Federal Update
House Republicans Release Proposed Health Care Legislation
March 6 – House Republicans released a draft of proposed legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act titled the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The proposed bill was next considered by the two primary committees with jurisdiction over health care – the Energy and Commerce Committee (access the section-by-section summary here) and the Ways and Means Committee (access the section-by-section summary here) before going to the Congressional Budget Office for scoring. Read more about the proposed legislation here and the CBO’s analysis here.
Congressional Budget Office Releases Projections for Proposed Republican Health Care Bill
March 13 – The CBO provided analysis of the House Republicans proposed health care legislation, the AHCA. The CBO and staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation project that enacting the legislation would result in a dramatic loss in coverage, especially for patients covered by Medicaid. To read the CBO’s full report, click here.
Op-Ed: Community Health Centers Contribute Significantly to Taxpayer Savings
February 9 – In an op-ed in Roll Call, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) and former Secretary of Health and Human Services and former Governor of Utah Mike Leavitt (R-UT) present health centers as “one health care solution that can help us achieve a high-performing, high quality, and cost-efficient health care system.” Read more here.
NMTC Program Update: CDFI Fund to Potentially Open 2017 Application Round for Allocation This Month
In order to be able to announce the allocation of New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) in the year for which they are authorized, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) announced that it will likely open the CY2017 round by the end of the first quarter. Once the announcement is made, the latest information will be available here on the CDFI Fund website.
While health centers do not generally apply directly for credits, it’s important to make your project known to those financing entities that are applying. For information on how Capital Link can help your health center utilize this funding opportunity, see the article, 2017 New Markets Tax Credit Program Allocation Round − Are You Ready?
Bipartisan Call to Make New Markets Tax Credits Permanent
February 16 – Legislation was introduced in the House and Senate to secure the future of the NMTC program. The bills, both titled The New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act of 2017, respectively H.R. 1098 and S. 384, would ensure that rural communities and urban neighborhoods left outside the economic mainstream have access to financing to grow their economies and create jobs. Learn more here.
HHS Funding Opportunity – Homeless Health and Housing
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for grant funding to support the coordination of behavioral health care and housing services for the homeless. SAMHSA will award approximately 24 organizations with up to $400,000 for efforts that connect patients with substance abuse disorders to community services that provide permanent housing and support services. Grant applications are due April 25, 2017. Click here to learn more.
