Speaker. H.R. 2418. the Health Services Amendments Act of 1986. is vital to those people who live in communities where medical care is not available and to those lowincome people who are not able to get health care under Medicaid. This legislation will revise and extend the community and migrant health centers programs. The community and migrant health centers are the primary Federal programs to assure that people In medically underserved areas and in medically underserved population groups will receive health care. Community health centers serve an estimated 5.2 million people. 80 percent of whom are minorities and 40 percent of whom are children under 18. Migrant centers serve over 500.000 migrant and seasonal farmworkers. In addition to providing care for migrant workers and minorities. both programs are required to serve all residents of their communities. The Federal grants are used to cover the cost of patients who are poor or without insurance. 60 percent of those using CHCs are poor and 80 percent of those using migrant centers are poor. H.R. 2418 extends the authorizations of appropriations for the community health centers and the migrant health programs through fiscal year 1988. The authorizations are frozen at the level of current appropriations. For community health centers. the bill authorizes $400 million in fiscal year 1987 and the same amount in fiscal year 1988. For migrant health. it authorizes $45.4 million in fiscal year 1987 and again in fiscal year 1988. With the authorizations in H.R. 2418 frozen at the current level. the programs will continue but there will not be sufficient funds to meet the health care needs of these groups. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the increased cost in fiscal year 1986 of serving the same patient load is 5.9 percent.
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migrant Migrant