in this season of gratitude and change, now is the time to be reaching out to your members of Congress to reinforce the importance and urgency of immediate and long-term funding for Health Centers, the National Health Service Corps, and Teaching Health Centers Program. The recommendations contained within the Paragon Health Institute's recent lame duck proposal to "limit the amount of additional funding to CHCs in the Congressional year-end package and ensure that any new financing remains discretionary rather than mandatory" are misguided and negligent, and your Congressional members need to hear that.
ACH issued a statement last week urging Congress to reject the ideas put forward by the Paragon Health Institute as we face a fiscal environment where the health care safety net is teetering on the brink of collapse. Instead, we encourage every member of Congress to listen to their constituents, including health center patients and providers who strive to care for their communities every day, and provide robust funding for the Health Center Program.
“There's so much evidence of the value and the return that health centers bring. The Teaching Health Center program is more recent, but for the National Health Service Corps and the Health Center program specifically, we have decades of evidence of the impact -- clinically and economically,” ACH CEO Amanda Pears Kelly told Inside Health Policy. “And so not only would it be ill-advised to somehow forget all of that, but the human harm that would come as a result of that is pretty massive.”
Connecting with your member of Congress remains the single most important thing you can do to help drive health centers to the front of their minds as the 119th Congress develops its legislative agenda. As things are constantly evolving, we will continue to keep our members up to speed with everything we are learning in our weekly Friday Post-Election Policy Update emails. Please let us know if you have any questions, or if we can help facilitate meetings with your Congressional delegation.
Statement on Disaster Supplemental for Health Centers
ACH urges the Biden Administration to prioritize dedicated funding for community health centers in any disaster supplemental request to Congress, emphasizing the critical role these centers play in supporting communities during crises.
The Critical Role of 340B at FQHCs: ACH Special Report
At times, policymakers underestimate the 340B program's impact on CHCs and their patients because of their small purchase volume. In 2023, health centers accounted for just 5.4% of overall 340B program purchases. ACH published a report demonstrating the financial impact of 340B savings at health centers which cannot be overstated, as they allow CHCs to stretch their already scarce federal resources as far as possible.
In a recent Joint Health Comment Letter, ACH and other organizations representing outpatient safety net providers, rural health clinics, and health centers, voiced strong support for the Telehealth Modernization Act (H.R.7623). With unanimous approval from the Energy and Commerce Committee, the letter urges the House of Representatives to expedite a vote on this vital legislation.
ACH was recently mentioned in POLITICO: "A major form of funding for community health centers is set to expire at the end of the year. A wide coalition of groups including Advocates for Community Health which represents health centers, is pushing for an extension of at least three years with a minimum of $5.8 billion a year. Earlier this year, Congress passed a spending package that extended funding for the centers at an annualized rate of $4.27 billion — up $270 million from the previous year."
Last week, ACH held its 340B Learning Collaborative, welcoming 16 members from seven states. This marks our largest participation to date, highlighting the significance of protecting the 340B Drug Pricing Program for health centers.
A big thank you to Equiscript, LLC for their support in making this Learning Collaborative possible!
New Webinar Alert: Postmortem on the Presidential Election and its Impact on CHCs
As the dust settles from the presidential elections, it’s clear that significant transitions in healthcare policies are on the horizon.
Please join us on December 3rd, 20024 at Noon (ET), for a member exclusive webinar that will help explain how the election results will impact our community health centers
Cherokee Health Systems to Apply $100K Grant in Data-Driven Analytics
ACH, in collaboration with UnitedHealthcare Community & State, recently announced that Cherokee Health Systems (CHS) was one of two recipients receiving a $100,000 grant to invest in community health center emerging technologies
The grant funding will help CHS build a data-driven and precision medicine approach to reducing disparities in care. “The advanced Health Equity Dashboard will allow users to access outcome data, by site, by provider, and by patient,” said Chief Executive Officer at Cherokee Health Systems Parinda Khatri, Ph.D. “This data will be used by care coordinators and community health workers to guide their outreach efforts, clinic teams to identify individuals requiring further attention, and clinicians to inform care planning,” she added.
We’ve just added new funding opportunities for FQHCs to our Members-Only Portal, including details on the Service Area Competition.
Application Due Date: January 10, 2025 Agency: National Institutes of Health Funding Amount: Expected to grant seven awards up to $700,000 Purpose: This NOFO aims to conduct diabetes surveillance across health system and/or health plan membership-based centers.
El Rio Health Center Achieves Gold-Level Recognition for Combatting Physician Burnout
El Rio Community Health Center in Arizona is the first FQHC to achieve gold-level recognition from the AMA Joy in Medicine™ Health System Recognition Program. This accolade highlights El Rio's commitment to reducing physician burnout. Read the article
Camarena Health Wins Healthcare Service Excellence Awards
Camarena Health in California is improving the patient experience and level of service delivered in their community, and it has won them two national awards at the Service Excellence Conference! Camarena Health won the 2024 Outstanding First Year Service Excellence Initiative, and Service Excellence Advisor Team.
Columbia Basin Named one of the Best & Brightest Companies to Work For
CBHA in Washington is no stranger to best places to work awards. CBHA's latest prestigious award as a 2024 Best & Brightest Company to Work For recognizes their commitment to putting employees first and creating an environment where everyone can thrive. See more awards they've won
Enhance Your Skills: Join ACU's Manager Training Webinar Series
Join the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) for the upcoming Manager Training Webinar Series! This series is tailored to provide healthcare managers with vital skills and strategies to boost team performance and enhance patient care. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn from industry experts and network with fellow professionals. For more details and to register, visit the ACU website here.
Morris Heights Health Center: Celebrating Community and Commitment
Last month, Samantha Noble, our Director of Grassroots Advocacy and Membership, visited ACH member Morris Heights Health Center for their special Halloween event as part of ACH's Best Practices Tour of member health centers.
"It was fun to see families enjoying fresh apples and oranges, along with some creative apple 'monsters' crafted by the staff. The kids especially loved getting their faces painted and picking out books to take home, and many took advantage of the quick dental checkups offered by the mobile unit at the event!" said Sami.
Must-Read Articles
Maternity care deserts affect 35% of counties, and since the Dobbs decision, states with abortion restrictions have seen a decline in obstetric and gynecological providers, exacerbating disparities in maternal care access. Read more
New Mexico’s Medicaid program is inviting primary care providers to register for the PCPR VBP program, which offers incentives for meeting quality metrics to improve patient health and manage chronic diseases. Read more
Cleveland Clinic is partnering with Amazon's One Medical, which Amazon acquired for $3.9 billion in 2023, to open primary care clinics in northeast Ohio, with the first office scheduled to launch next year.
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