Friends of HRSA Requests at Least $7.5 Billion for HRSA for Fiscal Year 2003

2/4/2002

From: Friends of HRSA, 202-777-2513

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 -- The Friends of HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) is an advocacy coalition of more than 125 organizations, collectively representing millions of public health and health care professionals, academicians, and consumers. Our member organizations strongly support programs that assure Americans' access to health services, and the elimination of health disparities.

HRSA, "The Access Agency," is a safety net for medically underserved individuals and families, including 39 million Americans who lack health insurance, 49 million Americans who live where primary health care services are scarce; African American infants who are 2.4 times more likely than are white infants to die before their first birthday; and more than 800,000 people living with HIV/AIDS. The agency's overriding goal is to achieve 100 percent access to healthcare, with 0 disparities. Some of the major healthcare initiatives conducted by HRSA:

-- Hospital and Provider Preparedness: Existing programs for emergency services, safety net facilities, and health professions training must be expanded in response to these challenging times. All responders, providers and facilities must be ready to detect and respond to complex disasters, including terrorism. -- Health Professions: programs train and retain physicians, nurses, dentists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, public health personnel, psychologists and other allied health providers; assure that underserved communities will have the providers they need; assure a diverse and capable health workforce to respond to the Aging Baby Boom. -- Primary Care: programs include the Community, Migrant, Homeless and School-Based Health Centers. Strong funding supports a shared goal, to double the number of people served at Community Health Centers, to build new Centers in identified shortage areas, and to include essential mental health services in all Centers. -- Maternal and Child Health: flexible Maternal and Child Health Block Grants, Healthy Start, and other programs provide services including pre-natal care, newborn screening, school-based health and mental health care services, and well-child care for millions of women and children not covered through Medicaid or S-CHIP. -- HIV/AIDS: Ryan White CARE Act provisions, including Emergency Relief Grants for hard-hit urban areas, Comprehensive Care, Early Intervention, the AIDS Education and Training Centers, the HIV/AIDS Dental Reimbursement Program, and the Minority AIDS Initiative. -- Family Planning: (Title X) reproductive health care and other preventive services that improve maternal and child health outcomes, prevent unintended pregnancies and reduce the rate of abortions. Title X programs serve 4.5 million low-income women at more than 4,500 clinics nationwide. -- Rural Health programs include Rural Health Outreach and Network Development Grants and Rural Health Research Centers, and other programs designed to stabilize financially troubled rural hospitals and provide additional support in sparsely populated and frontier areas. -- Coordinated Services for the Uninsured: The Community Access Program grants help communities build partnerships among health care providers to deliver more and better care to their neediest residents. -- Special Programs include Health Teaching Facilities, the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network, and the National Marrow Donor Program. Strong funding would facilitate an increase in organ donations, helping to serve the 80,000-plus patients currently awaiting a donated organ.

In the best professional judgment of the members of the Friends of HRSA, to respond to this challenge, the agency will require a funding level of at least $7.5 billion for fiscal year 2003.