Recognizing the value, benefits, and importance of community health centers as health care homes for millions of people in the United States.

Recognizes that: (1) the current payment mechanisms for Federally-Qualified Health Centers in Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP), and Medicare are essential to assuring access to quality, affordable, primary, and preventive care servies; and (2) any expansion of private insurance must include mechanisms to ensure the full participation of, and appropriate reimbursement to, such Centers to ensure adequate access to care for the medically underserved and disenfranchised.

Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) everyone should have the choice of a community health center as their health care home and every center should be appropriately reimbursed for the care it provides; and (2) health care reform should include measures to expand community health centers.

[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 144 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 144

  Recognizing the value, benefits, and importance of community health 
   centers as health care homes for millions of people in the United 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 4, 2009

   Mr. Capuano (for himself and Ms. Granger) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
                              and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing the value, benefits, and importance of community health 
   centers as health care homes for millions of people in the United 
                                States.

Whereas community health centers currently form the backbone of the health care 
        safety net of the United States, caring for more than 1 of every 5 low 
        income uninsured people in the United States and providing almost 1 of 
        every 5 Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program office 
        visits;
Whereas more than 60,000,000 individuals in the United States are medically 
        disenfranchised, lacking access to primary care services regardless of 
        insurance coverage;
Whereas health centers effectively remove barriers to care by providing cost-
        effective, high quality, comprehensive preventive and primary health 
        care, and effective care management for individuals with chronic 
        conditions;
Whereas, as a result, health centers have compiled a well-documented record of 
        reducing health disparities and improving patient health outcomes, 
        lowering the overall cost of care for their patients by 41 percent as 
        compared to overall costs for those who receive care elsewhere, 
        generating $18,000,000,000 in savings each year for the health care 
        system;
Whereas an expansion of the highly effective health centers program to provide a 
        health care home for all 60,000,000 medically disenfranchised people in 
        the United States would increase the overall savings they generate for 
        the health care system to more than $80,000,000,000 each year;
Whereas Congress has recognized the value of the care that health centers 
        provide to those enrolled in Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children's 
        Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by making their services a guaranteed 
        benefit and by establishing a mechanism to appropriately reimburse them 
        for the quality care they provide;
Whereas private insurance often does not appropriately reimburse health centers 
        for the full spectrum of care they provide, forcing health centers to 
        divert other funds intended to support care for those in need to instead 
        subsidize under-payments for their privately insured patients; and
Whereas millions of people in the United States are in need of a health care 
        home like that provided by health centers, and health centers are a 
        proven model of health care delivery that assures high-quality, cost-
        effective health care in every State of the Union: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) Congress--
                    (A) recognizes that the current payment mechanisms 
                for Federally-Qualified Health Centers in Medicaid, the 
                Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and 
                Medicare are essential to assuring access to quality, 
                affordable, primary and preventive care services for 
                their beneficiaries; and
                    (B) recognizes that any expansion of private 
                insurance must include mechanisms to ensure the full 
                participation of, and appropriate reimbursement to, 
                Federally-Qualified Health Centers in order to ensure 
                adequate access to care for those who are medically 
                underserved and disenfranchised; and
            (2) it is the sense of Congress that--
                    (A) everyone should have the choice of a community 
                health center as their health care home and every 
                health center should be appropriately reimbursed for 
                the high value preventive and primary health care it 
                provides; and
                    (B) health care reform should include measures to 
                expand community health centers in order to reach more 
                of those who need a health care home.
                                 <all>