On Feb. 26, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell warned a House panel that unless Congress addresses the issue this year, the health center funding cliff will lead to more than 7 million patients losing access to care and 40,000 jobs lost. This marks the first time that the Administration has publicly quantified the impact of the funding cliff, which would hit this October without congressional action.

Burwell’s testimony before the Subcommittee on Health focused on 2016 HHS Budget Request, which requests funding for, among other programs, Community Health Centers and the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) – two key healthcare programs that ensure people in underserved communities have life-saving primary and preventive care when and where they need it. 

“The Department’s requests for health centers and the National Health Service Corps are vitally important, as the existing mandatory funding streams for these programs end in 2015,” Secretary Burwell warned. “Without renewed funding in 2016 and beyond, we estimate that more than 7 million Americans would lose access to essential, cost-effective primary care services provided through our nation’s health centers and approximately 40,000 jobs would be lost. Further, efforts to ensure provider access in underserved rural and urban areas across the country through the National Health Service Corps will come to a halt.” The Secretary also underscored the important role of health centers play in the U.S. healthcare system, “serving one out of every 15 Americans while reducing the use of costlier care through emergency departments and hospitals.” 

Without action by Congress, the funding cliff will take effect on Oct. 1 of this year, when the existing mandatory funding for the federal Health Centers Program and the National Health Service Corps expires. Health centers face a funding cut of up to 70 percent and would be forced to close sites, reduce staff, and turn away millions of patients with no other place to go for care. Access would be severely curtailed, especially for those living in rural areas where the nearest doctor or hospital might be more than 100 miles away. Bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate, as well as more than 100 national organizations have called for action to address the health center funding cliff but Congress has not yet acted.

It is estimated Community Health Centers save taxpayers about $24 billion annually in reduced emergency room visits, hospital stays and specialty care by providing preventive care. To learn more about how the health center funding cliff will affect patients and communities, please visit this link.

To read or view Burwell’s testimony before the Subcommittee on Health please visit this link.