Concord, NH - Today, Representatives Annie Kuster (NH) and Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) led a bipartisan letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, urging them to prioritize the long-term reauthorization and additional infrastructure funding for community health centers (CHCs) in any forthcoming COVID-19 response legislation. While the recent Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act extended funding for CHCs, these health centers operate on thin financial margins that have already been stretched due to coronavirus response efforts. In the letter, the Members discuss the critical role of CHCs in protecting vulnerable populations and urge congressional leadership to consider legislation that would reauthorize CHCs for five years. 

“The pandemic has had a dramatic economic impact on our health centers, many of which have been forced to implement safeguarding measures to ensure the financial stability of their organization for the long-term,” wrote the Members. “This includes some having made difficult personnel decisions, including a temporary reduction in staffing during this global health crisis. Given the health center’s vital role in protecting vulnerable populations, both in rural and urban areas, more needs to be done to ensure their long-term financial viability. Ensuring long-term, robust health center funding is essential to health centers’ ability to recruit and hire providers, expand capacity and plan for dramatic increases in demand for services, particularly as this crisis evolves. We urge you to consider legislation reauthorizing CHCs for five years to provide long-term, sustainable funding.”

“It is also critical that future legislation takes into account the urgent infrastructure needs of CHCs,” the Members continued. “We have been encouraged by the House adoption of $10 billion in program and capital improvement funds for CHCs as part of H.R. 3, the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. Now more than ever, infrastructure funding is essential to both support ongoing projects to address unmet primary care needs that have been suspended due to COVID-19, as well as support the implementation of various new infrastructure needs to provide ongoing and necessary care during the pandemic. This includes rapidly adopted and expanded remote telemedicine and video medicine care for patients to access the care they need while mitigating the spread of the Coronavirus.”

“On behalf of the patients served by Health Centers in New Hampshire and across the country, we are exceedingly grateful Representative Ann Kuster (D-NH-2) initiated a bipartisan Congressional letter to her House colleagues with an imperative request for additional robust and long term funding to support communities in need,” said Tess Stack Kuenning, President and CEO of Bi-State Primary Care Association. “Our urban and rural New Hampshire Health Centers’ serve communities statewide with medical, behavioral, mental health, and dental services. During this unprecedented pandemic, the Health Centers are open to meet urgent and ongoing health needs. We greatly appreciate the hard work of Congresswoman Kuster for her efforts to bring vital resources to our state for the purpose of quality patient care.”

In addition to Reps. Kuster and Bilirakis, the letter was signed by Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick, Anna Eshoo, Bobby Rush, Jahana Hayes, Anthony G. Brown, Joe Neguse, Adriano Espaillat, Donald M. Payne, Jr., Chellie Pingree, Denny Heck, Tom O’Halleran, Nanette Diaz Barragán, John P. Sarbanes, Tony Cárdenas, Sheila Jackson Lee, Joseph P. Kennedy, III, Adam B. Schiff, G.K. Butterfield, Jerrold Nadler, Doris Matsui, Mike Doyle, Alan Lowenthal, Kathy Castor, Peter Welch, David E. Price, Eddie Bernice Johnson, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Betty McCollum, Albio Sires, Jimmy Panetta, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Chris Pappas, Darren Soto, Vicente Gonzalez, Peter A. DeFazio, Ted W. Lieu, Tulsi Gabbard, Emanuel Cleaver, II, Juan Vargas, Jared Huffman, Rob Woodall, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. 

The full text of the letter is available here and below:

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi                                       The Honorable Mitch McConnell

Speaker of the House                                                   Majority Leader

U.S. House of Representatives                                   U.S. Senate

H-232, U.S. Capitol                                                        S-230, U.S. Capitol

Washington, DC 20515                                                Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell                               The Honorable Charles Schumer

Majority Leader                                                             Minority Leader

U.S. Senate                                                                     U.S. Senate

S-230, U.S. Capitol                                                        322 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510                                                Washington, DC 20510

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Leader McConnell, and Leader Schumer: 

Thank you for your tireless efforts to ensure our nation’s health care providers have the resources they need to effectively prepare for and respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As both chambers continue to work on a fourth package to address this public health crisis, we write to urge you to prioritize both long-term reauthorization and additional infrastructure funding for community health centers (CHCs)in any forthcoming legislation.

The recent Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act extended funding for CHCs, the National Health Service Corps, and teaching health centers that operate GME programs (THCGME) at current funding levels through November 30, 2020 and included $1.3 billion in supplemental funding for health centers for Fiscal Year 2020. However, CHCs operate on extremely thin margins that have already been stretched due to Coronavirus response efforts, resulting in a major reduction in patient visits and loss of revenue. As such, the pandemic has had a dramatic economic impact on our health centers, many of which have been forced to implement safeguarding measures to ensure the financial stability of their organization for the long-term. This includes some having made difficult personnel decisions, including a temporary reduction in staffing during this global health crisis.

Given the health center’s vital role in protecting vulnerable populations, both in rural and urban areas, more needs to be done to ensure their long-term financial viability. Ensuring long-term, robust health center funding is essential to health centers’ ability to recruit and hire providers, expand capacity and plan for dramatic increases in demand for services, particularly as this crisis evolves. We urge you to consider legislation reauthorizing CHCs for five years to provide long-term, sustainable funding.

It is also critical that future legislation takes into account the urgent infrastructure needs of CHCs. We have been encouraged by the House adoption of $10 billion in program and capital improvement funds for CHCs as part of H.R. 3, the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. Now more than ever, infrastructure funding is essential to both support ongoing projects to address unmet primary care needs that have been suspended due to COVID-19, as well as support the implementation of various new infrastructure needs to provide ongoing and necessary care during the pandemic. This includes rapidly adopted and expanded remote telemedicine and video medicine care for patients to access the care they need while mitigating the spread of the coronavirus.

We look forward to continuing to work towards our shared commitment to protecting and expanding health care for American families, ensuring the long-term stability needed for CHCs to deal with this crisis, and supporting CHCs to meet current patient care needs as well as address any future surges in patient need related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.   

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