Friends of HRSA Urges Legislators to Appropriate $8.8 Billion for Discretionary Health Resources and Services Administration Programs

On February 26, Friends of HRSA, of which ASAM is a member, sent a letter to Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Tom Cole, the chair and ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, as well as Senators Roy Blunt and Patty Murray, the chair and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. In the letter, Friends of HRSA urged that they appropriate $8.8 billion for discretionary Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) programs in the FY 2021 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.

The letter then stressed the fundamental role that HRSA plays in improving the health of Americans by addressing the supply, distribution and diversity of health professionals, supporting training in contemporary practices and providing quality health services to the nation’s most vulnerable populations. Among other programs, HRSA supports over 11,000 community health centers which serve as the primary medical home to more than 28 million people, providing comprehensive, cost-effective care by reducing barriers such as cost, lack of insurance, distance, and language for their patients. The letter concluded by noting that the U.S. faces a shortage of health professionals and a growing and aging population which will demand more health care. In order to address these shortages, programs like those supported by HRSA are vital.

Read the letter here.