Contact: Stephanie Harrison, 608-277-7477
For over 50 years, Community Health Centers have provided comprehensive primary medical, dental and behavioral health care for adults and children. We serve over 300,000 patients in the highest need areas of Wisconsin. Most our patients are insured through Medicaid. Since the inception of the Health Center program, Medicaid and Health Centers have worked together to provide cost effective, high-quality and patient centered care.
While Community Health Centers are concerned about our own sustainability, we are deeply concerned about the total health of our communities. In order meet the needs of all patients, Community Health Centers operate within a broad network of safety net providers and community partners. Changes or reductions to any part of that safety net have ripple effects across the entire delivery system, and across the communities we serve.
While we need sustainable funding to support our patients, we also need our partners to be sustainable, and we need our patients and their families to have access to decent, affordable health coverage. Per the Congressional Budget Office, the Better Care Reconciliation Act results in a loss of coverage for 22 million people; many of whom are currently covered by Medicaid.
It is in this spirit of partnership that we have concluded we cannot support the Better Care Reconciliation Act and ask both Senator Johnson and Senator Baldwin to oppose this bill.
“This bill harms our communities and reverses years of progress connecting Wisconsinites to coverage and high quality health care. Our uninsured rate is at an all-time low. We should focus on solutions to keep it that way,” said Stephanie Harrison, CEO of the Association.
Community Health Centers provide primary medical, oral, and behavioral health services throughout the State of Wisconsin. With over 100 service delivery sites, Health Centers provided comprehensive care to 307,549 individuals in 2015. For more information on Wisconsin Health Centers, please visit www.wphca.org.
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