NILES — Congressman Fred Upton visited the newly opened Niles Community Health Center facility Friday, two days after the grand opening.

Upton’s visit included a tour of the health center, during which he met with CFCN CEO Mary Geegan Middleton and board president Robert Feldman to discuss the importance of the community health center program and extended funding to ensure health centers are able to continue to provide affordable healthcare access in the communities they serve.

The bill to extend community health center program funding, originally given a deadline of Sept. 30, is now on its second continuing resolution, which expires on Dec. 21.

“CHCs have always received overwhelming bi-partisan support,” Upton said. “As a supporter of the program, we are pushing to have the funding for CHCs reauthorized before the deadline to ensure the people of this community and others have access to quality healthcare.”

If Congress does not pass the continuing resolution by Dec. 21, CHCs will enter 2020 with another continuing resolution that provides a short-term extension.

“We are asking for five years of extended funding, with increases over time to allow for growth for health centers and the essential programs they rely on, like the National Health Service Corps and the Teaching Health Center program,” Middleton said. “A five-year plan eliminates the uncertainty caused by year-to-year, and now month-to-month, renewals of this critical investment in access to care. Short-term extensions do not work for small businesses, like CHCs, which strengthen communities and care for 29 million people across the country.”

CFCN, a Federally Qualified Health Center, provides primary care, behavioral health, dental, pharmacy, obstetrics and gynecology, and healthcare enrollment assistance services for people who are uninsured, underinsured, covered by Medicare and Michigan Medicaid, along with most commercial insurances.

With the uncertainty of the future of the Community Health Center program funding, Middleton said CFCN finds it important for local and state representatives to see firsthand the impact Community Health Centers have on the communities they serve. 

Upton expressed his appreciation for health centers and his confidence that CHCs currently and will continue to play a vital role in the Michigan community.