On March 23, 2015, CHCANYS offered testimony during a Preliminary Budget Hearing of the New York City Council’s Health Committee that focused on the Mayor’s plans to expand health centers as the City confronts a severe shortage of primary care services in at-risk communities.
CHCANYS’ Senior Policy Director Beverly Grossman urged the City Council to support Mayor Bill de Blasio’s preliminary budget plan, which includes $16.5 million for health centers. This funding would provide working and capital grants to facilitate the development and expansion of at least ten high performing, community-based primary care health centers in underserved, high-need areas.
The City needs to build a larger system of FQHCs and other community-based healthcare providers in order to meet DSRIP’s laudable goal of system transformation with a subsequent reduction in avoidable hospitalizations. While Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2015 budget proposed $1.4 billion in capital funding, it focused on hospital development and restructuring, with no clear investment in community based providers. The Mayor’s plan to provide City resources for FQHC expansion recognizes that access to affordable capital enables community-based primary care providers to build or expand facilities in targeted neighborhoods, which will be essential to achieving true delivery system transformation.
Given the high costs of health care expansion, it will be critical that providers are able to leverage additional outside resources, such as FQHC equity, NYS and federal programs, New Market Tax Credits, nonprofit and private lenders, foundations, and other sources. CHCANYS urges the City Council to support the Mayor’s plan to develop a loan guarantee program to compliment the proposed $16.5 million in grants, which will be a necessary component of a successful expansion project.
To download a copy of the press release, click here.
To access a copy of Ms. Grossman's testimony, click here.
