By John Lynds
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren published an Op-Ed in State News on Monday, Dec. 18, directing criticism at House Republicans for freezing federal funding to Community Health Centers nationwide, including East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC), while simultaneously pursuing tax reductions benefiting the wealthy.
“I love community health centers,” Warren wrote. “They do wonderful work and enjoy widespread support. But I’m worried because Republican leaders in Congress have held these centers hostage by halting federal funding while they focus on passing tax cuts for the wealthy. It’s past time to step up the fight for community health centers in my state of Massachusetts and across the country.”
Community health centers such as EBNHC represent a successful model in American health care, Warren contended—delivering expanded access while controlling expenses.
“They are on the front lines of the opioid epidemic,” she wrote. “They provide preventive services and chronic disease management. They are taking the stigma out of mental health treatment. And they save money by promoting disease prevention, providing care coordination, and reducing the use of hospital emergency rooms.”
According to Warren’s account, Congress allowed a critical deadline to pass on Sept. 30 without addressing the Community Health Center Fund reauthorization.
“This program provides more than 70 percent of all federal funding for health centers,” she wrote. “Reauthorizing this program should be a no-brainer, and many of my Republican colleagues agree with that. But Republican leadership has been so focused on stripping health care coverage from many of the people who walk through the doors of community health centers that they ran right past this deadline — and they’ve just kept on running.”
The consequences have become visible at community health centers throughout the nation.
“They are holding back on hiring new staff or deferring opportunities to make vital improvements to their programs. If they don’t get this funding soon, they’ll have to make even tougher decisions, like laying off staff members, cutting services, or reducing hours,” she wrote. “In East Boston, which is geographically isolated from the rest of the city, the community health center operates an emergency room that is open around the clock.People who work in community health centers know that health care is a basic human right. The dedicated doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals at these sites take incredible care of families from every background. And they’re always looking for ways they can better serve their patients and their community. But community health centers can’t do this much-needed work if the federal government doesn’t keep its promises.”
Prioritizing billionaire tax cuts over healthcare access for vulnerable populations—children, expectant mothers, individuals struggling with addiction, veterans, and others in need—represents a misplaced set of values, Warren stated.
“I’ll keep fighting for community health centers and for all of these health care programs that have improved the lives of people in my state and every other state,” she wrote. “I believe everyone deserves access to affordable, high-quality health care. Community health centers excel at providing that care — and they deserve our support.”
Sen. Warren made a recent visit to EBNHC, where she witnessed directly the valuable services provided daily by the health center and its personnel.
“We were obviously so pleased to host Senator Warren on her visit tour to the Health Center and we are glad she is fighting hard for Community Health Centers like ours across the country,” said Snyder.