U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) recently joined 123 members in the U.S. House of Representatives to request that additional federal funding be included in the next COVID-19 emergency response package for community health centers (CHCs), which serve more than 29 million patients in all 50 states across nearly 12,000 medically underserved rural and urban communities.
“CHCs need urgent financial support to keep their doors open, meet the demands of this public health emergency, and ensure long-term stability to deliver reliable, essential health care to communities across America,” the members wrote in an April 10 letter sent to House leaders.
Currently, CHCs are providing care for the exponentially rising number of patients each day, while experiencing critical supply shortages, unmet workforce needs, and an unprecedented volume of cases, according to Rep. Lucas and his colleagues, who urged their chamber’s leaders to include $7.6 billion in direct emergency funding in the fourth COVID-19 funding relief package.
“This funding should have the flexibility to be used for detection, prevention and diagnosis of COVID-19, stabilizing essential health services, and addressing revenue losses to help CHCs keep their doors open during this crisis,” wrote Rep. Lucas and the other lawmakers, adding that the funds should be made available immediately upon enactment of the next stimulus package.
“Any delay in this funding would have serious consequences, endangering the lives of patients and healthcare workers,” according to their letter.
Additionally, Rep. Lucas and the representatives noted that a decline in regular primary and preventive care visits has resulted in a significant decrease in revenue for CHCs, in turn impacting their operations and employment.
“It is estimated that this decline will last at least six months, during which CHCs will suffer 34 million fewer visits, $7.6 billion in lost revenue, and 100,500 lost jobs,” Rep. Lucas and his colleagues wrote. “For many CHCs, this revenue loss could ultimately result in the need to close their doors.”