On March 2, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing entitled, "Community Health Centers: Saving Lives, Saving Money." During the hearing, committee members heard testimony from a panel of community health advocates, industry leaders, and academics, who urged Committee members to reauthorize the Community Health Center (CHC) Trust Fund before the September 30th deadline and make additional investments in CHCs and primary care. The panelists spoke about the financial headwinds facing CHCs, including declines in revenue from the 340B Drug Discount Program, the upcoming expiration of COVID-19 funding, and projected declines in Medicaid enrollment as a result of the Medicaid redetermination process. Committee members also heard from a representative from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) who provided an overview of CHCs' revenue streams, funding levels, and service lines.

Committee members were aligned in their desire to reauthorize the CHC Trust Fund, but some Republican lawmakers, including Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), said lawmakers need to better understand the effectiveness of the CHC Trust Fund and CHCs' revenue streams as part of that reauthorization process. Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) ended the hearing with a promise to work on legislation to reauthorize the CHC Trust Fund and address the issues raised by the panelists.

More information available here.

Additional information is also available in the attached Tax Alert.

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Hearing on community health centers