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Community health centers do a great deal with limited resources. They provide critical medical care services to many who would otherwise have no other place to go or would end up in an emergency room.

The Medicaid system currently steers people toward nursing home care. Far more people can be covered in community-based care programs for significantly less.

Each and every day health centers provide high-quality primary and preventive care to our constituents.

If you look at people who seek a lot of care in American cities for multiple illnesses, it's usually people with a number of overwhelming illnesses and a lot of social problems, like housing instability, unemployment, lack of insurance, lack of housing, or just bad housing.

When the Veterans Affairs Department implemented a program to provide home-based health care to veterans with multiple chronic conditions - many of the system's most expensive patients to treat - they received astounding results.

Quality health care services must be accessible and affordable for all - not just those in certain ZIP codes or tax brackets.

The stronger ties between primary care providers and the patients they serve will produce better outcomes and allow for more sustainable healthcare spending.

We have a VA hospital back home in St. Louis. Like many of our colleagues, we hear continued concerns about the access and the service. I have seen a statistic that more than 60,000 veterans today are waiting more than 6 months for an appointment at a VA hospital.

However, many skilled medical volunteers are turned away because community health centers cannot afford to cover their additional medical liability insurance.