Amplifying Health Center Priorities with Members of Congress

Community Health Center advocates across the country have been incredibly active in meeting with their members of Congress by either traveling to DC for NACHC’s fly-ins or by meeting with them during in-district work periods (also known as “recess”). There are unique opportunities during in-district visits and meetings for members of Congress and their staff to see firsthand the impact of health centers.  

Members of Congress will soon be making decisions that impact health center funding. During this time, there will be two upcoming in-district work periods on April 14-25 and May 26-30 that health centers can leverage to host their elected officials. The best time to send a scheduling request is 3-4 weeks before your proposed meeting date. Get started now and begin the process of scheduling a visit. Use the resources at the end of this NACHC blog.

Source: NACHC

NACHC Award Program Nominations

Nominations are due APRIL 11th for eight NACHC awards recognizing outstanding contributions to the community health care field. These awards will be presented at the 2025 Community Health Institute (CHI) and EXPO, August 17-19. Nominators and nominees must belong to a NACHC Organizational Member community health center, a chartered affiliate Primary Care Association, or Health Center Controlled Network member of NACHC.  Read more about the nomination process and award categories HERE.

Source: NACHC

Two New NACHC Award Programs in Partnership with Johnson & Johnson

NACHC is excited to announce two new award programs, in partnership with Johnson & Johnson, exclusively for their members.

SMART BP Grant Program – Application Due Date: April 15, 2025

The Supporting Measurement Awareness and Remote Tracking of Blood Pressure (SMART BP) Grant Program offers 25 awards of $40,000 to support the use of self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) programs to improve hypertension outcomes in selected patient populations. NACHC strongly encourages health centers with existing SMBP programs to apply for this funding opportunity!

PATH Grant Program – Application Due Date: April 22, 2025

The PATH: Professional Advancement and Training in Health Centers Grant Program offers 8 awards of $40,000 to support existing health center-driven pipeline and pathway training programs for nurses, community health workers, medical assistants, and population health technicians.

Source: NACHC

NACHC Statement on HHS Transformation to Make America Health Again

March 27, 2025:  The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) has a strong record of working with administrations to support primary care and advance a healthier America. We are grateful for our nonpartisan partnership with the Health Resources and Services Administration, which has ensured millions of Americans have access to affordable, comprehensive, effective primary care nationwide and spearheaded vital training programs for current and future generations of community health center (CHC) clinicians and staff.

CHCs serve 1 in 10 or over 32.5 million people nationwide, including 1 in 5 or over 10 million in rural America, and represent proven models of efficiency and effectiveness in public health with a documented record of saving both lives and healthcare dollars. Despite these successes, the current financial picture of CHCs is challenging. As details emerge about this reorganization and as we learn more about these initiatives, we are committed to working with the Trump Administration to focus on primary care and to assure CHCs have the resources they need to care for their patients. Our focus will be working collaboratively with agency leaders, this new Administration for a Healthy America, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to support improvements and restructuring that improves the health of all Americans.

Source: NACHC

Telehealth Updates

March 25, 2025:  Recent legislation authorized an extension of many of the Medicare telehealth flexibilities. This includes:

• Waiving geographic and originating site requirements through September 30, 2025.
• Allowing eligible practitioners to furnish telehealth services through September 30, 2025.
• Allowing Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics to serve as distant site providers through September 30, 2025.
• Delaying in-person requirements for tele-mental health services through September 30, 2025.
• Allowing audio-only telehealth through September 30, 2025.

Explore Telehealth policy updates HERE.

Source: HRSA