Duckworth Honored with Distinguished Community Health Advocate Award, Calls for End to Republican Blockade of Efforts to Prevent Insurance Prices from Skyrocketing

Duckworth Honored with Distinguished Community Health Advocate Award, Calls for End to Republican Blockade of Efforts to Prevent Insurance Prices from Skyrocketing

[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today was honored with the National Association for Community Health Centers (NACHC) 2022 Distinguished Community Health Advocate Award, recognizing her efforts to support Community Health Centers (CHC). In a visit to Friend Family Health in Chicago's Gage Park community, Duckworth met with Friend Family Health CEO Verneda Bachus, Illinois Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA) CEO Ollie Idowu and other CHC leaders to highlight her efforts to make sure working families have access to affordable, quality healthcare. During her visit, Duckworth also highlighted how millions of Americans are currently at risk of seeing health insurance premiums skyrocket if Republicans continue blocking Democrats' efforts to prevent price hikes. Photos from today's visit are available here.

"While I'm grateful for this honor today, I'm most grateful for the work Community Health Centers do every day, and especially everything they've done throughout the pandemic," Duckworth said. "But let's be clear: at least 13 million Americans could see their premiums skyrocket in the blink of an eye later this year. Democrats are working to make sure that doesn't happen and help more Americans keep their hard-earned dollars while maintaining access to high-quality healthcare coverage. But we need Republicans to get out of the way."

"From her longtime commitment to women's and maternal health to her efforts to strengthen care for veterans and those with disabilities to her support for healthcare workers during the pandemic, Senator Duckworth has a solid track record as a champion for healthcare," said Idowu. "On behalf of community health centers across Illinois and the country, we are pleased to honor her with this award from our national affiliate, the National Association of Community Health Centers."

Community Health Center serve 1.5 million low-income patients annually, with one in 12 Illinoisans receiving care at a CHC. Through the American Rescue Plan, CHCs throughout Illinois received $35.7 million to modernize their health care infrastructure and enhance their work to address health disparities in underserved communities and $270 million to support COVID-19 vaccination and health services for vulnerable populations.

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