Urgent Action Needed: Protect Community Health Center Funding Before January 30

All federal funding for Community Health Centers (CHCs) is set to expire on January 30, 2026, when the current Continuing Resolution (CR) ends. Approximately $6 billion in CHC funding is at risk, supporting access to primary and preventive care for millions of patients nationwide. Congress must act to provide long-term, stable funding to protect patient access and avoid disruptions to care. To secure the necessary funding for CHCs, we are asking advocates to contact Congress and urge lawmakers to fund CHCs at $5.8 billion annually for 2 years.

Here’s What You Need to Know About Florida

As the home of high-quality, affordable healthcare services—including primary care, dental care, and behavioral health—Community Health Centers ended 2024 with an economic impact of $3.7 billion across Florida.

Community Health Centers play a critical role in ensuring that all Floridians, especially the most vulnerable populations, have access to healthcare services, and they also offer benefits such as transportation, access to food banks, and other enabling services regardless of the patient’s ability to pay.

Community Health Centers are not just providers; they are employers and educators and contribute to the overall health and well-being of the communities they serve.

Community Health Centers are community-based and patient-directed organizations that deliver comprehensive, culturally competent, high-quality primary healthcare services to all individuals and families, including people experiencing homelessness, agricultural workers, residents of public housing, and veterans.

Community Health Centers integrate access to pharmacy, mental health, substance use disorder, and oral health services in areas where economic, geographic, or cultural barriers limit access to affordable health care. Health centers reduce health disparities by emphasizing coordinated care management for patients with multiple health care needs and by using key quality improvement practices, including health information technology.

Florida’s Community Health Centers (CHCs or FQHCs) have provided high-quality, comprehensive primary care services in medically underserved communities for over 50 years. Florida’s 54 CHCs treat 1.8 million patients at more than 750 locations statewide, including dozens of mobile units and over 100 school-based locations.

Here’s What You Need to Know

Starting on January 1, 2026, the new HRSA 340B Rebate Pilot will require Community Health Centers to pay the “sticker price” when purchasing the ten drugs subject to Medicare price negotiations. Those drugs comprise around one-third of total Medicare Part D spending, and the upfront pricing will apply to ALL units purchased (not just those for Medicare patients). After paying the full price, the CHC must wait until the drug is dispensed, then apply for a rebate on a manufacturer-funded platform, and wait for it to arrive, effectively “floating” the upfront cost of the drug throughout.

Impact on Patients:

  • Reduced access to affordable medications
  • Reduction in services, including dental, behavioral health, and outreach
  • Disruptions to patient care and a negative impact on patient health outcomes

  • Impact on access to services with the reduction in staffing or closure of facilities

Impact on Community Health Centers:

  • Enormous cash flow needs that many CHCs are unable to support
  • Millions of dollars in lost 340B savings, leading to closures of services or sites
  • Massive new administrative costs
  • Pharmacies not dispensing MFP drugs to CHC patients