06.05.20

Durbin Joins Bipartisan Push For Community Health Center Funding To Help American Families

Democrat And Republican Lawmakers Push Congress To Fund Community Health Centers In Next COVID-19 Package

CHICAGO — U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and 38 other bipartisan Senate colleagues in urging Congress to immediately support community health centers that provide Americans with critical health care, including testing and treatment of COVID-19. Underlying public health gaps have resulted in alarming health disparities among communities of color with respect to COVID-19 infections and mortality. Community health centers play a vital role in helping serve minority and underserved communities at all times, but this work has been especially critical during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“We write to express our support for additional emergency funding for community health centers in the next COVID-19 relief package. Community health centers are vital to our response to the coronavirus pandemic and need appropriate funding to continue their front-line health care work,” wrote the Senators. “Community health centers provide affordable care to more than 29 million patients, including 385,000 veterans and 8.7 million children nationwide. These centers play a critical role in responding to the pandemic, offering coronavirus testing, primary care, dental care, behavioral health care, and other services to our nation’s most vulnerable patients.”

In the letter, the Senators asked Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education, to support additional emergency funding for community health centers across the country. Nationwide, more than 2,000 centers have already had to close their doors, and many more remain concerned about how long they will be able to stay open.

Illinois community health centers currently provide primary health care services to approximately 1.4 million Illinois residents – including one out of every four Medicaid patients – at 48 health centers with 350 treatment sites in medically underserved areas. Illinois community health centers employ more than 7,600 individuals, equaling a payroll of more than $508 million. They also inject approximately $800 million in operating expenditures into their communities, resulting in an overall economic impact of $1.48 billion and overall employment of 11,700.

Full text of the letter can be found here and below:

June 5, 2020

Dear Chairman Blunt and Ranking Member Murray:

We write to express our support for additional emergency funding for community health centers in the next COVID-19 relief package. Community health centers are vital to our response to the coronavirus pandemic and need appropriate funding to continue their front-line health care work. 

Community health centers provide affordable care to more than 29 million patients, including 385,000 veterans and 8.7 million children nationwide.  These centers play a critical role in responding to the pandemic, offering coronavirus testing, primary care, dental care, behavioral health care, and other services to our nation’s most vulnerable patients.  This care helps keep individuals out of emergency rooms, where beds are currently in particularly high need.  It also helps manage chronic conditions that may exacerbate the symptoms of COVID-19.

Over the next six months, community health centers will see 34 million fewer appointments as Americans cancel primary and preventive care appointments or delay non-essential care.  Health centers are anticipating $7.6 billion in lost revenue and 105,000 lost jobs.  Over 2,000 centers have already had to close their doors and many more remain concerned about how long they will be able to stay open. 

We appreciate the additional $2 billion in emergency funding provided to community health centers in recent COVID-19 response and relief packages, including $600 million dedicated to testing.  However, despite this funding, health centers are still worried about how to keep their doors open to serve their patients.  These valuable providers will continue to lose more revenue as the pandemic continues.  Additional funding is critical for these centers to continue providing quality, affordable health care and front-line response efforts.  

We look forward to working with you to reach a bipartisan agreement to enact legislation and ensure community health centers can continue to provide high quality and affordable care to those in need.

Sincerely,

-30-