Rep. Salazar Sends Letter Urging Speaker Johnson to Continue Funding for Teaching Health Centers

December 9, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, Rep. María Elvira Salazar (FL-27) led a letter urging Speaker Mike Johnson to support a multi-year reauthorization of the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program. These centers train young doctors and dentists who serve communities in Miami and across the country with the greatest medical needs.

In Congress, Representative Salazar has been at the forefront of efforts to secure funding for the THCGME program.

“Healthcare must continue to be accessible to all who need it,” said Representative Salazar. “Teaching Health Centers produce the next generation of doctors and dentists who become trusted members of our community. It is essential that these services continue.”

“America's 1,512 Community Health Centers (CHC) appreciate Congresswoman Salazar and her colleagues' support for a long-term extension of and increase in THCGME funding. THCGME-trained doctors & dentists working at CHCs increase access to integrated primary, dental, behavioral, and maternal health care that is estimated to have saved Medicare & Medicaid about $1.8 billion. Increased investment in CHC-based health care workforce development will improve outcomes and lower costs for 52 million CHC patients nationwide,” said Joe Dunn, Chief Policy Officer of the National Association of Community Health Centers.

Background

The request for action reflects the urgent need to secure funding for Teaching Health Centers in a timely fashion. The Teaching Health Centers program has over a decade of bipartisan support and remains the only federal program that invests in training future physicians in community settings rather than hospitals. Timely resolution of the THCGME funding policy is vital to the Teaching Health Centers’ fall recruiting process.

Teaching Health Centers are central to ensuring quality care for our communities and reducing costs across our healthcare system.

You can read the full letter here.

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