A lame duck session of Congress begins in just a few days. Democrats will try to pass whatever legislation they can and Republicans will try to hold off on anything until they have full control of the House and Senate. In a nutshell, it has the potential to be what we have become use to – a do-nothing Congress. Unfortunately, if Congress does nothing in this lame duck session, they will complete one thing – put the health and safety of our country at risk by not funding of our public health system.
How can this happen? Because Congress funds many programs for only short periods of time and at their discretion, organizations such as the public health system are at the mercy of current politics and whichever Congress-person will take up their cause. So next year, the public health system faces a “cliff” when 70% of their federal grants go away. Only Congress can restore the needed funding so these organizations can continue their programs and plan for the future. We all need to raise our voices, because Congress does listen if enough of their constituents scream.
Why does loss of funding of our public health system matter? Let me share a few ways:
Community Health Centers save the health care system over $24 billion annually through reductions in emergency department use and hospitalizations. Guess how much is being requested for 2016? Only $3.6 billion in addition to their $1.495 billion of level base funding. Investments in community health return dollars on the pennies.