcomes and increasing costs to the entire health care system.
Community health centers provide high-quality primary and preventive care, dental care, behavioral health and substance use disorder services, and low-cost prescription drugs to more than 32 million Americans annually, serving one in five rural Americans and one in three people living in poverty. Nationally, more than 1,500 health centers operate over 15,000 service sites across every state and U.S. territory, employing more than 500,000 individuals and generating nearly $85 billion in economic output.
“As safety net providers operating on razor-thin margins, health centers need funding certainty to provide care in underserved communities,” said Pears Kelly.
ACH calls for Congress to resolve the ongoing issues with health centers’ ability to access federal funding, and ensure that access to primary in the U.S. is not disrupted.
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About Advocates for Community Health
Established in 2021, Advocates for Community Health (ACH) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit membership organization of community health centers dedicated to forward-thinking and ambitious federal policy and advocacy on behalf of health centers, their patients, and their communities. To learn more, visit advocatesforcommunityhealth.org.