“Like in Spokane, Washington-where new opioid-addiction treatment services, initiated to combat the opioid epidemic, were jeopardized by the funding freeze.
“Or on the Olympic Peninsula-where plans to expand behavioral health services were also put on hold.
“Or in Whatcom County-where they considered canceling construction plans for new medical, dental, and behavioral health care facilities.
“This time last year, community health centers were left wondering how to pay their current staff and attract new professionals.
“Like in Ferry County-a rural area with fewer than four people per square mile-where the funding uncertainty left a center unable to sign annual contracts for needed medical staff and managers.
“This time last year, some community health centers had to figure out ways to cover basic but crucial, annual reoccurring expenses, like renewing the leases for their buildings.
“In Yakima, Washington, clinics in some of our most vulnerable communities were at risk of closing.
“And it wasn’t just Washington, centers across the country faced these challenges.
“Elsewhere, a teaching health center closed, meaning the residents there-health care providers who were willing to forgo the draws of an academic hospital, roll up their sleeves, and serve patients and families in communities with severe health professional shortages-faced the harrowing prospect of having to scramble to find a new residency program, and possibly redo a whole year of their residency.
“Fortunately, one of our witnesses today, Dr. Waits, stepped in and helped many of them to avoid that catastrophe. I hope we are able to hear a bit more about that in his testimony.
“In the end, Congress was able to come together in a bipartisan way to fund community health centers and other critical primary care programs. But if funding runs out again this year, we’ll be right back where we were a year ago.
“It’s clear to members on both sides of the aisle we need to do more to provide stability for our communities and the health centers they depend on. So I’m glad Chairman Alexander and I were able to introduce legislation to do just that.
“While it’s not the bill either one of us would have written on our own, it lays down a clear, bipartisan marker for providing these programs with long-term funding. Our bipartisan bill will provide five years of stable funding for our community health centers, and give them the certainty they need to bring on skilled staff, offer new services, and make sure patients and families across the country are able to find the care they need close to home.
“It will also extend funding for teaching health centers and the National Health Service Corps-which encourage medical students and doctors to work in underserved communities-and will fund at least one entire cycle of a family medicine residency.
“Funding these programs for the next five years will give health centers greater confidence they can recruit the professionals they need, and medical students, residents, and others greater confidence in their decision to work in an underserved community.
“And our bill also extends funding for important programs to help support research and services to manage diabetes, including in Indian health facilities."
“I remember all too well the challenges our community health centers were facing a year ago-and I know my colleagues do as well. So I’m hopeful we can come together in a bipartisan way to quickly extend funding for these programs to make sure a year from now-and even five years from now-this kind of crisis doesn’t happen again.
“Thank you."
