Tuesday, October 21, 2008

President Bush Signs Health Care Safety Net Act of 2008 into Law

On October 8th, President Bush signed the Health Care Safety Net Act of
2008, reauthorizing appropriations for 2008-2012 for community health centers and the National Health Service Corps program. The law supports various groups working to meet the health care needs of medically underserved populations and makes provisions for a national study of school-based health centers. The law requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study in the next two years about the health impact to students from school-based health centers. The study must include an analysis of the impact of federal funding on centers, cost savings to other federal programs that may be realized if services are delivered in school-based centers, the impact of centers in rural and underserved areas and an analysis of other sources of federal funding. The also law makes provisions for developing new centers to serve medically needy populations, accelerating quality improvements in community health centers, expanding the delivery of rural health care services, and addressing dental workforce shortages.

To view a summary of the law, please visit
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-1343&tab=summary

To view the entire text of the law, please visit
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-1343

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