Prioritizing Health Center Advocacy
As the direction of health care in the US remains uncertain, health centers across the country are making advocacy a priority in the months to come. The National Association for Community Health Centers (NACHC) and state organizations such as the South Carolina Primary Health Care Association are leading the way in providing support and resources for health centers to build strong advocacy networks in their local communities.
While there are four main areas of concern for health centers (changes to The Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, 330 funding, and 340B pharmacy program), the message from these centers has remained the same: regardless of the problem, health centers are the solution.
Investing in health centers has been shown to save the health care system nearly $24 billion annually, yet health centers still perform just as well or better than other health care providers on 94 percent of quality measures. Many of the 1300 centers in the US are located in areas with few medical providers or in areas where many community members experience poverty.
