Advocacy Washington D.C. Trip – June 2024
On June 4 and 5 a staff delegation attended a National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) D.C. fly in (we drove in). CEO Jeannette Edwards, Chief Medical Officer Joan Lingen, Chief Dental Officer Scott Wolpin, Chief Operations and Clinical Officer Jennifer Tyler, Director of Communications and Development Amy Bull and Director of Pharmacy Chris Deitch attended the fly in.
Our delegation, along with representatives from NACHC and the Virginia Community Healthcare Association, met with Congresswoman Jen Kiggans, Congressman Morgan Griffith and Senator Tim Kaine as well as with legislative staff from the offices of Senator Mark Warner and Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger. Kiggans, Kaine and Warner represent the Eastern Shore of Virginia while Griffith and Spanberger are supportive of community health centers. Griffith represents Virginia’s 9th district comprised of 23 counties and five independent cities including Bristol. Spanberger represents Virginia’s 7th district comprised of nine counties and portions of two more and the city of Fredericksburg. She is running for governor in the upcoming 2025 election.
Four priority issues were discussed with elected officials and their staff:
- Support the 340B ACCESS Act that clarifies the intent of the 340B program, codifies contract pharmacy authority, and ensures 340B’s long-term viability as a critical resource for Community Health Centers and their patients.
- Support bipartisan efforts for maximal funding for critical workforce programs in any health package later this year.
- Support legislative and regulatory efforts to ensure telehealth permanency to provide certainty for health centers and their patients including reimbursing Medicare patient telehealth visits at an equal rate as in-person visits.
- Strengthen Health Centers Through Multi-Year Increased Funding.
It was a great interaction and we felt it was one of the best visits to the Hill. We will continue with our advocacy efforts for Community Health Centers as we start our new fiscal year at ESRHS.
Workforce Policy Paper June 2024