Today, hundreds of advocates traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with Congress and demand a fix to the Health Center Funding Cliff. Many more coworkers, board members and patients across the country joined them in solidarity by wearing red for the Red Alert for Community Health Centers campaign, organized by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC).
Over four months ago, Congress failed to extend funding for Health Centers and fix a 70 percent funding cliff. This inability to pass a new funding bill has put 9 million patients, 50,000 jobs, and nearly 3,000 health center sites at risk. The Red Alert for Community Health Centers campaign was planned alongside a press conference put on by NACHC leadership to provide a visual symbol of the importance of health centers across the country, and to help urge Congress to act.
On the NACHC’s official website, they had this to say of the event: “Why red? Because the time is now – funding for health centers is urgent. We wear red to protect access to quality care for millions of Americans, to sustain the backbone of primary care in this country, to ensure all Americans have an equal opportunity to live healthy and productive lives. Red is the color of urgency, passion and fire – and health center advocates will not back down.”
The NACHC believes that if the matter continues to go unresolved, it could have a wide range of negative impacts on the country’s healthcare system. Currently, it is still unclear when Congress will come together to end the funding cliff.
