Pennsylvania Community Health Center CEO and President Shelley Riser speaks on Capitol Hill on April 29, 2026. In addition to primary care, community health centers provide a myriad of services, from dental to pharmacy. (Photo: Whitney Downard/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
With continuing high disparities in health care access and outcomes inflated by ever-rising costs, community health centers proposed a solution Wednesday as a way to reduce barriers and ensure high-quality care across the commonwealth.
However, they need a little state support to continue operating.
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Aware of competing budget requests straining Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s $53.2 billion spending plan, health center workers asked for $5 million – less than last year’s request for $50 million.
According to the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC), Pennsylvania is one of four states that does not have any dedicated line item for “this critical safety net,” although its largest source of revenue is from various state grants.
“Because we are community-owned and operated, we do everything we can to care for our communities,” said Manal El Harrak, CEO of Sadler Health Center, which has three locations in Cumberland County. “We are the backbone of the primary care system in the commonwealth and across the country. But the backbone is falling apart.”
According to its data, PACHC organizations serve more than one million patients each year – many of whom are low-income – at more than 450 centers. annual report. About 16% of patients are uninsured and 44% are on Medicaid or CHIP, the public option for children.
El Harrak and others pointed to low Medicaid reimbursement and dwindling profits from federal drug programs as challenges for the centers. Previous analysis Matrix Global Advisors, acting on behalf of PACHC’s national arm, said community health centers reduce overall demand for health care services and add billions to the Commonwealth economy.
“This $5 million will greatly help the patients cared for at community health centers across Pennsylvania,” said Rep. La’Tasha Mayes (R-Allegheny). “It’s a small amount compared to the amount of work that all these centers do.”
House of Representatives lawmakers increased the budget earlier this month on a bipartisan vote, without asking for $5 million. Leaders of the Republican-controlled Senate, however, criticized the proposal’s “unsustainable” spending.
Health disparities persist, but there is also some positive news
The conclusion comes after novel data documents a gap between health care access and outcomes by race and ethnicity, with Black and Latino Pennsylvanians lagging behind their white and Asian American or Pacific Islander counterparts.
Commonwealth Fund based in New York 2026 Health Disparities Report concluded that inequality in the state is less severe than in other Mid-Atlantic states, putting Pennsylvania in the middle of the pack in several categories measured.
Fighting the stubbornly high Black maternal mortality rate with Pennsylvania’s Justice and Joy program.
However, the organization’s president, Joseph Betancourt, stressed that such disparities “are not inevitable” but rather “shaped by policy choices and decisions about the health care system that can be changed.”
“Countries that are performing well have made every effort to collect data and identify and address gaps,” Betancourt said. “When they do this, especially focusing on the most vulnerable people, we see improvements in the (overall) performance of the health care system.”
Researchers also pointed to community health workers and encouraging care in underserved communities as ways to reduce disparities.
Black Pennsylvanians are more likely to die before age 75 from a preventable cause that can be targeted at a public health level, such as kidney disease, diabetes and some cancers.
But the gaps for children are much smaller. About two-thirds of Black, Latino and white children received age-appropriate preventive care and dental visits last year. When it came to vaccines, black children were more likely than white children to be up to date, but Latino children lagged far behind in both populations.
Researchers were concerned that recent health insurance gains would be erased by federal actions, particularly the expiration of enhanced coverage tax credits under the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid work requirements. Higher rates of uninsured people would also enhance pressure on community health centers.
“These latest changes are likely to make it even more difficult for people to obtain and access care and risk widening the disparities that this report documents,” Betancourt said.
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Following the federal government’s opposition to many recommended vaccinations and its support for false claims linking vaccines to autism, Pennsylvania created its own supervisory authority with a coalition of northeastern states.
But Betancourt and others have pointed to possible opportunities to fill care gaps with novel technologies such as artificial intelligence and telehealth. He pointed to virtual therapy as an option for patients who were looking for providers who spoke their language but couldn’t find anyone in their community. Or for someone without reliable transportation.
“There are probably countless examples like this where the implementation of technologies – digital and artificial intelligence – could really help address very specific challenges that all patients certainly face, but vulnerable patients and communities of color may face disproportionately,” Betancourt said.
Lawmakers have met several times to learn about the utilize of artificial intelligence in health care, an issue that all states are grappling with how to rule energy-consuming tool.
