OME Advocate Newsletter

AACOM achieved significant successes for osteopathic medical education in 2025:

• Community-Based Training: Advanced bipartisan support for expanding rural and underserved clinical rotation sites through the reintroduced Community TEAMS Act, H.R. 3885,  adding 22 cosponsors and gaining support of more than 50 national and state organizations. AACOM secured Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 House and Senate report language directing the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to facilitate community-based rotations.
• GME Parity and Expansion: Reached a historic milestone with the introduction of the first-ever Senate FAIR Act, S. 2715, and its House companion, H.R. 2314, which have secured 23 total bipartisan cosponsors and are endorsed by 75 national and state organizations. AACOM supported reintroduction of the Rural Physician Workforce Production Act, H.R. 1153, and continued advocacy for long-term reauthorization of the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program.
• Increasing Osteopathic Research: Secured FY26 House and Senate report language to expand osteopathic research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Senate FY26 Veterans Affairs report language reinforcing congressional support for osteopathic manipulative medicine and non-opioid pain management, including a 180-day reporting requirement on utilization.
• Federal Student Aid and Higher Education Reform: Achieved important wins in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21), driven by coordinated congressional meetings, OME engagement, cross-organizational planning and more than 10,000 grassroots congressional messages. Successes include raising medical student loan caps to $200,000, replacing House risk-sharing with an improved Senate accountability model and preserving Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility for residency and fellowship. Since enactment, AACOM has been educating the osteopathic community about the impact of the law and seeking to mitigate harmful provisions through regulation.
• Elevating the Osteopathic Voice and Influence: Expanded federal influence with a 233 percent increase in advisory committee nominations, record-setting 550 Advocacy Day registrants, 340+ congressional meetings across 42 states, introduction of a bipartisan National Osteopathic Medicine Week resolution for the fourth consecutive year and 37 letters and formal comments sent advancing OME priorities.

These accomplishments reflect AACOM’s dedication to expanding osteopathic influence and championing policies that strengthen healthcare education and delivery. We look forward to working with you in 2026 during the second session of the 119th Congress to build on these successes and continue to strengthen the profession. View AACOM's blog post.

Applications are now open for the 2026-2027 Osteopathic Health Policy Internship (OHPI) Program, where selected osteopathic medical students will spend eight consecutive weeks working virtually with AACOM's Government Relations department. The OHPI Program is open to current second- and third-year osteopathic medical students (OMS II and III) who will be on their clinical rotations during the 2026-2027 academic year. First-year students and students entering the Match this year are not eligible for the internship. Learn more and apply by 11:59 PM on February 20, 2026.

Apply Now!

• On December 10, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public comment on updates to the Accreditation Handbook to promote quality, transparency, efficiency and value in postsecondary education.
• The RFI, intended as a step in implementing the President’s April Executive Order titled “Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education,” asks a series of questions regarding any inaccuracies in the handbook and the policies and practices that should be updated. The Department also asks how standards can be changed to “incentivize intellectual diversity on campus.”
• Comments are due January 26, 2026, and more information can be found in the Federal Register notice.

• On December 8-12, 2025, ED convened its Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) negotiated rulemaking committee.
• The majority of this session focused on implementing Workforce Pell Grant provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, P.L. 119-21, including developing a new regulatory framework, new program eligibility and disbursement of funds.
• Negotiators reached consensus on seven topics related to creating a new Workforce Pell program.
• View AACOM’s summary of the first AHEAD session and the consensus package.
• The next AHEAD session is set for January 5-9, 2026, when negotiators will discuss accountability, gainful employment and financial value transparency issues.

• On Tuesday, December 11, 2025, ED announced it had reached a settlement agreement, pending final court approval, with the State of Missouri to end the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, an income-driven repayment plan by the Biden administration.
• Republican state attorneys generals, led by Missouri, sued the Biden administration in April 2024, arguing in court that SAVE was too generous. Borrowers were placed on administrative forbearance with a zero percent interest rate as the legal process continued.
• According to the new agreement, the state of Missouri will drop its lawsuit against the administration; in return, ED will not enroll any new borrowers into the SAVE plan and move those currently in the SAVE plan into a different repayment plan.
• If approved, borrowers will be required to resume payments. Borrowers will have a limited amount of time to choose between a fixed or an income-based payment plan and begin repaying their student loans, according to the press release.

• On December 3, 2025, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing titled "Making Health Care Affordable Again: Healing a Broken System.” The Committee heard testimony from a three-witness panel including insurance executives and advocacy leaders on how Congress can address healthcare affordability concerns and whether the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits (EPTCs), which expire at the end of the year, should be extended.
• HELP Chair Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) advocated for his President-supported plan to shift funding from the EPTCs to pre-funded health savings accounts. HELP Ranking Member Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with all committee Democrats, supported extending the credits.
• The hearing also included discussion of multiple bipartisan pieces of legislation designed to lower healthcare long-term costs through price transparency; the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, S. 2355; pharmacy benefit manager reform; the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform Act, S. 1339; increased competition; and the Healthy Competition for Better Care Act, H.R. 6248.
• View AACOM’s summary to learn more.