Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R) is calling on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) to prioritize multi-year funding for teaching health centers across the country. The effort includes fourteen other House members, who argue that the health centers and the physicians that would be trained are a critical component of the healthcare system.
The lawmakers issued a letter to Speaker Johnson, writing, "as you consider possible legislation for later this session, we urge you to include any broader legislative package a multi-year reauthorization for the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program." The lawmakers go on to express that "teaching health centers are a vital response to the primary care physician shortage, placing doctors in rural and undeserved communities where they are needed most."
Last year, Congress overwhelmingly passed the bipartisan Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, a bill that included a reauthorization of the THCGME program through Fiscal Year 2030. This program supports the training of future physicians in community settings, providing greater access to primary care, dental care, and behavioral health services. A multi-year reauthorization would provide adequate resources for future physicians, ensuring that these programs have the certainty to continue while helping those who have limited financial resources gain access to necessary care.
Cristine Serrano, the Executive Director of the American Association of Teaching Health Centers, praised the effort, noting that "the letter demonstrates that in medically underserved and rural communities across the nation, the residency programs our members operate are making a significant and positive impact by training the next generation of providers, whom history has shown will typically remain in such communities and reduce the physician and dentist shortage."
The letter has the backing of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), the American Association of Teaching Health Centers (AATHC), and the Florida Association of Community Health Centers (FACHC).
