On April 16, the Senate passed, by unanimous consent, a bill (S. 1533) to reauthorize community health centers and the National Health Service Corps. The legislation also would create the Healthy Communities Access Program to help states and localities coordinate services for the uninsured and underinsured. Sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), the measure was approved without debate.
In FY2002 the bill would authorize $1.4 billion for community health centers and $125 million for the Healthy Communities Access Program. Additionally, the bill would establish a grant program designed to improve the quality of health care in rural areas and another grant program to provide telehealth programs and telehealth resource centers. The rural health grant program would be authorized at $40 million in FY2002, and the telehealth programs would be authorized at $60 million.
S. 1533 also would authorize $5 million in FY2002 to establish statewide technical assistance centers that would aid school-based health centers in providing services for medically underserved individuals.
