About four months ago, funding for the Community Health Center Fund lapsed, and Congress hasn't yet restored long-term payments.
The issue is likely to come up in the next government funding fight. The recent stopgap spending bill only keeps the government open through Feb. 8.
And while Congress threw the fund a lifeline in January, that temporary funding runs out at the end of March.
Some community health centers are already bracing for a lack of funding. In a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey, more than half said cuts might force them to lay off staff, and others are considering cuts to patient services.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are in favor of restoring long-term funding. It's just a question of whether they'll be able to find a compromise on how to do that in the next spending deal.
