By Michaela Keller Health policy watchers on Capitol Hill last week took notice as Congress turned its focus to the country’s system of “CO-OPs,” or “Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans.” For those not familiar with this term, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) created a new program to provide loans to help launch new consumer-governed, nonprofit …

By: Abigail Pinkele Last week, Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, H.R. 1314 by a vote of 266-167 in the House and 64-35 in the Senate. The legislation, which came together somewhat unexpectedly and quickly, is a two-year agreement to lift the debt ceiling until March 5, 2017 and increase domestic spending by …

By: John Sawyer Last week, Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Bob Casey (D-PA) reintroduced legislation that would extend health centers’ current medical malpractice protection under the Federal Tort Claims Act to providers who volunteer their time providing care at the health center. The legislation, S. 2151, is identical to past legislation, the Family Health Care …

By: John Sawyer Last week started with excitement over the visit of a pope, and ended with the resignation of the Speaker of the House. The result? In the short-term, a government shutdown will likely be averted, for two months. In the long term (and in this case anything beyond December 11 counts as long-term) …

Last week, community health center leaders from around the country spoke at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s (CBCF) Annual Legislative Conference (ALC). Set in Washington D.C., the CBCF ALC gathers thousands of people together to discuss public policies impacting African Americans and black communities all over the world. NACHC was pleased to partner with host …

By: Abigail Pinkele With the end of summer and Labor Day behind us, Congress also has to get back to work and Members face a number of impending policy and fiscal deadlines they must tackle before the end of the fiscal year on September 30th. With only 12 working days on the schedule before the …