Bipartisan group calls for health center funding reauthorization

A bipartisan group of more than 150 lawmakers is calling for Congress to reauthorize funding for community health centers (Source: “Bipartisan lawmakers urge health center funding reauthorization,” The Hill, Oct. 30, 2017).

A provision in the ACA called for the creation of a special trust fund for community health centers, which serve more than 25 million people regardless of their ability to pay for their medical services. The money accounts for 70 percent of federal grant funding for community health centers, and the dollars — reauthorized in 2015 — expired at the end of September.

Five leaders of the House group have introduced a bipartisan standalone measure that would reauthorize the fund for five years, providing steady increases each year. The House Energy and Commerce Committee also passed a measure to extend funding for two years. Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) also have introduced a standalone bill in the Senate to reauthorize funding for community health centers for five years.