NACHC

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(No Transcript)
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NACHCs Policy Update
Presentation to
Florida Association of Community Health Centers
Craig A. Kennedy, MPH National Association of
Community Health Centers July, 2009
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Americas Voice for Community Health Care
The NACHC Mission To promote the provision of
high quality, comprehensive and affordable health
care that is coordinated, culturally and
linguistically competent, and community directed
for all medically underserved people.
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Community Health Centers Today

• Proud History 44 years of bringing good health
  to underserved communities, giving people served
  ownership control of delivery system
• Largest national network 18 million people
  served, 40 uninsured, 37 Medicaid/SCHIP, 63
  people of color, 92 low-income individuals
• Record of Achievement cited by IOM, OMB, and
  GAO for excellence in care, disparities
  reduction, cost-effectiveness, and community
  benefit
• Bipartisan support Congressional majority and
  key Presidential candidates praise work, mission
  of health centers, call for continuation growth

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Health Centers Turning Coverageinto Better
Health Care Access
SAFETY NET
PRIMARY CARE

• Critical Value
• First contact
• Care management/
• coordination
• Continuity of care
• Reduced ER use,
• hospital admissions,
• specialty referrals

• Critical Value
• Location in
• underserved areas
• Open to all, even if
• uninsured/ineligible
• Focus on neediest
• Services related
• to unmet needs

Health Centers Family doctors and health
care homes for Americas poor, minority,
uninsured and disenfranchised
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Why Health Centers?

• Costs
• Total patient care costs 41 lower than those
  served in other settings
• Save up to 18 billion annually for taxpayers
  and society
• Access
• Serve 18 million (and growing) people who live
  in communities not served by others
• Open to all regardless of ability to pay
• Quality
• Quality is equal or superior to other
  providers
• Source Access Granter The Primary Care
  Payoff, NACHC 2007. Data and Analysis by the
  Robert Graham Center
• See Measuring Health Centers against Standard
  Indicators of High Quality Performance Early
  Results from a Multi-Site Demonstration Project,
  Shin, P., et al., The George Washington
  University, August, 2006.

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What is NACHCs Vision for the Future?

• Grow health centers to become the health care
  home for 60 million medically disenfranchised
  Americans by 2022
• Reform health professions training programs to
  promote Primary Care careers, diversity, and
  service in underserved areas via health centers
• Preserve and expand the Medicaid guarantee of
  coverage for low-income, elderly disabled
  Americans

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What is NACHCs Vision (contd)?

• Wire every health center for complete health
  information technology (HIT)
• State of the art facilities that afford easy
  access to care
• Play a central role in emergency preparedness, at
  the local national levels

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What is NACHCs Plan to Achieve that Vision?

• Access For All America
• Expanding the Reach of Community Health Centers
  to Provide Care To Those Without a Health Care
  Home

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Recent Successes

• Health Centers Reauthorization support for
  continued growth through 2012 with core features
  intact
• SCHIP Reauthorization Congress overwhelmingly
  approved, to cover 11M kids, with health center
  PPS, ICHIA for immigrants, interstate models for
  FWs
• Economic Recovery Act provides 2 billion for
  CHCs PLUS 500M for workforce (300M for NHSC),
  state Medicaid relief, Medicaid payments to FQHCs
  for EHR
• Appropriations Congress provided 125M for
  FY2009 but increase needed for FY2010 is 412M
• Medicare cap 100M Patch included in Medicare
  bill, SFC Chair Baucus wants permanent fix in his
  Call to Action on health reform

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Our Principles for National Health Reform

• Health reform should strive to achieve universal
  coverage that is available and affordable to
  everyone, and especially to low-income
  individuals
• Health Centers must be included as full
  participants and paid appropriately for the care
  they deliver
• Health Centers should be expanded to respond to
  the growing need for services in a reformed
  system
• Health Centers should have the financing tools
  available for facility expansions to accommodate
  the needed growth

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What Steps are Needed to Achieve the Plan?

• Expand Medicaid to cover those in need
• Increase health centers funding
• Senate increases authorization
• House increases funding from mandatory pool
• Revise the Medicare FQHC payment cap
• Include Capital Financing Provisions for Health
  Centers
• Reform health professions training programs, to
  produce clinicians for underserved communities,
  especially for health centers

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FY10 Appropriations

• Request of 412 million, consistent with 2008
  Reauthorization
• House Subcommittee proposal included a freeze for
  FY10
• Senate to act later this month

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How Can CHCs Hope to Influence Reform?

• Focus never lose sight of founding mission
  purpose
• Commitment ensure that patients get the best
  possible care, even as we improve the
  care-delivery process and measure outcomes
• Advocacy get involved, speak out for those in
  need who dont have voice today

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What Can YOU Do to Help?

• Sign up as a Health Center Advocate (go to
  www.nachc.com for details)
• Receive regular updates from NACHC and be
  notified when action is needed
• Get 5 colleagues/friends to do the same
• Invite your Members of Congress and State
  legislators to visit your health center
• Tell them that health centers are part of the
  solution, and ask them to support our efforts to
  do even more!
• Join NACHC and Your State Regional PCAs

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Thank You!

• Any
• Questions?