Community Health Centers (CHCs), also called Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), may be our nation’s best health policy experiment, delivering a bold return on investment in the sixty years since their inception. Every $1 invested in primary care returns $13 in saved downstream costs. From urban areas to rural communities, CHCs play a crucial role […]
Washington, D.C. — August 27, 2025 — Advocates for Community Health (ACH), a nonpartisan membership organization representing innovative federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) nationwide, is calling for a bold new investment in the Community Health Center Program as the Health Center Fund is set to expire on September 30, 2025, and warns that flat funding […]
Advocates for Community Health’s Senior Vice President of Policy & Government Affairs Stephanie Krenrich was interviewed exclusively for this article, published today in Inside Health Policy: “As we talk to Republicans, either the administration or others, we are consistently tying any increase in our funding to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ (and) highlighting our positive vision […]
Since the first Community Health Center (CHC) opened in 1965, our nation’s largest primary care network has expanded to over 1,500 sites, now serving more than 32.5 million people across the United States and its territories—in both rural and urban communities. Despite their growth and critical role in healthcare delivery, several misconceptions about CHCs persist, […]
Advocates for Community Health was mentioned in this article by Noah Tong in Fierce Healthcare: Groups representing community health centers (CHCs) reacted to the regulatory shift, some uncertain how to best comply with federal law now. “Federal law requires CHCs to accept ‘all residents of the area served by the center,’ the National Association of […]
ACH was featured in this article from Inside Health Policy on the HHS policy change for undocumented immigrants and the Health Center Program: CHC advocates point out that the Congressional Budget Office has found the centers reduce federal spending and ease burdens and use of higher-cost emergency services. “The policy announced today will drive people […]
In response to today’s announcement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rescinding a 1998 policy that granted undocumented immigrants access to certain federal health benefits—including the Health Center Program—Advocates for Community Health (ACH) has issued the following statement: “Today’s announcement from HHS imposes new administrative hurdles on the Health Center Program […]
As a national organization representing Federally Qualified Health Centers, Advocates for Community Health urges the Senate to reject the One Big Beautiful Bill. Health centers serve as the national primary care infrastructure for more than 31 million Americans, but with the proposed cuts to Medicaid and projected coverage losses, this infrastructure will suffer significant harm. […]
“CHC CEOs made it clear to lawmakers that the proposed Medicaid cuts in the reconciliation legislation, on top of the potential funding cliff, would significantly reduce their ability to care for uninsured patients. In response, lawmakers have urged them to innovate and adapt amid a challenging fiscal environment, according to the executives. “Innovate. Do something […]
Advocates for Community Health CEO Amanda Pears Kelly told CBS News yesterday: “Even with the best of intentions, these types of funding freezes can do tremendous harm. And could be irreversible to some communities. What we’re really talking about is a health center’s ability to pay salaries.” Pears Kelly said that health centers often rely […]