Advocates for Community Health

Congratulations to Camarena Health on its recent expansion in the Los Banos, California community! This new facility offers primary care, dental care, optometry, behavioral health, chiropractic care and health education, all in one location.

Government funding runs out in 2 days, on March 14, and the Community Health Center Fund (mandatory funding) expires on March 31. Yesterday, the House passed a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded through September 30 to avoid a government shutdown. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it awaits a vote. While the CR does include some cuts to health-related discretionary spending, community health centers (CHC) discretionary funding will stay flat through September. The CR also includes an extension for the mandatory Community Health Center Fund, with a small decrease in the yearly funding rate. The legislation also extends telehealth flexibilities through the end of September. It does not include any earmarks. While ACH recognizes Congress for working to avoid a government shutdown, we remain concerned that the subsequent passage of CR after CR is adding to the ongoing uncertainty around government funding for health centers, making it more difficult for CHCs to engage in meaningful long-term planning and hire the staff needed to serve patients. We know this is unsustainable. The last long-term authorization for the CHC Fund expired in September 2023. ACH continues to urge Congressional leaders to fund community health centers at the highest possible level. We urge you to visit our Grassroots Advocacy Resources to find tools for advocating with all members of your congressional delegation on the importance of long-term funding at the highest level possible. More information: https://hubs.li/Q03byK4C0 #CommunityHealthCenters #ContinuingResolution #Healthcare #FederalFunding

ACH's value-based payment model for community health centers (CHCs) was included in this Health Affairs article, which states that " Value-based payment (VBP) models offer a clear path forward by shifting incentives from volume to value, rewarding providers for improving patient outcomes rather than simply delivering more services. Dedicated investments are critical for supporting CHCs in the move to value and even modest investments can yield significant long-term cost reductions over time." The authors also mention: "One approach could be to issue temporary VBP infrastructure payments to CHCs, such as the six-month, temporary add-on payment to the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) proposed by Advocates for Community Health." https://hubs.li/Q03bl9ql0 #VBP #CommunityHealthCenters #CommunityHealth #PrimaryCare

ACH is pleased to present our 2024 Annual Report, which showcases how we worked throughout the year to advocate for community health centers and their patients. In addition to breakdowns of ACH’s progress toward its policy priorities, the report highlights the stories of outstanding advocates and health center leaders on the front lines of our nation’s largest primary care system. We invite you to learn more about our impact and work. https://hubs.li/Q039QY4d0

Rates of behavioral health issues – including mental health challenges and substance use disorder – are skyrocketing, and yet many communities have no treatment resources. To make America healthy again and address these pressing challenges, the federal government must rebuild our country’s health care infrastructure through a historic investment in community health centers. Read our proposal on Substack: https://hubs.li/Q039qPkQ0 #mentalhealth #behavioralhealth #communityhealth #healthcare

As some retail pharmacies have struggled to stay open in Boston, community health centers are stepping up to fill the void. Dozens of pharmacies have closed in Boston and hundreds statewide, complicating an already exacerbated situation. The exodus by traditional pharmacies has created what are known as "pharmacy deserts." Community health centers have a long track-record of stepping in when communities need them most. Read more: https://hubs.li/Q038GHDd0 #pharmacydeserts #communityhealthcenters #healthcare

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 at the Casey Eye Institute of Oregon Health & Science University, assessed 43 studies of performance and outcomes of health centers over a 58-year period. They found 65.3% of patients at these facilities and free clinics have concerns about their eye health compared with 48% of the population overall. "The study comes at a time when community health centers known as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are entering a climate of uncertainty, first with the Trump administration’s freeze on government funding — which reportedly forced some facilities to close or cut staff — and, more recently, with talk of deep cuts to Medicaid, which accounted for 43% of the centers’ revenue in 2023," reports Richard Kirkner of Medscape. "The freeze has been rolled back for now, but the agency that sends grants to FQHCs may lose funding in March if Congress doesn’t renew the spending." The article reports that "Preventing visual impairment and blindness by expanding vision services at FQHCs is not just the right thing to do, it also confers significant economic benefits to the community and the country in the long term by reducing costs associated with medical care and nursing homes and lost wages and productivity." Read the article: https://hubs.li/Q038BpcQ0 #visioncare #primarycare #communityhealthcenters

With less than one month to go until our 4th Annual Member Meeting, we are pleased to announce that U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Finance, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and many other government programs and functions, will give the keynote address on March 27! ACH members should register before February 28 to receive the early-bird rate and save! https://hubs.li/Q038r_Nf0 #healthpolicy #communityhealth #communityhealthcenters #healthcare

This article from The Commonwealth Fund outlines how essential community health centers are to more than 32 million patients annually. Still, as the demand for services grows and financial pressures mount, these vital providers are being asked to do more with less. https://lnkd.in/e8wmFHuv #healthcare #communityhealthcenters #healthpolicy #advocacy