Public Health Agencies Left ‘Treading Water’ With Each Short-Term Spending Plan From Congress
At all levels of the government -- local, state and federal -- agencies are left "in suspended animation" as Congress prolongs the funding debate. Meanwhile, as advocates of the Children's Health Insurance Program breathe a sigh of relief over their extension, community health clinics are still on edge.
The Hill:
Short-Term Spending Bills Leave Public Health Agencies In Suspense
Congress’s inability to pass a long-term spending bill has major ramifications for public health, advocates and former agency officials warn. The short-term measures hinder efforts to play ahead and recruit staff even as they keep the government open, the advocates say. They have left public health agencies “treading water,” said Ellie Dehoney, vice president of policy and advocacy at Research!America. “It’s just a state of suspended animation.” (Weixel and Roubein, 1/24)
The Hill:
Community Health Centers Await Funding That Expired Months Ago
While Congress on Monday extended the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years, more than 1,000 community health centers around the country are still waiting for the government to take action on their own funding. Both programs expired at the end of September, but only CHIP was funded in the short-term spending bill signed by President Trump. (Hellmann, 1/23)
The Hill:
Neighborhood Health Clinics Popular With Veterans Face Crisis As Federal Funding Evaporates
Kymberly Grafton winces with every step she takes, the lingering burden from a training accident and car crash. And the disabled Navy reservist’s pain may soon be compounded by a budget battle on Capitol Hill that threatens her neighborhood health center. Grafton is one of 300,000 low-income veterans who receive health care at community health centers nationwide. She gets regular treatment at Unity Health Center near her home in Washington’s Anacostia neighborhood, allowing her to skip a miles-long trek to the nearest hospital. (Spann, 1/24)
The CT Mirror:
Congress Funds Children’s Health Program, But Not Health Centers
While the three-day government shutdown has ended, the fate of many federal programs is still up in the air – but a children’s health program that serves about 17,000 kids in Connecticut has come out a winner in the partisan fight over the federal budget. The stopgap funding bill that was approved by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump Monday funds most of the federal government for three weeks but the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, for six years. (Radelat, 1/23)
NPR:
CHIP Deal Brings Relief
When parts of the federal government ground to halt this past weekend, Linda Nablo, who oversees the Children's Health Insurance Program in Virginia, had two letters drafted and ready to go out to the families of 68,000 children insured through the program, depending on what happened. One said the federal government had failed to extend CHIP after funding expired in September and the stopgap funding had run out. The program would be shutting down and families would lose their insurance. (Simmons-Duffin, 1/23)
Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office scores Congress' plan to delay certain health law taxes as part of the spending agreement —
The Hill:
Congressional Scorekeeper: Delay Of ObamaCare Taxes In Spending Bill Will Cost About $31B
The delay of three of ObamaCare's taxes will reduce federal revenue by $31.3 billion over 10 years, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) said Tuesday. The taxes were delayed as part of the stopgap spending bill that Congress passed Monday in order to end the three-day government shutdown. The medical device tax was delayed for two years, until 2020, while the "Cadillac" tax on high-cost health plans, which had been set to take effect in 2020, was delayed until 2022. The health insurance tax was suspended for 2019. (Jagoda, 1/23)
