Community Health Centers Press Conference 3.28.19

He's like good morning how are you. Thank you She We were waiting for it said this senator I've understand is on the way uh it's not unusual for us to lower House members. Uh the windows in the very familiar territory is And Love you alright well see you didn't keep me waiting too long. uh All right, thank you all for joining us today and I'm joined today by uh as in their practice and it is uh today. Uh we're introducing uh the community health Center and primary cube workforce expansion at of 20 19 I um from South Carolina uh I first got involved in this movement, so maybe they'll send is uh way back some 50 years ago If you know there's uh so follow their uh interesting uh phenomenon, uh that existed some time ago. Uh this is 50 percent of it. Um so the pollens and nothing is so far on the to which result in writing. The book the case against a hundred other. That to the record he did a series of tools. This very first one. It was my On the longest re very Anthony of uh Definitely Escorts in the Holland brothers first go and then he went down to the different kind of softer in and out of that too, with more on the business desperate province of oh just after it was all a bad practice and uh. I was involved I've been involved from the very beginning uh in this moving throughout the South course, all started up your partner countries come with uh the messages that my members uh a little bit early Uh but uh I understand, is that uh have been working on this ever since I've been here in the Congress and um uh. I'm not getting into all the details. Uh as what uh this does. Uh I'm gonna leave. That up to him. I will say this And then they'll send it to me all the ultimate safety net when it comes uh to deliver it of health care. I feel very strongly about that and one of the reasons I appreciate our rust or expand our discussion of so far. Infrastructure which we seem to want to limit to roads and bridges and sometimes rail and ports But seldom do we bring in water and soon, but for water, save drinkable and knock on the half the children So you have drinking water or give us a healthy workforce and broadband deployed. You know they'll soon as will not be as effective as the candy until we get broadband deployments throughout rule. America. So the community health centers in far more. It is, I can be tired uh to our teaching hospitals and other uh bracelet that will deliver health care in the community health Center network is very, very important to the foundation upon which we plan to build a great society and without a yield because there's, a sense And be that converse in clayton and the work that he has been moving so many years in health care in general and in unity, health, centers information I think everybody understands that we have many many challenges in our healthcare system and one of the major challenges we face is that our primary health care system does not allow people on one hand, of this country to the other to go to a doctor when they need to go through that about a In urban areas, it will be true in rural areas like South Carolina or vermont and rural areas. All over this country, Georgia, Mississippi it is chances and the irony here is that even if you have health insurance even if you have health insurance in many parts of this country, it is difficult to find a doctor. It is difficult to buy a dentist. Will services you can afford now the good news is that Clayborn and I worked together for a number of use, all and the result of that is that is part of the affordable care act. We were able to substantially expand access to community health. Centers all over this country, community health centers today and I think a lot of people don't know down provide high quality primary care to 28 million Americans in the eleventh Communities around the country, regardless of their ability to pay health, centers importantly not only provide primary health care and they provide dental care. Jim better than usual. That we talk about boxing. Look millions of people can I get into what then does lois community health centers provide that camp. They provide low cost prescription drugs and they provide mental health counseling also when you're of huge consequence the legislation That representative, clyburn and I introduced in two thousand and nine successfully expanded community health centers as part of the affordable care act and let me tell you what that legislation is accomplished, since the passage of that legislation. Nine million more Americans have received primary camp two million more people have received dental camp 800 and 60000 people have received uh mental healthcare and three thousand new community health centers sites have been great that is the good Bad news is that if Congress does not act by September, thirtieth, these centers will lose the federal funding. They need to keep their doors open in other words, in just a few short months, millions of Americans could lose access to community health. Centers if Congress does not get its act together and that is why you congressman clarke, Bernard. I are introducing a bill today to not only great in community health centers but to expand them by 10 percent For five years in order to meet the growing need for doctors, nurses that the mental health providers around the country by increasing federal funding over the next five years. Our bill will allow more than five million Americans to receive the primary health care. They need each and every year. These health centers provide cat of 13 million people in rural communities, most of them have nowhere else to go. He sent this capital more than 300 and 50000 veterans. More than a million homeless people and what million seniors in vermont I am very proud that more than a hundred and 76000 people in our small state over 28 percent over 28 percent of our state's population received their primary care at community health. Centers and, let's be clear Community health centers not only provide important services that the American people need, they also save taxpayers billions of dollars. If people do not have a community health Center to go to, they go into an emergency room which is the most expensive form of health care. Primary health care in this country. So our goal here is to say that in this country is not a radical like you that when you get sick with you a little bit of rural area would you live in an urban area. You have a right to get into a doctor's office at all, so what this bill does very important Is we understand that there are many parts of this country were rule and urban. The time medically under served. We don't have the doctors. We don't have a nurse. If you don't have to take this, we don't have the mental health counselors. That people need and what we do in this bill is significantly expand the National health service, call if you wanna practice, it under served area we're gonna forgive your medical school gets that is a program that has worked very well, but it is a program that lacks money so come on this is an enormously important issue. It is going to address one of the great crises in our health care And that is a primary health care system that is totally an entrepreneur. What is that again a congressman klein, burros outstanding work on this issue. Thank you very much, senator. Thank you so much for uh taking us through uh what this investigation is all about and there are two people with us today uh will carry out the responsibility uh making this investigation effective, always say uh and trying to deliver government services You have to balance efficiency and effectiveness and no matter how efficiently may try to make you got to have people on board. You can invent we have to put the people with us today from South Carolina. Let them water uh who's the ceo of the South Carolina primary healthcare Association and taste uh giving a test I'll be giving um instructions uh that uh the spirit of your name and where you've been no His kidding yes, part of that unit and uh so thank you so much and please join us. Yet what Thank you very much. Um yes, my name is jessica. innings President ceo, vice state, primary care, Association because I think we need those donors and vote for a Montana new hampshire and it was my pleasure to stand um in support of this bill and the bloods and the sanders in front by one for their leadership in vermont. He had 12 30 centers at 66 sites serving as they helped home for a hundred and 76000 kilometers and that's nearly a third of the rubber matches are seeing cuts in all 14 of our counties throughout our rural Street state. Our community health centers provide a holistic approach approach To comprehensive, integrated primary prevention and that includes not only medical but mental health, behavioral health medication assisted treatments as disorder and oral health. Our communities served our children, our moms and dads our grandparents. Our great friends, families, neighbors our farmers, our homeless, are veterans and they serve people, not to leave their offices and in their homes and their schools and residential Buildings in nursing homes and homeless shelters. They different from other practices in their comprehensive approach to health from the beginning. As you mentioned, the health centers are just don't provide a medical care, but they consider housing food security, education, transportation, social integration, their community focused and their community trusted resources. They care for their patients, where they are born where they grow or the live living, working under the age and no one is turned away This bill will allow community health centers in vermont and across the country to not only grow in jumped in reston informations means which would ensure that they have the work force and the physical space to serve the patients with added um capital for physical plan for technology for instance, infrastructure, as you mention, community whose can actually provide more, not to offer a substance, use disorder, especially as an emerging field, prices. We have in the United States. They can provide more dental services pharmacy services, vision, services and address emerging public health issues The community health centers in vermont and across the nation have unmet needs in their communities and they're well positioned to expand. This need and using the resources from the spill so this bill is essential to increase access to care for patients battling. The group on but across the Thank you Good morning. I'm like whatever I'm the ceo of the South, Carolina primary healthcare Association and I would like to thank senator sanders and my home state congressman and friend, Jim cly burn for the introduction of the byu to secure longterm funding for community health. Centers. I wanna thank you in behalf of the 300 and eighty five thousand one 30 85 thousand patients, seen in South Carolina, but also for the other 28 million patients seen National in addition to My colleague has so eloquently described in terms of work of the top centers. I wanna add that whole centers on community own nonprofit organizations that are in the business of providing quality health care for everyone. They contribute to the local economy and help their health centers. Our economic interests. They contribute to their local economy through jobs and primarily through looking at the total health of the community, that is total health in terms of improvement of the health of the workforce and of our Children and people for education, we know the connection of good health and good education. You cannot learn if you're, not healthy. This and the other bills that have been introduced. This quarter by Congress is a testament to the trust that Congress has in the community health centers to be on the front line and it's not, as good as the hearse administrator recently state or how senators are the boots on the ground for a quality primary healthcare behavior health services or health services, addressing the opioid Isis and other substance use disorders and caring for our veterans in their own home towns in South Carolina along you see over 50 300 veterans provide health care for over 50 300 veterans and nationally over 300 and 55000 veterans have seen now that's services that's not even speaking to the number of veterans. We also included so what started as a small movement by a few individuals. I have century ago, is congressman said that she was around From some of the force of 200 and 20000 dedicated, how professionals in over 11000 communities throughout the country comes with climate and civic centers over half of my colleagues and the patients, 20 million patients across the country that we serve. Thank you for recognizing our contributions to improving the health of our country and for your continued support the re authorization of the health Center fund willing able us to continue to work to achieve our collective mission access To quality health care for all. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you both of you, uh and then uh yeah. Thank you very few minutes. You can do that. Um I hope your time any questions and you know Beauty and the strength here is the Basis It's no great secret that I'm gonna People cannot afford it. People have no insurance people have very light a doctor bills can go painting. That impacts people all across this country in fact, it impacts people of color This bill is a bill for older And the special group of men inside and most recent application, uh thank you for that right. Uh. You are uh National public radio to the talk about one in three Jews and 10 20 30 for me Simple said At least 10 percent of all my name is appropriate here must go into those communities with 20 percent of the population and stuck in the problem ever for the last 30 years since, in the hunting, girls were 12 so that's one of the public's stuck. What is the proper note the last 30 years and by putting that on the way in the program, a little 15 cents, we recently in my congressional district members, after on it recently stood up uh A community health Center focusing on emergency kit uh in his rule, not just uh South Carolina kind of interested in just a few miles from there. um Uh doctor of astronaut um contraception is an astronaut who, with the position When I got a little scoop, there, multiple grass pollen that will rules over It was beautiful over there it's a testament to the way it rules Can you give us the opportunity Thank you very much. Thank you I mean it's He's actually