After several months of short-term funding extensions, Congress passed both forms of community health center funding, providing health centers with an infusion for the remainder of the year.
Community health centers receive federal funding through the Community Health Center Fund and through the annual appropriations process. The Community Health Center Fund, which is multi-year base funding for health centers, accounts for about 70% of federal funding and was last reauthorized more than three years ago. He15alth centers also receive about 30% of their federal funding through the annual appropriations process. September 30, 2023, marked the end of the fiscal year, the date on which both forms of health center funding were set to expire. Congress passed multiple short-term continuing resolutions to fund the government and health centers for a few months at a time, until March 2024, when Congress passed spending packages that included both forms of federal funding for health centers.
Congress Passes Mandatory Funding for Community Health Centers
Six months after the fiscal year began on October 1, 2023, and after multiple short-term continuing resolutions, Congress passed two packages to fund the government and avert a government shutdown. Each package contained a portion of community health center funding, providing a much-needed investment in these critical health care providers.
On March 6, the House passed a package that included six of the 12 funding bills needed to fund the government in a 339-85 vote, while the Senate passed the bill in a 75-22 vote a few days later, on March 8. From the Tennessee’s Congressional Delegation, Representatives Fleischmann (R-3), Kustoff (R-8), and Cohen (D-9) voted in favor of the spending package, which includes the following breakdown of new health center funding:
- Community Health Center Fund: $3.59 billion
- National Health Service Corps: $297.0 million
- Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education Program: $164.1 million
With the funding that was already included in the continuing resolutions and this additional funding, the annualized breakdown is as follows, which represents an increase over last year’s funding levels:
- Community Health Center Fund: $4.4 billion
- National Health Service Corps: $345 million
- Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education Program: $175 million
Congress Passes Discretionary Funding for Community Health Centers
A few weeks later, Congress passed a second funding package, which included the remaining appropriations bills and an extension of discretionary funding for community health centers at $1.86 billion, the same amount as last year. The House passed the bill 286-134 while the Senate passed the bill 74-24. From Tennessee, Representatives Fleischmann (R-3), Kustoff (R-8) and Cohen (D-9) voted in favor of the bill.
Thank you to all the health center advocates who responded to action alerts and met with your members of Congress! We will continue to advocate with Congress for a multi-year extension of health center funding to provide the stability health centers need to thrive.
#Feature