Government
House adopts health center funding
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 23, 2008
The House adopted the Health Centers Renewal Act of 2008 with a vote of 393-24 on June 4. The measure would provide $14.2 billion in funding for health centers from 2008 to 2014. It would extend medical liability protection for health care professionals who volunteer or work at health centers during public health emergencies and in disaster areas. The bill would add $200 million for health centers to the budget for fiscal 2008 -- which ends Sept. 30 -- increasing 2008 funding to $2.2 billion.
The Senate has not scheduled a vote on a bill with the same funding for health centers, but a spokeswoman for Sen. Edward Kennedy (D. Mass.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said Kennedy was working on bringing the measure to the Senate floor. It does not include the additional liability protections.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/06/23/gvbf0623.htm.
