Over the past six months, we’ve heard from you about thirteen Members of Congress visiting health centers in about ten different states! BIG thank you to those who’ve shared their stories. As mentioned in previous posts, inviting a Member of Congress for an in-person visit is a vital advocacy tool and a great way to …
Author: Alyssa Shinto
Congress Adjourns for the Summer – So Where Do We Stand?
By: NACHC Federal Affairs Team With Members of Congress scheduled to attend the party conventions this week and next, and then to head back to their districts for the August recess, Congress will be out of Washington for the next seven weeks. With National Health Center Week looming, the recess is a great opportunity to …
Zika Funding: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
By: Michaela Keller In the early morning hours on Thursday, amidst a Democrat led sit-in to protest the House Republicans resistance to vote on gun safety measures, a conference report bill to address the Zika virus was introduced in the House, voted on favorably and sent to the Senate. The report came after negotiations within …
Zika Funding Negotiations Set to Begin
By: Michaela Keller This past week, the Senate named its conferees on the Zika spending package to join the already-named House conferees, signaling a formal start to negotiations on the differing measures put forth by the House and Senate to combat the Zika virus. Chief among those differences is the funding level that both chambers …
Congress Comes Home Part II- To Iowa, California, Minnesota, and Washington
Since our last “Congress Comes Home” blog, we have had more and more health centers share stories of their recent Member visit(s). HUGE thank yous to those who’ve already shared their stories! Inviting a Member of Congress for an in-person visit is a great advocacy tool and a great way to strengthen a relationship that could …
Senate Moving Forward With Zika Package
By: Michaela Keller Last week, the Senate announced a bipartisan agreement to provide $1.1 billion in emergency funding to combat the Zika virus. This agreement, brokered by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Patty Murray (D-WA), will be one of three Zika funding amendments offered during debate on an unrelated appropriations bill, scheduled to begin on …
Congress Comes Home – to Michigan, Texas, Indiana, and Massachusetts
Throughout the past month, NACHC’s Washington Update has featured a new item called “Congress Comes Home: Health Center Visits with Members of Congress” asking health centers to highlight recent visits by Members of Congress. Below we highlight a few recent visits. Inviting a Member of Congress for an in-person visit is a great advocacy tool …
Taking on the Opioid Epidemic
By: Jennifer Taylor In our last behavioral health blog post back in November, we filled you in on a few key mental health bills under consideration by Congress, namely H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (Rep. Tim Murphy, R-PA) and S. 1945, the Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 (Sen. Chris Murphy, D-CT and …
Congressional Action on the Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Uncertain as the Appropriations Process Moves Forward
By: Abigail Pinkele This week, it has become increasingly unclear if Congress will work to pass a Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 budget before moving on to consider their 12 appropriations bills including the Labor, Health, Human Services (LHHS) bill that includes annual funding for health centers. The lack of agreement on how to proceed with …
Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation Introduced To Expand Telehealth in Medicare
By: Michaela Keller Last week, the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act, which expands the use of telehealth and remote patient monitoring services in Medicare, was introduced in both the House (H.R. 4442) and Senate (S. 2484). Led by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), the bill includes eight additional …