3.26.15: Statement on Passage of Funding for Community Health Centers

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network:

Statement on Congressional Passage of Funding for Community Health Centers

ALBANY, NY – March 26, 2015 – The Medicare funding bill passed today by the House of Representatives includes full funding for Community Health Centers (CHCs).   These centers would have faced a 70 percent cut in funding if Congress and President Obama did not act.   Bill Sherman, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) vice president of government relations of the Eastern Division has released the following statement.

“On behalf of our more than 100,000 cancer advocates in New York I applaud the members of our congressional delegation who supported this important measure to keep our federally qualified health centers funded.   Community health centers provide critical access to care for those who would not otherwise have access.  Extending the funding will save lives and help detect more cancers at earlier stages. Dying from cancer should not be a side effect of living in poverty.

“Cancer patients rely on these centers for everything from primary care, to cancer screening and prevention, to referrals for cancer treatment.  The passage and enactment of this bill will not only prevent a reduction in services but actually save some community health centers from shutting their doors.

“I ask Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to support this measure in the Senate.”

About ACS CAN
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org. 

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