Medicare Access and Chip Reauthorization Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Medicare and CHIP Reauthorization Act, H.R. 2.

I commend Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton and ranking member Frank Pallone as well as Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan and ranking member Sander Levin for their hard work in putting this bill together.

The sustainable growth rate (SGR) was part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 but has proven to be far less than sustainable.

In fact, according to the Congressional Research Service, since 2003 Congress passed 17 laws overriding the SGR-mandated reductions in the Medicare physician fee schedule.

This bill may not be perfect but it seems to strike enough compromises that many of us are willing to support a good bill rather than hold out for a perfect one.

I am particularly pleased that the bill includes a two year extension of the Health Center Fund, which will provide an additional $3.6 billion per year to the nation's community health centers.

Created under the Affordable Care Act to expand the health centers program and increase access to care, the fund is set to expire after 2015.

Should it expire, health centers would be facing a 70% cut in funding which would force devastating reductions and closures at many of the more than 9,000 health centers nationwide.

We simply cannot allow that to happen.

Community health centers are critical to the health care equation, meeting the needs of approximately 23 million people every year. They provide access to primary and preventative health services that keep patients from seeking or eventually needing more costly care. And that benefits all of us.

The 1,300 federally funded health centers are located in every corner of our country and are distributed evenly between urban and rural areas. I am fortunate in my own district to have 7 community health centers treating more than one hundred thousand patients every year. In fact, as we recognize the 50th anniversary of our health centers, I am proud to acknowledge that the first community health center in the United States, Geiger Gibson, is located in my district.

Health centers serve all our constituents, Democrat and Republican, young and old, black, white or brown. they are vital to all our communities, and that is why this program has strong bipartisan support.

Whether you supported the Affordable Care Act or not, I think we all can agree that access to affordable health care helps to keep health costs down. Our community health centers provide that access. They are doing a terrific job for people across the nation.

That is why I strongly support our health centers and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.

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