Hawaiʻi U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz visited the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center on Oʻahu as health care facilities and low-income families brace for looming federal cuts.
WCCHC serves thousands of low-income households every year, and provides not just health care, but food, job training and other services.
Congressional cuts to programs like SNAP and Medicaid, along with cuts to other types of funding, could impact the services of facilities like WCCHC.
The health center and Schatz are working on ways to protect the federal money the center receives.
“Health centers like the one here in Wai‘anae are doing incredible work to keep people in their local communities healthy. That’s why it’s critical they continue to get the federal resources they need,” Schatz said in a statement. “We’ll keep fighting to protect federal funding for community health centers across Hawai‘i.”
Part of the discussion also included finding savings or other funding sources to continue providing residents with necessary services.
“ We're involved in looking at Medicaid, not only from the standpoint of the complexities of keeping our patients enrolled, but also making sure that we are looking at the value that can be found in Medicaid. Where are there potential savings and efficiencies that the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center can respond to, create or maybe to make up with some of the lost revenues we could realize from these changes?” said Rich Bettini, WCCHC’s president and CEO.
Schatz is a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee.
