Making America Healthy Again Starts at Community Health Centers
Protect Hardworking Americans, their Families, and Communities
Established in 2021, Advocates for Community Health (ACH) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit membership organization of community health centers dedicated to forward-thinking federal policy and advocacy on behalf of health centers, their patients, and the communities they serve.
We are the nation’s largest primary care system, serving communities with essential services that make and keep people healthy, including chronic disease management, timely diagnosis, preventive care, and support for mental and nutritional well-being.
Our nation’s nearly 1,500 community health centers (CHCs) provide high-quality, comprehensive primary care to nearly 34 million patients annually, regardless of their ability to pay. CHCs are reflections of their local communities in design and in practice; 51% of their boards are required to be composed of patients of the health center, to reflect the communities they serve.
ACH represents some of the largest CHCs, each of which employs at least 300 full-time employees and serves at least 40,000 unique patients annually, serving a collective total of 4 million patients across 23 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Building on 60 Years of Keeping Americans Healthy
The 60-year legacy of CHCs is built on deep bipartisan congressional support, along with robust federal grant funding, Medicaid reimbursement, and critical savings realized through the 340B Drug Discount Program. Together, these elements make up the lifeblood of the Health Center Program.
CHCs might be our country’s best health policy “experiment,” given the outsized dividends they return each and every day. For every $1 invested in primary care, $13 is saved in downstream costs. According to a recent Congressional Budget Office report, care provided at community health centers leads to more cost-effective care, lower federal spending for the Medicaid and Medicare populations they serve, and lower spending in emergency departments, in inpatient hospital settings, and for other outpatient services. And for every dollar of federal funding invested in CHCs, $11 is generated in total economic activity through increased spending on related health service expenses, food services, transportation, construction, and more.
As the Trump Administration pursues a renewed focus on prevention, chronic disease management, wellness, and centering and empowering patients, no health care provider is better suited to meet the moment than CHCs. We stand ready to be a core partner and ask policymakers to support us in making community health centers the centerpiece of efforts to Make America Healthy Again.
How Health Centers Help Communities Thrive
Community health centers have a strong history of preventing and treating chronic health issues in the U.S. According to HRSA, in 2024 alone health centers oversaw a nearly 7 percent increase in patients with controlled diabetes and hypertension. They also use federal dollars wisely and efficiently, as community health centers were estimated to save a total of $25.3 billion for the Medicaid and Medicare programs in 2021, and for Medicaid patients, health centers save 24% per patient compared to other providers.
With additional investment, CHCs could dramatically accelerate their impact on patients and their communities. Long term stability is critical for CHCs to have the impact needed to transform our health care system and achieve the goals of the administration.
Food and Nutrition: One way that community health centers improve public health is through food and nutrition. They are underwriting pilots with a patchwork of funding, but could accelerate this work with additional support:
Evara Health (Florida) is pioneering direct use of food as medicine. In collaboration with Feeding Tampa Bay and funded in part by Humana, Evara Health’s clinicians provide food prescriptions and medically appropriate nutrition and meals to certain patients. To be eligible for their program, patients are screened for food insecurity using the USDA Hunger Vital Sign screening questions. Patients identified as food insecure and diagnosed with chronic conditions of diabetes, hypertension, and/or high BMI are eligible for enrollment in the food intervention program. Patients receive vouchers to use at the Evara Food Rx Pharmacy, where staff assist patients as they choose from a prescribed option set. In addition to Evara’s pantries, patients can redeem their vouchers at Feeding Tampa Bay’s “Groceries on the Go” bus, which parks at various locations throughout the week, including Pinellas Park and the Lealman Exchange.
El Rio Health (Arizona) offers comprehensive nutritional counseling with a team of Nutrition Education Specialists, Registered Dietitians, and a Lactation Consultant. This interdisciplinary approach ensures that diverse nutritional needs are met, from general health maintenance to specific medical conditions.
NeighborHealth (Massachusetts) takes a four-pronged approach to addressing food insecurity: 1) Food Access programs increase access to healthy foods at Farmers' Markets; 2) the center’s Community Resource and Wellness Center serves over 700 families each week with groceries and necessities; 3) an onsite kitchen makes more than 2,000 prepared meals each week for elderly enrolled in its home-delivered meals program through the Senior Care Options or Program of All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly programs; and 4) an onsite WIC program supports thousands of families each year.
Peninsula Community Health Services (Washington) screens all patients for food security. In 2022, they screened 40,007 patients across 88,701 visits and identified 303 patients who needed referrals for food as an immediate need. As a part of their process, PCHS provides emergency food boxes inside their clinic. Those patients were then sent to work with the center’s Community Health Workers for “touches,” during which the community health center works to coordinate more stable food resources.
Chronic Disease Prevention and Management: In addition, community health centers help their community members prevent and manage chronic disease. These programs are often funded through 340B savings and other revenue streams, but could expand with additional support:
Cumberland Family Medical Center, Inc. (Kentucky) - Established in 2018, Cumberland Family Medical Center’s “My Lyfe Wellness+” partners with employers to provide occupational health services, acute and primary health care, curated wellness programs, chronic care management, and pharmacy delivery. Cumberland Family Medical Center also provides smoking cessation classes, blood pressure checks, health fairs, and weight loss classes in their communities to extend their mission as a community health center.
Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic (Washington and Oregon) offers a wide range of classes and services for patients, including classes on Chronic Disease Self Management, First Steps classes that show pregnant women and new moms how to use medical, social, educational, and other local resources, and a Maternity Case Management program that gives Oregon women at-home or in-office access to a Community Health Nurse, a Behavioral Health Specialist, a Community Health Worker, and a Registered Dietitian during pregnancy and after delivery. YVFWC also participates in community events to provide health screenings, nutrition information, and other services.
HealthSource of Ohio - HealthSource’s Intensive Diabetes Self-Management Education Program is designed to help patients develop strategies to better manage their diabetes. The Program, accredited through the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists (ADCES), is based on the Diabetes 7 Self-Care Behaviors for managing diabetes: monitoring, problem solving, healthy eating, being active, taking medication, reducing risk, and healthy coping.
Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Funding as an Accelerant
In the proposed 2026 budget for the Administration for a Healthy America, the Administration included $260 million to support MAHA initiatives. The budget states that the funding will be distributed across multiple programs to address critical public health challenges, including chronic disease and childhood obesity, through a Prevention Innovation Program. We strongly recommend that at least 50% of this funding be provided to community health centers to engage in the primary goals and objectives of MAHA, including:
- Improving nutrition and wellness, including through Food is Medicine Programs
- Preventing chronic illness, including through screening and educational programs and connecting patients to wearable devices
- Treating and stabilizing chronic diseases through consistent access to treatment
Helping community health centers provide health and wellness services to their communities means better health outcomes and lower costs for our entire healthcare system.
We appreciate policymakers’ resolve to drive practical reforms rooted in primary care, empowering patients and providers, and expanding holistic health services. CHCs are the front-line force capable of delivering these solutions and improving care for all Americans.
For more information on these policy recommendations, please contact Stephanie Krenrich, Senior Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, at skrenrich@advocatesforcommunityhealth.org.