OME Advocate Newsletter

Today marks the 20th day of the federal government shutdown, which began on October 1, 2025. In a series of votes last week, the Senate failed to reach the 60-vote threshold required to advance the House-passed continuing resolution to reopen the government through November 21. The House, meanwhile, has been in recess since September 19.

The White House has already redirected several billion dollars in unspent defense research and development funding to ensure active-duty military pay continues, temporarily softening one of the shutdown’s most visible impacts. On October 31, the military will face its second payday since the start of the shutdown. It remains unclear whether this action will be replicated again.

Most federal agencies remain under contingency operations, with hundreds of thousands of employees furloughed and only essential functions continuing. Unless the shutdown is resolved, federal workers are expected to miss their first full paycheck on October 24.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had issued more than 1,300 reduction in force (RIF) notices before quickly rescinding approximately 700 of them, leaving around 600 employees still terminated. At the Department of Education (ED), 466 employees also received RIF notices. These followed months of downsizing at ED, which began the year with roughly 4,133 employees and is now estimated to have around 2,000 remaining after the most recent RIF.

With no consensus emerging in the Senate and the House still away, a timeline for resolving the government shutdown remains unclear.

On October 8, 2025, the Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY) sent a letter to the lead sponsors of the Community Training, Education, and Access for Medical Students (TEAMS) Act, H.R. 3885, thanking them for introducing the bill and endorsing the legislation. They also noted the bill “would increase the standard and quality of care for patients nationwide by training the next generation of physicians at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Centers and other healthcare facilities.”

Osteopathic members of AMSNY include the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Tell your Members of Congress to support the Community TEAMS Act today!

Take Action!

• On September 22, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that more than 70 Public Health Service Officers from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps would be transferred from their current posts to serve 120-day assignments at Indian Health Service (IHS) centers.
• HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. cited workforce shortages and healthcare delivery gaps in tribal communities as reasons for the mobilization of officers, and IHS clinics are welcoming the assistance.

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) held a procedural vote Thursday on the House-passed Defense Appropriations bill. While Senate Republicans had initially explored advancing a bundled package combining the Defense, Labor-HHS-Education and Transportation-HUD bills, they ultimately opted to move forward with the Defense bill on its own.
• The cloture vote failed, 50-44, ten votes short of the 60 needed to advance. Senate Democrats largely opposed advancing the bill, arguing that lawmakers should first reach a bipartisan agreement to end the government shutdown before considering individual spending measures. Following the failed vote, the Senate adjourned until Monday.

• On October 16, 2025, the administration announced it was backing off its initial plan to pause all Medicare payments during the government shutdown.
• FQHCs and other providers under the physician fee schedule will have claims processed and paid as usual, except for certain services tied to expired authorizations, ensuring continued operations during the shutdown.
• The payment hold now applies only to select claims, including some telehealth services with authorizations that expired on September 30.

• Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), chair of the Senate HELP Committee, has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on ways to improve price and value transparency in higher education.
• The RFI outlines four policy priorities: improving price transparency, strengthening value data, ensuring clear financial aid offers and supporting informed borrowing.
• Interested stakeholders are invited to share perspectives, legislative suggestions and feedback on how federal policy can support transparency while preserving institutional flexibility.
• Responses are due October 24, 2025 to ValueTransparency@help.senate.gov. Please share any comments separately with AACOM at aacomgr@aacom.org.