OME Advocate Newsletter

AACOM is pleased to report growing bipartisan congressional support for both the Fair Access In Residency (FAIR) Act, H.R. 2314 / S. 2715, and the Community Training, Education, and Access for Medical Students (Community TEAMS) Act, H.R. 3885, as we enter 2026!

Thanks to osteopathic advocates, Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) joined as FAIR Act cosponsors while Representatives Don Bacon (R-NE), Susie Lee (D-NV), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM) and Joe Neguse (D-CO) cosponsored the Community TEAMS Act. Organizational support for these bills also continues to grow with the American Association of Teaching Health Centers recently signing on to the FAIR Act coalition support letter.

Both bipartisan pieces of legislation are critical to addressing healthcare workforce shortages. Your voice helps move them forward! Resolve to take action this new year and tell Congress to promote DO graduate medical education parity through the FAIR Act and expand community-based clinical rotations with the Community TEAMS Act. Use the buttons below to send messages directly to your elected officials and join thousands of advocates making a real difference for DO students across the country.

FAIR Act Community TEAMs Act

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 and Health Affairs 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 Today!

• On Thursday, January 8, 2026, the House voted 397-28 to advance the second fiscal year (FY) 2026 funding package. The measure includes full year funding for the Commerce-Justice-Science; Energy and Water; and Interior-Environment funding bills. The Senate is expected to begin votes on the package this evening.
• With the continuing resolution set to expire on January 30, lawmakers have limited time, though optimism is growing that the remaining six FY26 spending bills—including the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (LHHSE) bill—can be finalized before then.
• Both the House and Senate FY26 LHHSE bills include AACOM-requested report language to increase National Institutes of Health engagement with osteopathic medical schools and expand community-based clinical rotations. AACOM will continue working with appropriators to ensure these priorities are retained during final negotiations.

• On January 5-9, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) convened the second session of its Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) negotiated rulemaking committee.
• This session focused on the new accountability framework created in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, P.L. 119-21, and Gainful Employment and Financial Value Transparency regulation amendments.
• Negotiators reached consensus on a new framework that includes a single earnings test for all postsecondary programs and new standards that could remove access to federal student aid for failing programs.
• ED will issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking based on the negotiated language, request public comment and issue a final rule slated to take effect on July 1, 2026.

• On January 1, 2026, a temporary exemption that made student loan forgiveness tax free under the American Rescue Plan Act expired, meaning loans forgiven on or after that date may be taxable as income for some borrowers.
• Borrowers who met the requirements for loan forgiveness in 2025 and applied before the end of the year, but did not have their application processed due to ED’s backlog should still be eligible for tax-free forgiveness, according to court documents from an ongoing lawsuit between ED and the American Federation of Teachers.
• Borrowers who qualify to have their remaining debt forgiven after January 1 and are paying loans through income-driven repayment plans will likely owe federal taxes on that amount.
• The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is not considered taxable income and is not affected by these tax changes.

• On December 22, 2025, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published its report on the initial distributions of new Medicare-funded physician residency positions funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021. The law requires the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to distribute 1,000 new Medicare-funded GME residency positions to qualifying hospitals in at least five annual distributions. As of September 2025, 600 of those positions had been allocated through the first three annual distributions.
• GAO analyzed hospital application data submitted to CMS for the first three annual distributions from 2023 through 2025 and found that hospitals awarded positions tended to be located in urban areas, have established residency programs and applied to expand primary care training opportunities.
• Addressing physician shortages through the distribution of new residency slots is critical, particularly in rural and underserved areas, and AACOM continues to advocate for GME priorities in these communities.

• On December 29, 2025, CMS announced that all 50 states would receive funding through the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), the $50B initiative to strengthen and modernize rural healthcare and the rural health workforce created in response to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Medicaid cuts.
• CMS established the Office of Rural Health Transformation (ORHT) to oversee the program and help states put their rural health transformation plans into action. ORHT will provide technical assistance, coordinate federal and state partnerships and ensure strong oversight and accountability.
• The RHTP funding will be distributed over five years, starting in 2026, with states’ first-year awards ranging from $147M-$281M.
• A detailed press release from CMS includes state-by-state funding allocation and an abstract of state projects. Additionally, the National Rural Health Association maintains a detailed RHTP page and state application summary activity tracker.
• If you are working with any state organizations on projects that would benefit a specific COM or the osteopathic community in your state, please let us know at aacomgr@aacom.org.