MNACHC Day on the Hill in St. Paul
On the heels of visiting Washington DC, MNACHC Advocates came to the State Capitol in St. Paul on March 20th for MNACHC’s Day on the Hill. Advocates shared patient stories with legislators in the day-long event that started with a morning briefing.
Meeting with staff from the Office of Governor Mark Dayton.
Rep. Joe McDonald (R-Delano) with Sawtooth Mountain Clinic and Neighborhood HealthSource
Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin) and MANCHC Advocates from Neighborhood HealthSource and NorthPoint Health & Wellness
Senator Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis) visits with CUHCC, Axis Medical Center and MNACHC.
Advocates shared MNACHC’s legislative priorities this session that focus on investing into Health Centers to expand access to care for low-income patients, streamlining the MA payment process for Health Centers, and reinvesting prescription drug savings into Health Centers.
Download MNACHC’s 2018 Policy Priorities along with the MNACHC Map and MNACHC Demographics shared with legislators.
A big THANK YOU to all who came to St. Paul to advocate for their Health Center and patients.
NACHC Policy & Issues Forum
MNACHC Advocates visited Washington DC in mid-March as part of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) Policy and Issues Forum. As part of the educational conference, Minnesota’s Health Centers spent a day at the Capitol visiting with Minnesota’s Congressional delegation.
In addition to thanking our Senators and Representatives for the “fixing the primary care cliff” in February, advocates shared with their member of Congress the impact of Health Centers in Minnesota.
MNACHC Advocates with Rep. Erik Paulsen.
Presenting the 2018 Distinguished Community Health Advocate Award to Rep. Betty McCollum
MNACHC Advocates with Senator Tina Smith
Jim Platten, CEO of Open Cities Health Center, receives the NACHC MVP Grassroots Advocacy Award at the NACHC Policy & Issues Forum. Pictured with Jim (second from left) are NACHC’s Director of Advocacy, Amanda Pears Kelly, NACHC Chair, Jim Luisi and NACHC CEO, Tom Van Coverden.
To learn more about NACHC’s policy priorities for the 2018 Congress, visit here or download the specific policy papers:
- NACHC 2018 Policy Agenda
- Federal Grant Funding for Community Health Centers
- Health Centers and Medicaid
- Behavioral Health and Substance Use Disorder
- 340B Prescription Drug Program
- Health Centers & Telehealth
In addition, MNACHC advocates asked House members to sign the Bilirakis-Green “Dear Colleague” Letter and asked Senate members to sign the Wicker-Stabenow “Dear Colleague” Letter to support funding for Health Centers in FY19.
Thank you to all the MNACHC Advocates – especially patients and Board Members – for traveling to Washington DC.
MNACHC Comments on DHS’ Next Generation IHP
In late December, the MN Department of Human Services (DHS) released a request for comments (RFC) regarding the “Next Generation IHP.” Under the preliminary plan, Integrated Health Partnerships (IHPs) would bid alongside the managed care organizations (MCOs) in DHS’ next procurement for Medicaid services. The change would start in 2019 and only occur in the seven-county metropolitan area.
MNACHC was one of 71 organizations that submitted comments to the MN Department of Human Services’ RFC. To view MNACHC’s comments, click on the following link: MNACHC Next Generation IHP RFC December 20 2017.
Get Involved! Visit http://www.hcadvocacy.org/ to learn how you can get involved in the health center advocacy network.
To contact your Senator and ask them to act immediately to fix the health center funding cliff, click on the “Take Action” button below.
