Contact: Stephanie Harrison
608-277-7477
Community Health Centers in Wisconsin and around the country have organized four Congressional call-in days to hold Members of Congress to their commitment to provide long-term funding for Community Health Centers and the Children’s Health Insurance Program as part of the December 22 Continuing Resolution. Funding for both programs expired on September 30, 2017.
“Community Health Centers have been waiting more than two months for Congress to provide long-term funding,” said Stephanie Harrison, CEO of the Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association. “Health Centers and CHIP both have strong bi-partisan support – but support without Congressional action is not going to keep our doors open. We need both parties to work together and figure out how to fund these two critical programs which provide health care to over 300,000 Wisconsinites.”
Wisconsin Community Health Centers provided care to 308,763 people last year, approximately 100,000 of whom were children. The majority of those children – 83% – receive BadgerCare coverage.
A recent issue brief released by George Washington University describes the state-by-state impact if Congress does not restore funding for Community Health Centers. A minimum of 1,000 Wisconsin jobs would be lost, including at least 326 health care jobs that are currently providing care in underserved communities.
“It is long past time for Congressional leadership to come together to take care of our children and families. Whether now or later, funding for these programs will require bi-partisan support in order to pass, and we cannot wait for later. Congress needs to get this done now,” said Harrison.
For more information on Wisconsin Health Centers, please visit www.wphca.org.
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