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CONTACT: Amy Simmons Farber, 202 309-0338

BETHESDA, MD — Over 300 Community Health Centers and State and Regional Primary Care Associations signed on to the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) letter in response to a Request for Information on the future of the 340B Drug Discount Program. The request came from Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Ben Cardin (D-Md.). It sought bipartisan policy solutions that would provide stability to the program. Since its enactment over 30 years ago, health centers have been model examples of why the safety-net program is needed, but the last few years have demonstrated the fragility of the law. It is NACHC’s goal to work with all stakeholders to create sustainable solutions to strengthen and stabilize the 340B program. Health centers cannot survive with the current uncertainty, and NACHC will continue to fight to protect the program for health centers and the more than 30 million patients they serve.

The 340B program allows Community Health Centers to purchase outpatient medications at significantly reduced costs, enabling them to provide affordable discounted or free medications to uninsured and underinsured patients.

“By law and statute, health centers are required to reinvest every penny of 340B savings into activities that expand access for their patients,” stated Joe Dunn, NACHC’s Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Research. “These savings are used to meet the unique needs of their communities, such as dental care, behavioral health, specialty care, translation services, food banks, housing support, and copay assistance programs. When health centers lose 340B savings, our 30 million patients suffer irreversible consequences.” 

Earlier this year, NACHC formed a strategic partnership with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), called the Alliance to Save America’s 340B Program (ASAP 340B). ASAP 340B members are a partnership of Community Health Centers, patient, provider, and consumer advocates, and leaders from the biopharmaceutical industry.

The formation of ASAP 340B has been a catalyst for new ideas and approaches to the 340B program. Dunn noted that ASAP 340B “supports true safety-net providers and the communities they serve. Our members have not always seen eye-to-eye on how to improve the 340B program, but we have come together now because of the urgent need for action to ensure the program’s long-term viability. As we continue to grow the alliance, it will reflect the voices of a broad range of safety-net providers who support strengthening the 340B program. ASAP 340B has an open door to all 340B stakeholders who are ready to discuss how to improve and modernize the 340B program for all stakeholders.”

About National Association of Community Health Centers

Established in 1971, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) serves as the leading national voice for America’s Health Centers and as an advocate for health care access for the medically underserved and uninsured.

BETHESDA, MD – Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP has been named President and CEO of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). Dr. Rhee will lead the organization in advancing health equity and supporting the mission of community health centers, which provide high-quality, affordable, transdisciplinary primary care services to more than 30 million people at over 14,000 sites across the nation.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Rhee join NACHC,” said Michael A. Holmes, Chair of the NACHC Board of Directors and CEO of Scenic Rivers Health Services. “Dr. Rhee will provide critical, strategic, visionary leadership to the organization and the Community Health Center Movement, as we navigate through unprecedented funding and workforce challenges at this transformative moment,” said Holmes.

Dr. Rhee’s selection is the result of a nationwide search conducted in partnership with Diversified Search Group, the largest woman-founded and woman-led executive search firm in the U.S. Diversified Search Group is an industry leader in recruiting diverse, inclusive, and transformational leadership for clients across all industries and sectors.

Dr. Rhee most recently served as Senior Vice President and Aetna Chief Medical Officer at CVS Health. Prior to that, he was Chief Health Officer at IBM for a decade. Before IBM, Dr. Rhee was Chief Public Health Officer at the Health Resources and Services Administration, the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. Dr. Rhee also previously served as director of the Office of Innovation and Program Coordination at the National Institutes of Health, the primary federal agency for medical research. Prior to his public service, Dr. Rhee practiced as a primary care physician for the National Health Service Corps and served as Chief Medical Officer for Unity Healthcare and Baltimore Medical System, community health centers in the Washington, DC/Baltimore area.

As a purpose-driven physician executive, scientist, teacher, and entrepreneur, Dr. Rhee has a reputation that is synonymous with leadership, innovation, and transformation across and within the nonprofit, public, and private sectors. Throughout his career, Dr. Rhee has actively worked to advance primary care, public health, and health equity for underserved populations, achievements that align with NACHC’s strategic priorities and mission. “Over nearly 60 years, community health centers have become the best part of our health system, delivering high quality, affordable primary care and health equity for communities across our nation,” said Dr. Rhee. “I look forward to building on NACHC’s history, vision and mission, and to partnering for an even brighter future for the more than a quarter of a million people who serve and the more than 30 million people they serve.”

Dr. Rhee will officially join NACHC on August 16, 2023.

BETHESDA, MD — The clock is ticking on a funding extension for Community Health Centers that expires on September 30^th and will result in a 70 percent cut unless Congress acts. An analysis from the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) projects that almost 7 million patients will lose access to care if Congress does not extend health center funding. The funding uncertainty poses a significant challenge for Community Health Centers, which care for more than 30 million people nationwide at a time when nearly one-third of the U.S. population, more than 100 million people, struggle to access affordable preventive health care.

“From small towns to big cities, health centers provide high-quality, affordable health care and do not close their doors to anyone,” said Rachel A. Gonzales-Hanson, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer at NACHC. “Health centers are mission-driven, but they need financial certainty to plan and deliver services and hire clinicians, such as doctors, dentists, behavioral health, nursing staff and other disciplines to care for people in communities where access to care continues to be a problem. Community Health Centers have had strong bipartisan support for over 50 years, and we need Congress to prioritize an extension of funding before the September deadline.”

Over the years, Congress has repeatedly acted in a bipartisan way to extend Community Health Centers’ funding, but the need for action is more urgent than ever because health centers are navigating a period of exceptional financial uncertainty. COVID-related workforce shortages, Medicaid redeterminations, and losses from 340B restrictions pose a triple threat of fiscal pressures on safety net providers working on razor-thin margins. A 70 percent funding cut will affect every health center in some measure and jeopardize thousands of health center staff. While there’s strong bipartisan agreement in Congress that the health center funding should continue, time is short given the looming deadline and a crowded legislative calendar.  

More than 1,400 health centers nationwide are caring for more Americans than ever, including growing numbers of veterans and nearly 9 million children.

“Health care for so many people, most of whom have limited resources and are struggling with chronic health conditions, is critical and cannot lapse. This includes individuals who are the backbone of America’s workforce,” said Gonzales-Hanson.