[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15405-15406]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
                        COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS

  (Mr. BARR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to act 
quickly to reauthorize the Community Health Center Fund, which expired 
last week on September 30.
  Community health centers provide cost-effective and accessible 
primary care, mental health counseling, and substance abuse treatment 
for over 27 million patients nationally, including over 200,000 of my 
constituents in Kentucky's Sixth District.
  The upfront Federal investment in community health centers leads to 
savings down the road by fighting the cycle of opioid addiction, 
preventing more complex health conditions, and diverting patients away 
from higher cost centers of care, such as the emergency room.
  I have visited community health centers in my district, including 
White House Clinics, Sterling Health Solutions, Family Care of 
Bluegrass, and HealthFirst Bluegrass, and I have witnessed firsthand 
what a difference these organizations make in providing much needed 
care to at-risk Kentuckians.
  Without the support of the Community Health Center Fund, these CHCs 
may soon be forced to cut back services, lay off staff, or even shut 
down clinics.
  Mr. Speaker, admittedly, there is a robust debate in this country and 
a wide diversity of opinion about healthcare reform, the ACA, and what 
repeal and replacing the ACA should look like, but we should all agree 
that community health centers are part of the solution.

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