Courtney Announces $1 Million Federal Grant For UCFS

WASHINGTON, DC —Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) announced that United Community and Family Services (UCFS) have been awarded a $1 million federal grant from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Courtney previously helped UCFS to secure its designation as an FQHC in 2015.

"UCFS has become an indispensable component of our local healthcare community and I am very pleased that HHS has awarded them a substantial federal grant to support their work," said Courtney. "I am very glad that we were able to help UCFS gain recognition as a Federally Qualified Health Center in 2015 and that designation is clearly paying dividends for them and our local community. I will continue to work with UCFS to review opportunities for federal support."

Jennifer Granger, president of UCFS, said: "Through continued grant funding from the Health Services Resources Administration we have been able to expand and grow the services we provide to the southeastern Connecticut community, including through our new dental site in Griswold and improved outreach and enrollment efforts. This grant will provide UCFS with three additional years of sustained funding to continue providing our community with the highest quality preventative and primary care."

Federally Qualified Health Centers trace their roots to President Lyndon B. Johnson's ‘Great Society' War on Poverty initiatives, but were bolstered by significant federal investments through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA authorized $11 billion in grants to be distributed to FQHCs between 2011 and 2015. In 2015, Congress appropriated an additional two years of funding. However, on September 30, 2017, the fund will expire and FQHCs across the country will lose up to 70% of their funding source. Congressman Courtney recently joined his colleagues in requesting continuing funding for this important source of primary care serving medically underserved populations and areas.

In addition to facing a potentially devastating loss of federal grant funding, FQHCs are grappling with the potential dismantling of our health safety net through the Republicans' proposed legislation, the so-called "American Health Care Act". This bill, which passed the House of Representatives on May 4th, proposes drastic cuts to Medicaid funding, including a repeal of the Medicaid expansion, which provided an additional 217,000 Connecticut with insurance coverage. As Federally Qualified Health Centers serve primarily underserved and low-income communities, a reduction in Medicaid coverage would severely cripple their ability to continue serving this population.