Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. KEATING. Madam Chair, with every study, every research paper, every scientific breakthrough, we have come to understand that most Americans realize that there is more to healthcare than those who are sick and those who aren't. Really, we can't just focus our treatment on those that are unwell.

It is a shortsighted strategy, and unfortunately, the one this country has been employing for far too long before the Affordable Care Act.

Why would we only try to treat the problem once it has already occurred, when we can work to prevent it in the first place?

The keys to prevention are a healthy living environment and swift access to care, helping us deal with healthcare issues before they become acute. And this approach will save money.

With that in mind, I am offering my amendment to appropriate funds to study how to help bring social and behavioral aid programs under the same roof as our traditional healthcare providers.

We know there is a link between healthy living, housing, and food security. If we already allocate funds to programs to help facilitate healthy living, why don't we house them in the same place that we are housing these health centers?

This works. I have seen it.

A holistic approach like this will demonstrate to people in rural, underserved, or underprivileged communities that no matter how seemingly dire their situations, there are paths to healthy living.

Sadly, we see daily reminders that where someone is born or where they live can determine so much in their lives.

My home State of Massachusetts is a leader when it comes to healthcare, but it is not without its own disparities. In some corners of my district, the average life expectancy is less than 70 years of age, while elsewhere in the Commonwealth, it could be over 90 years old.

There is no easy answer to why that is the case. It is a combination of means, education, environment, and access to healthcare.

Clearly, there needs to be more progress. Education and access to information can help to lift people into healthier circumstances.

If health centers had specialists who had experience dealing with SNAP and WIC, more families would receive nutritional advice and more young mothers would be able to raise healthier babies.

In those same centers, if we had people who could really help with housing concerns, we would be able to get more people into stable situations and off the street corners and away from homelessness.

For those dealing with brain diseases like addiction, integrating mental health services could help improve access to comprehensive treatment.

In my district, I have seen firsthand the great work done by the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center and the Outer Cape Health Services in Harwich, Massachusetts, where they try to incorporate these services, and actually successfully incorporate these services that impact social detriments of healthcare all under one roof.

I am also excited to note that this coming Friday, the Outer Cape Health Services is reopening and expanding a comprehensive healthcare center in Wellfleet to better serve an underserved rural community over 90 minutes away from the closest hospital.

But nationwide, existing resources can only get us so far.

We are on the verge of a breakthrough, and we need to find out how Congress can take us beyond this tipping point.

That is why my amendment is important. We need to know how much our health centers need to plan and what they need to successfully tackle social determinates of health alongside traditional healthcare services.

My amendment provides the Health Resources & Services Administration with the resources that will allow them to study this.

Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

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