Programs in Health Reform May Go Unfunded - April 28, 2010

A range of discretionary programs that were authorized in the new health reform law (e.g., funding for Community-Based Collaborative Care Networks (CBCCNs) and Section 330 grants to Community Health Centers) currently lack funds to be implemented. In testimony on April 21, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius stated that the FY 2011 budget for HHS does not include programs in the health reform law, and that the department will not seek additional funding beyond what was previously requested as part of President Obama’s budget. As a result, it will be left up to Congress to decide how to pay for discretionary programs, and it remains unclear what support exists to appropriate funds for these measures. NAPH is urging Congress to fund CBCCNs, which were authorized in the reform bill, in FY 2011. The CBCCN program authorizes “such sums as necessary” for FY 2011-2015. Given the climate, it will be a challenge to get CBCCNs funded in 2010, but appropriators in both chambers – Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) and Sen. Patti Murray (D-WA) – have formally requested $120 million for the program in FY 2011.