Full Reauthorization Still Hangs in Balance
Largely consumed with efforts to pass its tax overhaul prior to the Christmas Holiday, Congress failed to end its stalemate over reauthorization for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Community Health Center (CHC) funding before the end of 2017.
Congress returns from holiday recess this week with the 2018 budget negotiations at the top of its list of legislative priorities, after managing to pass a short-term Continuing Resolution just before Christmas that keeps the government running through January 19. The resolution includes short-term funding for CHIP, CHCs and other healthcare programs, but funding ends in March for CHIP and sooner for other programs.
Tom Van Coverden, President & CEO of the National Community Health Center Association (NACHC) issued a statement on December 22, updating the association’s members on CHC funding while pledging to renew advocacy efforts in the New Year.
“We know how frustrating this continued piecemeal approach is to you and to those you serve,” Van Coverdon said. At the same time, Van Coverden expressed some optimism that members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have “expressed publicly both their disappointment with this outcome, and their commitment to finishing the job of a long-term fix early in the New Year.”
Van Coverden urges NACHC members to stay engaged in “our collective fight to for health equity, access and justice”.