WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, advocated for and passed increased federal funding for Community Health Centers and Teaching Health Centers out of the Energy and Commerce Committee. The legislation now moves to the House floor for a vote.
“Facilities like Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Lowell Community Health Center, and Community Health Connections are pillars in our community that hardworking families depend on to build a better life. They’re part of a network of community health centers in Massachusetts that provides critical care to over one million people each year,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “The increase in funding we passed with bipartisan support in the Energy and Commerce Committee today proves that their herculean efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. We should be building on the efforts of our health centers, and this legislation will help do that. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass this legislation on the House floor and in the Senate so it can be signed into law.”
Footage of Trahan’s remarks during the House Energy and Commerce Committee markup can be accessed by clicking HERE
H.R. 2559, the Supporting Patients, Health Care Workers, Community Health Centers, and Hospitals Act, would extend the Community Health Center Fund for the next two years at $4.2 billion per year, a 5% increase from current levels. It would also extend the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program through 2029, beginning at $175 million in 2024 and increasing to $275 million in 2029.
Trahan has been a vocal advocate for community health centers and teaching health centers, particularly those in the Third District. Greater Lawrence Family Health Center is the first Teaching Health Center of its kind, and Lowell Community Health Center recently received federal grant funding to establish a teaching health center program of its own. Since arriving in Congress, Trahan has worked across the aisle to increase funding for teaching health centers and has continued to secure funding for each health center in the district through the American Rescue Plan and various other grants.
“We are grateful to Congresswoman Trahan for championing the value and impact of community health centers, and the need for funding that we can count on to assure that our community has access to equitable, affordable health care,” said Susan West Levine, CEO of Lowell Community Health Center. “Equally vital is the need to address the critical health care workforce shortage by creating and sustaining a pipeline of providers and other health care workers by supporting teaching health centers.”
Community health centers deliver high-quality, affordable health care to the nation’s most vulnerable communities, serving as a critical source of primary care for over 30 million patients. In Massachusetts, 52 community health centers serve more than one million people each year through their more than 300 access sites.
