Date: 2008-06-04
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Madam Speaker. I rise today in support ofH.R. 1343. the Health Centers Reliewal Act of 2008. The health centers program was first enacted 40 year ago. Today. health centers are located in 6.000 sites in all 50 States serving as the medical home and family physician to 17 million people nationally. Over the years. the health centers -program has gained tremendous support from Democrats. Republicans. the Congress and the President. We dont all agree on much. but there is no doubt that the health centers program has been a great success. The overwhelming support for the health centers program may be attributed to the impact health centers have made on the health and wellbeing of our countrys most vulnerable populations. Federally qualified health centers are local. nonprofit or public entity. communityowned health care provider serving lowincome and medically underserved areas as designated by the Federal Government. Health centers provide comprehensive primary and preventive health care. with services available to all community residents where they are located. regardless of the patients ability to pay. Community health centers have helped fill the medical void for lowincome communities and uninsured individuals. The health centers programs focus on primary and preventive care has garnered savings for our health care system because the health centers provide the uninsured and underserved with access to care they would usually receive at hospital emergency rooms. By providing access to affordable primary care. health centers have also reduced the need for inpatient and specialty care in hospitals. because medical problems in health center patients are treated earlier. before they require inpatient hospital care. Studies suggest that health. centers save Medicaid approximately 30 percent in annual spending for health centers. due to reduced specialty care referrals. fewer hospital admissions. and -emergency room visits. Forty percent of health center patients are uninsured. and 35 percent depend on Medicaid. making health centers a critical feature of our countrys safety net and. for many individuals. their olily source for health care services. . Unfortunately. * the number of uninsured in our country is 47 million and has been steadily rising. and in turn. the need for health centers are increasing. Our district in Texas and many other communities nationwide are desperately in need of more health centers. Houston has approximately 1 million uninsured but only 10 federally qualified health centers. As the fourth largest ctty in the United States. Houston lags far behind the number of health centers located in our area when compared to Chicago. with over 80 community health centers and the third largest city in the country. Houston is not alone in this need for more health center8. Studies show that 56 million Americans lack access to primary care or a health care horne. The Health Centers Renewal Act will reauthorize the health centers program. which would address the growing need for community health centers in not only my area but throughout the United States. This legislation would authorize the increased funding necessary for our community to build on the success of the health centers program and develop additional health centers to meet our tremendous need for affordable and quality health care. This bill would allow health centers to serve approximately 23 million patients in the next 5 years. I want to thank my colleague. Mr. PICKERING. who is the original cosponsor. along with the Energy and Commerce Committee and my subcommittee for their full support of this legislation. I believe the bill is truly an investment in the future of health centers for the medically underserved communities throughout our country. Madam Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.