Federal Update
Below is a selection of recent health policy and regulatory news and information relevant to health centers and PCAs. For regular updates, subscribe to Capital Link’s blog, or access NACHC’s blogs and the HRSA’s health center webpage.
HRSA Announces the Availability of $50 Million in New Access Points (NAP)
The purpose of the Health Center Program NAP funding opportunity is to provide operational support for new service delivery sites under the Health Center Program. Organizations can apply for up to $650,000 per year. Applications are due via Grants.gov by Tuesday, March 12, at 11:59 pm ET, and to HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks by Thursday, April 11, at 5:00 pm ET. HRSA expects to make approximately 75 awards this September. For more information, please visit the NAP technical assistance webpage.
Senate HELP Committee Hearing & Bills Address Health Center Funding
In January, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced legislation to extend health center funding, as well as several other health-related programs. The bill provides five years of level funding for the Community Health Centers Fund, National Health Service Corps, Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education program, the Special Diabetes Program at the National Institutes of Health, and the Special Diabetes Program for Indians. Click here to read Senator Alexander’s press release upon introduction of the bill, and visit the HC Advocacy blog to read more about recent efforts to support health center funding. On a related note, on January 29th, the Committee held a hearing entitled “Access to Care: Health Centers and Providers in Underserved Communities”. The hearing included four health center witnesses who spoke to the importance of extended funding for health centers, the National Health Service Corps, and the Teaching Health Center program. Watch the recording here. Also in January, bipartisan legislation – the Community Health Improvement, Modernization, and Excellence (CHIME) Act – was introduced by Senators Roy Blunt (R – MO) and Debbie Stabenow (D – MI). CHIME would provide long-term funding for health centers, extending the Community Health Centers Fund (CHCF) for an additional five years and increasing funding steadily over time to $5.0 billion in 2024. Read more here.
School-Based Health Center Capital Program Awards
On February 1, HRSA announced $11 million in awards to 120 school-based health centers across the US as part of the fiscal year 2019 School-Based Health Center Capital (SBHCC) Program. View the complete list of award recipients. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to increase access to mental health, substance abuse, and childhood obesity-related services in operational school-based health centers by funding minor alteration/renovation (A/R) projects and/or the purchase of moveable equipment. Award recipients may visit the SBHCC Program TA page for more information. Learn more here.