Maine’s community health centers provide comprehensive primary care to over 160,000, or one-in-eight, residents annually. Despite their growth, these health centers continue to operate at less than 1% of the state’s total health care bill. Nevertheless, the costs of providing high quality, comprehensive primary care – including integrated behavioral health care – to a growing population of underserved, uninsured or underinsured has placed extreme demands and stress on the primary care safety net, which faces some of the highest regulatory hurdles in the market. This environment puts a premium on policy initiatives in Augusta and Washington, D.C.

Our Actions

Maine Primary Care Association is invested in shaping both state and federal public policies impacting Maine’s community health centers and the patients they serve. Over the years, MPCA has been a consistent and vocal advocate for increased support of the high quality primary care that community health centers provide throughout Maine.

In the recently concluded first session of Maine’s 123rd Legislature, MPCA promoted public policy that strengthens our primary care safety net and opposed legislation that would negatively impact and restrict access among our medically underserved areas and populations (e.g., through increasing cost sharing, reducing eligibility and limiting services for those with MaineCare).

MPCA advocated for a number of bills that would increase access to care and services and support the efforts of our safety net. These include:

• Statewide funding of community health centers
• Restoration of universal access to life-saving vaccine
• Evidence-based post-partum depression screening
• Greater supply of dental professionals caring for the underserved
• Improved HIV testing protocols

At a federal level, MPCA is engaged in promoting the policy agenda of the National Association of Community Health Centers with its focus on:

• Reauthorizations
• Appropriations
• Medicaid
• Medicare Policy Initiatives
• And other efforts to support the safety net, improve health outcomes, and reduce the uninsured in the country.

MPCA also supports health center events throughout the year that engage our state and federal policy-makers. The pinnacle of this work is National Community Health Center Week in August which features health center activity across Maine. Click here for information on this year’s events.

The Maine Primary Care Association’s success in presenting the value of Maine’s community health centers relies on health center advocates. Your involvement as a grassroots advocate on behalf of health centers is essential to communicating to policymakers the vital care and services provided by our safety net of health centers. It demands little of your time, keeps you informed of our policy agenda and provides a real impact on policy development.

To become an active advocate for our community health centers, click here.

The demand placed on individual advocates is minimal. In many cases it is simply sending an email, but the outcomes of a coordinated response can truly generate change. In fact, in most cases a brief email from you to your representatives can make a significant difference, drawing attention to issues that might otherwise be overlooked.