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 […]
Senior leaders from more than 30 of the nation’s largest federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) recently met in Washington, D.C., to discuss the future of the Health Center Program and advocate for reliable, long-term funding. During the Advocates for Community Health (ACH) Annual Member Meeting on March 25-27,2025, health policy leaders shared their insights and […]
Nearly 60 years after the Health Center Program was founded out of the Civil Rights Movement, the need for health care in our underserved communities has never been greater. The rising number of challenges health centers face is staggering, and the difference that the Health Center Program makes in our nation’s health is far too […]
Medscape recently interviewed ACH’s CEO Amanda Pears Kelly about how health centers are poised to expand vision care services to people who have difficulty getting that care. However, according to a recent study, they have been severely underused and are facing an unprecedented funding crisis. The study’s senior author Aiyin Chen, MD, and her colleagues […]
Community health care centers provide primary and preventive care to millions of patients, many of them low-income, whether they are insured or not. In many parts of the country, they are the only health care centers offering primary care besides hospital emergency departments. Community health centers across the country have been affected, but unevenly. Advocates […]
ACH told PBS News in a statement last week that “Community health centers see more than 32 million people a year, including one in five rural Americans. More than 500,000 people work at these centers across the country.” “Community health centers provide high-quality primary and preventive care, dental care, behavioral health and substance use disorder […]
Federally qualified health centers serve about 1 in 10 Americans, or 32.5 million individuals annually, and are a critical part of the social safety net caring for low-income people and children. Amanda Pears Kelly, CEO at Advocates for Community Health, a membership organization of community health centers, said the issue is affecting health centers in […]
Several clinics in Maine, Nebraska, Illinois and Michigan have also been unable to draw down funds from the federally run website they use to access the money, according to Advocates for Community Health, an advocacy group for community health centers. “While we don’t have an answer for the reasoning behind it, we do know that health […]
Community health centers around the country are scrambling amid funding delays and confusing federal guidance stemming from President Donald Trump’s executive orders on gender and diversity — with some warning that they may soon have to close. “They’re already extremely fragile,” Amanda Pears Kelly, CEO of Advocates for Community Health, said in January. “This could […]
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 […]