Dive Brief:
- Under the Affordable Care Act, more than 1,200 community health centers have been receiving funding—$3.5 billion this year alone—to support the organizations during healthcare reform. The funding, which represents 70% of the money provided by the federal government to these providers, is slated to end at the end of the fiscal year.
- Congress can, however, take action by extending the appropriation and last month, 250 House members and 66 Senate members signed letters calling for an extension. No dollar amount was specified in the letters.
- The National Association of Community Health Centers is lobbying for Congress to extend the funding during a lame-duck session after the upcoming November elections. Advocates are urging Congress to prolong the appropriations to help community health centers, particularly ones in states that did not expand Medicaid. Since 2010, community health centers have lost nearly $700 million in annual appropriations.
Dive Insight:
Community health centers are expected to play a large role in the success of the ACA. In states where Medicaid was not expanded, they will continue to be the predominant primary care option for low-income patients. But even in states where Medicaid has been expanded, health centers have faced other challenges.
Center administrators have reported continued uncompensated care due to low-income patients with health plans through the state exchanges. About 20% of people on the exchanges purchased bronze-tier plans, which have high deductibles and low premiums. This allows people who did not qualify for subsidies to afford plans. The problem comes when these patients go to community health centers for care, but can't afford to pay out-of-pocket for the services. Because the deductibles are so high, insurers don't pay either, and the fees are written off as uncompensated care. Continuing funding for the centers may be a political landmine, especially for Republicans, but it may be crucial to keeping these integral providers afloat.