[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1558 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1558

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that, to maintain 
 the health care safety net, Federally Qualified Health Centers should 
continue to operate under their longstanding single patient definition 
      for delivery of all services, including prescription drugs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2026

Mr. Bergman (for himself and Mr. Davis of North Carolina) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that, to maintain 
 the health care safety net, Federally Qualified Health Centers should 
continue to operate under their longstanding single patient definition 
      for delivery of all services, including prescription drugs.

Whereas nearly 1,400 Federally Qualified Health Centers (referred to in this 
        preamble as ``health centers'') form the backbone of the health care 
        safety net, serving more than 32 million medically underserved Americans 
        at more than 16,000 sites;
Whereas health centers play an essential role in meeting our Nation's moral 
        commitment to maintain a strong health care safety net;
Whereas health centers provide high-quality, affordable care to 1 in 8 children 
        in the United States, 1 in 5 rural residents, and more than 25 million 
        individuals who are enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid or are uninsured;
Whereas approximately 90 percent of health center patients have incomes at or 
        below 200 percent of the Federal poverty line;
Whereas the Health Resources and Services Administration has long applied a 
        single definition of a health center patient, currently stated as ``an 
        individual who has at least one countable visit during the calendar year 
        in one or more categories of services: medical, dental, mental health, 
        substance use disorder, vision, other professional, or enabling'';
Whereas this single patient definition minimizes administrative costs and 
        maximizes the effectiveness of health centers, thereby strengthening the 
        health care safety net for every health center patient;
Whereas imposing conflicting, service-specific patient definitions would 
        restrict the services covered by this definition, forcing health centers 
        to deny patients access to the full range of health care services and 
        damaging the safety net for millions of Americans;
Whereas, consistent with the role health centers play in providing patients a 
        full range of services, Congress has supported the patient-centered 
        medical home model so that patients receive coordinated care involving 
        multiple providers without losing their relationship with their primary 
        care provider;
Whereas service-specific patient definitions conflict with the purposes of 
        section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b), a key 
        part of the legal foundation of the health care safety net, and 
        undermine the coordinated care that the patient-centered medical home 
        model is designed to provide;
Whereas prescription drugs play an increasingly important role in improving the 
        health and quality of life of Americans, yet 6 in 10 adults in the 
        United States worry about being able to afford their prescription drug 
        costs;
Whereas, recognizing the essential role of prescription drugs in health care, 
        Congress established the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and the 340B Drug 
        Pricing Program to help ensure that the health care safety net can 
        provide patients with access to affordable prescription drugs;
Whereas the stated purpose of the 340B Drug Pricing Program is to enable covered 
        entities to ``stretch scarce Federal resources as far as possible, 
        reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive 
        services''; and
Whereas any restriction on the ability of health centers to provide 340B drugs 
        to all of their patients threatens the health care safety net: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives affirms that, given the 
essential role of Federally Qualified Health Centers in the health care 
safety net, such health centers should continue to operate under their 
longstanding, single patient definition for all services, including 
drugs purchased under the 340B Drug Pricing Program, to ensure that 
their patients have access to the full range of health care services.
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