A group of bipartisan senators is calling for Congress to reauthorize funding for community health centers for several years as part of a short-term spending bill expected to pass this week.
Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., along with the backing of 57 other members, sent a letter to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Monday asking for reauthorization of the program.
“As chairman of the subcommittee that funds the Department of Health and Human Services, I have consistently prioritized funding for community health centers," Blunt said in a statement. "However, the funding cliff facing these centers far exceeds what we are able to address through the appropriations process. We need to move forward with reauthorization, and I urge my colleagues on the Senate HELP committee to do so.”
Community health centers have been in flux as they await a long-term spending deal and members of Congress continue to struggle to arrive at a consensus on immigration. The grants by which they are funded, called the Community Health Centers Fund, expired in September.
Most of the patients who arrive at these facilities are low-income, and because of the lack of certainty about funding, many facilities have had to implement hiring freezes or lay off staff.
Two-year funding for community health centers is expected to be included in the House's spending bill. A short-term spending bill must pass both chambers by Feb. 8 in order to avoid a partial government shutdown. The latest deal being considered would keep the government open for six weeks, setting a new deadline of March 23.
Senators wrote in their letter that if they fail to reauthorize the Community Health Centers Fund it would “result in an estimated 2,800 site closures, the loss of 50,000 jobs, and result in 9 million Americans losing their access to care.”
Congress passed a short-term bill in December that included $550 million in funding, but it will expire at the end of March.
