House leaders from both parties introduced legislation as part of the SGR fix that includes two-year extensions of funding for the Community Health Centers program, the National Health Service Corps, and the Teaching Health Centers program. Funding for each of these programs expires this year – without action to address this “primary care cliff,” millions of low-income Americans in rural and undeserved communities would lose access to primary and preventive healthcare. Click here to read NACHC’s press release on the House’s proposal.
H.R. 2 cleared the House with a strong vote of 392-37 with 15/16 members of the Ohio delegation voting YES! This is the result of engaged and active advocates who rallied their teams, patients and boards to raise their voices for CHCs! On to the Senate – let’s get this done!
Health Center Advocates should know their hard work is paying off – getting Health Center Funding in the House SGR bill is a huge accomplishment. But the work to fix the cliff doesn’t end here. The bill now moves to the Senate and we need our voices to be louder than ever – we have about a 24-hour window to make an impact, so call Senators Brown and Portman NOW and ask them to act and vote YES on H.R. 2 in support of Ohio’s Community Health Centers.1-866-456-3949. We need to make sure that Congress hears the unmistakable message that they must include funding for Health Centers as part of this key legislation – if you’ve already called, please, CALL AGAIN!
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