85R12167 RMA-F
By: Lucio S.C.R. No. 40
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, In 2015, community health centers provided
essential primary medical care, dental, behavioral health, and
substance abuse services to more than 1.2 million Texans; of those
individuals, 40 percent lacked health insurance and 70 percent
lived at or below the poverty line; and
WHEREAS, The Lone Star State is home to some 450 community
health centers in 122 counties; dedicated to providing care to all
who need it, regardless of their ability to pay, those facilities
are annually visited by over 4.5 million patients, most of whom
would otherwise have to receive care in an emergency room; and
WHEREAS, Community health centers currently depend on
Medicaid as their largest source of reimbursement, as federal
grants subsidize the cost of treating uninsured patients; however,
70 percent of federal funding for those facilities is set to expire
in September 2017, and without congressional action, many centers
will have to limit or discontinue services to residents in need; and
WHEREAS, An invaluable resource to the areas they serve,
community health centers have contributed immeasurably to the
health and well-being of millions of Texans, and it is necessary for
the federal government to continue supporting these important
efforts; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to preserve
federal funding for community health centers and retain Medicaid
and Children's Health Insurance Program protections for the
centers; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and to the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.