November 10, 2011 / Contact: Miguel McInnis
(301) 577 – 0097
Calling on Congress to Support America’s Health Centers
Lanham, MD – The Mid-Atlantic Association of Community Health Centers is calling on Congress and the President to support and protect Community Health Centers.
Our local efforts are a part of a larger national Campaign for America’s Health Centers. Patients and staff of the Community Health Centers in Maryland and Delaware along with other community residents are joining the effort to tell Congress and the Obama Administration not to do anything that would undermine the successful Health Centers program as they negotiate Medicaid changes and cuts to the federal budget.
The Campaign for America's Health Centers is a national effort to mobilize the nearly 150,000 staff and 23 million patients of health centers across the country as Congress considers cuts to federal discretionary programs as well as changes to the Medicaid program that could force health centers to reduce services for patients.
Funding is needed so that Health Centers can continue to serve Medicaid patients and the uninsured. Expansion of services is necessary to be able to treat the newly insured patients that will be eligible for coverage in 2014.
"The point of our campaign is to educate our state and national leaders not only about the importance of our health center, but the importance of Medicaid to our patients," said Dr. Gary Wiltz, MD, CEO of Teche Action Clinic in Franklin, Louisiana and Board Chair-Elect of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). "Health centers are an essential part of America’s commitment to health care because we deliver cost-effective, efficient and high quality care for the community. The Campaign for America’s Health Centers will provide a vehicle for organizing our patients and community stakeholders to impact the decisions Congress and the White House are making that will determine the future of health centers and the patients we serve."
To find out more about the Campaign for America’s Health Centers please visit
The Mid-Atlantic Association of Community Health Centers (MACHC) is a non-profit membership organization, whose members consist of community, migrant and homeless health centers, local non-profit and community-owned healthcare programs. MACHC is the federally designated Primary Care Association for Delaware and Maryland Health Centers. Our members provide health care services to the medically underserved and uninsured in Maryland and Delaware. MACHC is built on helping our members in the delivery of accessible, affordable, cost effective, and quality primary health care to those in need. For more information about MACHC, visit or e-mail .