Altoona Times

Washington, DC – On May 19, Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), joined the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee in successfully advancing legislation that will reauthorize Community Health Centers through 2025. H.R. 2559, the Strengthening Community Care Act of 2023,successfully passed the Health Subcommittee as part of the Transparent Price Act, and will now go to the full Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration.

“Expanding patient access to care must remain our top priority,” said Congressman Joyce. “With funding for our Community Health Centers set to expire this year, there’s not a moment to lose in ensuring that this reauthorization happens as soon as possible.  I’m grateful to Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rogers for her leadership on this issue and hope to see this legislation signed into law.”

Over 30 million Americans rely on Community Health Centers in both rural and urban areas for healthcare needs ranging from dentistry to pediatrics.

Watch Congressman Joyce’s remarks here. A full transcript of his remarks can be found below.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I would like to add my support to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute before us today to the Transparent Price Act, which would make crucial reforms to our healthcare system by increasing transparency and lowering costs for patients and seniors. 

Specifically, I would like to highlight the bipartisan legislation, H.R. 3237, included as part of this amendment and introduced by myself and Representative Sarbanes.  H.R. 3237 would require hospitals to more clearly report to CMS on what services are occurring at each of their outpatient departments through a unique identification number at each facility.  This legislation codifies recommendations from a 2016 HHS IG report that will ensure that our seniors are not paying higher copays inadvertently for care billed in the incorrect setting. 

While this legislation is a good first step, I do believe that there is more that can be done to ensure that seniors are not paying inappropriate out of pocket costs for the care they receive across all settings. I look forward to having ongoing bipartisan conversations on this issue and moving more legislation in this area, while also looking to safeguard those hospitals that serve as critical points of care in our communities. 

This is why I also support H.R. 2665, the Supporting Safety Net Hospitals Act, also included in this package, which would avoid devastating DSH payment cuts to hospitals across the country and especially in my district of Pennsylvania 13. 

I am also pleased to see the inclusion of H.R .2559, the Strengthening Community Care Act, which I introduced along with Chairwoman Stefanik, Representative Blunt Rochester and Representative Fletcher earlier this year.

 I would like to thank all of our co-leads on this piece of legislation, which would extend the Community Health Center Fund for the next two years while also providing crucial resources to support the work provided by these centers.

This critical piece of legislation would provide for Community Health Centers across the country, including centers in my own district like Keystone Rural Health Center, Broad Top Area Medical Center and Hyndman Area Health Center, which help serve the needs of over 238,000 people in Pennsylvania 13.

This AINS also contains increased resources for the National Health Service Corps, which provides scholarship and loan repayment to more than 20,000 health care providers practicing in underserved areas. The NHSC is a key part of the long-term solution to workforce shortages in underserved areas – according to data from HRSA, 86 percent of NHSC clinicians continue working in a health professional shortage area after completing their service obligations.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask unanimous consent to enter into the record two letters of support for this legislation, one from the National Association of Community Health Centers and one from the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption of the AINS and yield the balance of my time.

###

Issues: Health

Original source can be found here.