Community health centers still waiting on federal funding; some cutting back services - Entrepreneur Generations

Though Congress finally funded the Children's Health Insurance Program yesterday when they passed the spending bill to reopen the government, the nation's community health centers are still left waiting. "Funding for the nation’s community health centers, which serve one out of every dozen Americans, also technically expired Sept. 30," Paige Cunningham reports for The Washington Post. "These centers, which provide a range of services to the low-income population, would lose $3.6 billion this year without renewal by Congress."

CHIP funding has run out before, though never as long as 114 days, but community health centers have never faced such an issue. Republicans had in fact proposed diverting Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood clinics to community health centers in health care bills last summer.

Cunningham says it's rumored on Capitol Hill that Congress will include funding for community health centers in the next spending bill it needs to pass, on Feb. 8. Meanwhile, community health centers are getting nervous. Some have had to reduce services, including opioid treatment and prenatal care, because of the uncertainty.

"While we have supported and are very pleased that CHIP relief is included, the failure to do the same for health centers leaves them increasingly anxious that many more will face a loss of clinical health professionals, who are seeking other more stable work options, and some are facing closure of their clinic facilities because they cannot sign longer-term lease agreements," National Association of Community Health Centers Senior Vice President Dan Hawkins said. "This will only get worse if relief is not forthcoming very soon."



from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2DCK9Eo Community health centers still waiting on federal funding; some cutting back services - Entrepreneur Generations

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