Washington – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, MD (R-Louisiana), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, urged HELP Committee Chairman Sanders to ) to ensure federal funding. It will not be used to fund the abortion of a child and will protect the rights of parents in accordance with federal law. This is intended to circumvent existing protections in Sanders’ primary care bill that passed out of committee that prohibit SBHC funds from being used to pay for abortions or facilitate gender transition services without parental notification. This is due to the inclusion of new, undefined language that raises questions about whether there is. or consent if required by state law.
Current federal law requires SBHCs to provide comprehensive primary care services during school hours in accordance with state law, including parental consent and notification laws. Additionally, federal law states that SBHCs may not perform abortions. Cassidy asked Sanders to hold a hearing to discuss funding for school-based health care, ensure primary care laws follow the law, and protect parents’ rights to make health care decisions that are in the best interest of their children. asked for protection.
“Importantly, the school-based health center program under 42 USC 280h-5(a)(3) includes language prohibiting the provision of abortions.” wrote Dr. Cassidy. “At a time when Biden administration officials are publicly labeling parents’ involvement in their children’s education as ‘misconduct.'[or]” proposes using taxpayer funds to facilitate judicial circumvention and allow minors to obtain abortions, but S. 2840 cites the existing legal definition of school-based health. It is concerning that the school chose to make vague references to school-based health sites instead of Center under 42 USC 280h-5(a)(3). ”
Read the full letter here or below.
Dear Chairman Sanders:
Given your interest in expanding health care access in schools, we have written to request a commitment from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to establish a process to review and evaluate school-based health centers. I did.
We have discussed reauthorizing the Community Health Center Fund for months, but no specific policies related to primary care in school-based settings were proposed or discussed. The first reauthorization effort, the inclusion of $500 million in new mandatory funding in the S.__Primary Care and Workforce Expansion Act, and the directive to provide at least $55 million in mandatory funding in S.2840. would establish a new precedent never seen before in this law. Since its establishment in 2010, it has authorized the Community Health Center Fund (42 USC 254b-2).
Notably, S. 2840 departs from the original proposal, which referred to the school-based health center program, which is currently authorized through fiscal year 2026. Importantly, the school-based health center program under 42 USC 280h-5(a)(3) includes language prohibiting the provision of abortions. The law also provides that services be provided pursuant to “state law, including parental consent and notification laws consistent with federal law.”
As Biden administration officials publicly characterize parental involvement in their children’s education as “cheating”[or]” Use taxpayer-funded resources In order to facilitate judicial avoidance and ensure that minors have access to abortion, S. 2840 does not refer to the existing legal definition of school-based health center under 42 USC 280h- ‘s choice of vague references to health sites is concerning. 5(a)(3).
Anticipating the need to reauthorize the Discretionary School-Based Health Center Program and interested in providing additional mandatory funding for primary care in school-based settings, the Help Commissioner on School-Based Health We request that a public hearing be held. Center programs and other school-based health care settings, such as full-service community school programs, are invited to participate in each of the requests below –
- General auditors: Review all available funding sources for school-based health centers.
- Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General: Review compliance with anti-abortion laws and state parental consent laws under school-based health center programs, including state laws regarding gender transition.
- Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): Improved data collection to track past and current school-based health centers, or other school-based facilities funded by HRSA, and new metrics to measure classroom outcomes for patients receiving care. Request creation.
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