Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK) will continue to test and vaccinate under-insured, or patients without insurance for COVID-19 even though the federal program that reimburses hospitals, clinics, doctors and other service providers for COVID-19 care for uninsured people is coming to a close.

“COVID-19 is still with us,” said Jason Wesco, President & Chief Strategy Officer at CHC/SEK. “If uninsured individuals in our communities hesitate to get care because of the cost, we’ll likely see more cases, and the consequences those cases might cause.”

With lack of additional funding, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced this week that the program that reimburses hospitals, clinics, doctors and other service providers for COVID-19 care for uninsured people is ending. “The lack of funding for COVID-19 needs is having real consequences,” Martin Kramer, a spokesman for the Health Resources and Services Administration, said in a statement. “We have begun an orderly shutdown of the program.”

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are down dramatically across most parts of the country, however with another Omicron variant surging in Europe, some scientists are concerned that another US surge could be on its way.

Wesco says CHC/SEK wants anyone who thinks they might be ill to be tested and treated.

“It’s important not only for your health, but for the health of your family, friends and neighbors,” he said. “Continued testing and vaccination are the right thing to do, and the key to putting this pandemic behind us.”