Institute staff head to Albany for CHCANYS Advocacy Day

On Monday, March 3, Institute staff joined health center advocates, providers, board members and patients from across New York State to take part in Health Center Advocacy Day. This annual event, organized by the Community Health Care Association of New York State (CHCANYS), allows health center advocates to meet with elected officials and their staff about issues affecting the health of our communities.

Institute staff discussed our work providing primary care, mental health, dental care and social services to patients in New York City and the Hudson Valley, highlighting the policy issues that affect our communities. Central to these discussions were budgetary issues, including the ongoing campaign to raise the Medicaid reimbursement rate for community health centers. Current health center reimbursement rates were set in 1999, and health centers’ operating costs are now significantly higher than they were 20 years ago. An increase in the reimbursement rate will ensure sustainable investment in community health centers and allow them to continue serving all patients who need care. In addition, health centers discussed pay parity for telehealth services, which would allow community health centers to present patients with options for their care and offer greater accessibility.

Over 50 Institute employees attended Advocacy Day and met with a total of 16 legislators’ offices. Our staff took the opportunity to speak from first-hand experience caring for patients and seeing the impact of the structural inequities in our health care system. We would like to especially thank the following elected officials and their staff for meeting with us:

• New York State Assemblymembers:
  • Didi Barrett (District 106)
  • Michael Benedetto (District 82)
  • Harvey Epstein (District 74)
  • Micah Lasher (District 69)
  • Linda Rosenthal (District 67)
  • Sarahana Shrestha (District 103)
  • Jo Anne Simon (District 52)
• New York State Senators:
  • Cordell Cleare (District 30)
  • Nathalia Fernandez (District 34)
  • Kristen Gonzalez (District 59)
  • Brian Kavanagh (District 27)
  • Liz Krueger (District 28)
  • Robert Jackson (District 31)
  • Peter Oberacker (District 51)
  • Gustavo Rivera (District 33)
  • Jose Serrano (District 29).

We are grateful to our representatives for their continued support of community health centers and for taking the time to meet with us.