Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-Calif.) recently introduced health care legislation that may positively impact access to medical and social services for about 2 million of the nation’s students. According to Medical News Today, the bill, dubbed the School-Based Health Centers Act, would reauthorize federal funding for the 2,000 School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) that face cuts in services and staffing, as well as possible closures as a result of the economic downturn.
Meeting Student Needs
Experts who support Congresswoman Capps’ legislation point to the more than five million uninsured children in the United States who stand to gain from access to health care and other social services at their local school site. Other tangible social benefits of SBHCs include a marked increase in school attendance and academic achievement and a decrease in student visits to emergency rooms for urgent health care services. The American Public Health Association’s Center for School, Health and Education indicates that the positioning of SBHC staff within the schools may work to increase graduation rates, particularly for students from the nation’s more vulnerable populations.
How the Proposed Bill May Pass
The School-Based Health Centers Act, while poised to provide much-needed funding for SBHCs across the nation, still faces a steep climb in the House and the Senate. According to GovTrack, over the past two years, a mere three percent of introduced bills have passed muster with all three branches of government and been enacted into law. A previous bill with similar reach was introduced to the 112th Congress but did not make it to the floor. The recently introduced bill has 15 co-sponsors and is currently in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. If passed, the Act will secure federal funding for SBHCs for a full five years.
According to Congresswoman Capps, the proposed health care legislation would ensure continued access to medical and social services for those students already benefiting from SBHCs and also expand the reach of those programs in order to impact a greater number of students, particularly those from vulnerable populations.
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