Dr. Wilhelmina Lewis traveled to the nation’s capital to meet with members of Congress to fight for the continued viability of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Delegates from national and state levels, representing FQHC CEOs met in Washington, DC, with elected officials to inform them of the challenges and achievements of community health centers, such as FCHC.
While in DC, Dr. Lewis participated in meetings with Senator Ashley Moody, staff for Congressman Carlos Gimenez, legislative aides for Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Congressman Darren Soto, Congressman Dr. Neal Dunn, staff for Congressman Brian Mast, and staff for Congressman Scott Franklin. The main requests from FQHC representatives included:
- Increased Health Center funding – FQHC urged Congress to support a long-term reauthorization of Community Health Center (CHC) Funding at $5.8 billion per year for a minimum of three years.
- ACA Marketplace Tax Credits – These enable individuals and families who are not eligible for Medicaid to get affordable insurance and access to affordable healthcare. If the tax credits expire at the end of 2025, that would result in more than 4 million additional uninsured Floridians and increased financial strains on CHCs.
- 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program – If approved, the rebate pilot will require centers to front their pharmaceutical costs, creating significant cash flow issues and posing substantial compliance risks for CHCs when billing Medicaid fee-for-service. We are requesting that CHCs be exempt from the rebate pilot, or that safeguards be implemented to protect CHCs, including manufacturers covering all costs incurred by CHCs during the rebate pilot, and a requirement for manufacturers to advance CHCs’ rebates for at least two full package sizes for each drug sold in multi-packages, among others.
“We were elated to have FQHCs included in the planned Continuing Resolution (CR), which would have lasted through November 21st . Due to CR’s failure, a government shutdown is now expected on October 1st. “ Said Dr. Lewis
Services at FQHCs have now been deemed by the administration to be federal benefits that can only be utilized by those with legal status. Several states have sued the administration over restricting services to various immigration statuses and populations. The courts issued a preliminary injunction ordering the administration not to enforce the notice in those states. Florida is not one of these states, however.