Long Term Funding Legislation
To date, several bills have been introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives to extend the Community Health Center Fund (CHCF) for five years alongside funding for critical workforce programs. Below is a breakdown of each of these efforts and follow the link here for a chart outlining the differences between each bill.
Take action to ask your Members of Congress to co-sponsor one of the current bills. If your Member of Congress has already supported one or both bills to address health center funding, you will be prompted to send them a thank-you message!
S. 106/ H.R. 2328, Community Health Investment, Modernization, and Excellence (CHIME) Act of 2019
- Introduced by Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in the Senate and Reps. Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) in the House.
- Extends the Community Health Center Fund (CHCF) for five years, starting at $4.2 billion with $200 million increases each year.
- Extends the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) for five years, starting at $325 million with $15 million increases each year.
- For a list of current co-sponsors in the Senate click here, House co-sponsors click here.
S. 192, Community and Public Health Programs Extension Act
- Introduced by Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R – TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D – WA)
- Extends the Community Health Center Fund (CHCF) for five years at level funding of $4 billion each year.
- Extends the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) for five years at level funding of $310 million.
- Extends the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program for five years at level funding of $126.5 million.
- Extends the Special Diabetes Program for Indians and the Special Diabetes Program at NIH for five years.
- For a list of current co-sponsors in the Senate click here.
S. 962/ H.R. 1943, Community Health Center and Primary Care Workforce Expansion Act of 2019
- Introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the Senate and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) in the House.
- Extends the Community Health Center Fund (CHCF) for five years, including 10% annual growth ($5.6 billion in FY20 to $8.2 billion in FY24).
- Includes an additional $4.6 billion for health center capital funding.
- Extends the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) for five years, starting at $850 million in FY20 to $1.24 billion in FY24.
- For a list of current co-sponsors in the Senate click here, House co-sponsors click here.
Congressional Health Centers Caucus
The Congressional Health Centers Caucus in both the House and Senate was established as a venue for Members of Congress to identify themselves as health center supporters, educate their colleagues on the importance of health centers, share information on health center priorities, and champion the Health Center Program.
Joining the Caucus is a great way for Members of Congress to stay apprised of any legislative efforts that could impact the health centers in their district. For health center advocates, increasing the number of Community Health Center Caucus members is a key way to demonstrate broad bipartisan support for health centers. The caucuses are always seeking new members.
Take action to ask your Members of Congress to join the Health Centers Caucus. If your MOC is already on the caucus, you will be prompted to send them a thank-you message!
Ways We Have Recently Raised Our Voices
Fix The Cliff: Tell Your Member of Congress to Support Sun River Health
I strongly encourage you to get involved in one of our most important priorities— the Health Center Funding Cliff— because your voice matters.
As many of you know, health centers rely upon Congress to provide vital federal resources to support our operations. At the end of September, a portion of federal health center funds expire unless Congress acts, a deadline also known as the Health Center Funding Cliff. Congress has given little indication so far of its plans to pass a long-term extension of this funding by the September 30th deadline.
Across the country, this significant funding sustains not only community health center operations, but also the National Health Service Corps, which supports clinicians working in underserved communities, and the Teaching Health Center Program to educate our workforce, among other critical programs.
If this loss of funds were to take place, it would limit the innovations and expansions we are able to pursue, and would compromise services to the 26 million patients served by community health centers across the nation.
Our ask to Congress is simple: act immediately to fix the health center funding cliff and preserve funding at current levels.
Here’s how you can help:
- Send Your Member of Congress a message urging immediate action to fix the Health Center Funding Cliff
- Follow Sun River Health on Facebook and Twitter to see updates
- Share Sun River Health social media posts related to the federal funding cliff (using hashtags #FixTheCliff and #ValueCHCs)
Your advocacy will make a difference. We know firsthand that your calls, emails, and outreach to members of Congress helped slow the Affordable Care Act repeal and replace effort.
By co-signing these letters your Members of Congress publicly show their support for continued funding for the Health Centers Program. The more signatures on these letters, the stronger the message of public support for the Program. More important, a strong showing of support on the letters helps make the case for Program funding in the coming year.
This is where you come in.
