OME Advocate Newsletter

AACOM’s new report, Research at Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine: Inventory, Analysis and Future Directions, provides the first comprehensive analysis of colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) research, highlighting a growing, mission-driven portfolio aligned with national priorities and community needs. It shows COM researchers advancing patient care, medical education and population health, while outlining opportunities to strengthen impact through pipeline development, expanded collaboration and increased mission-driven funding.

Our nation needs research that improves health where people live and receive care. Research at COMs is community-engaged by design, making it uniquely suited to address real-world health challenges and contribute meaningfully to the national research landscape. This report marks the first time our community’s impact has been measured at this scale—and it shows a field ready to play a much larger role in improving health for all.

- AACOM President and CEO Robert A. Cain, DO

Despite this momentum, the report also highlights a significant gap in federal funding and representation within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recently covered in Becker’s Clinical Leadership: MD schools receive 42 percent of NIH funding while DO schools receive just 0.1 percent. AACOM has led sustained appropriations efforts to address this inequity. From fiscal years (FYs) 2022–2026, we secured House and Senate report language directing NIH to expand funding for COMs, increase DO representation on advisory councils and study sections (where DOs hold just three of 462 seats compared to 213 held by MDs) and fully integrate osteopathic medicine across all NIH Institutes and Centers.

Read the Report

On May 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) published the final rule for the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Federal Student Loan Program, following negotiated rulemaking on the student aid provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The rule maintains several key provisions, including eliminating Graduate PLUS loans (with qualifying grandfathering for current borrowers) and restricting eligibility for the highest federal borrowing caps ($50,000 annually, $200,000 total) to a narrow set of professional degree programs. It also introduces the Repayment Assistance Program and a Tiered Standard repayment plan.

ED has also released technical guidance through Federal Student Aid (FSA). An April 24, 2026, electronic announcement outlines updates to the National Student Loan Data System, including revised academic program codes tied to new borrowing limits and clarification of aggregate loan limits. Notably, PLUS loans for graduate and professional students will count toward the $257,500 lifetime aggregate limit. Once reached, borrowers are ineligible for additional Title IV loans—even if prior loans are repaid, forgiven or discharged. Borrowers who qualify for “grandfathering” may continue under current aggregate limits during the grandfathering period. However, once the grandfathering period ends, the new caps apply.

AACOM is reviewing the RISE final rule and associated ED guidance and the impact on the osteopathic medical education (OME) community. Further analysis is forthcoming. Visit AACOM’s Student Financial Aid Resources Webpage for more information.

On September 16 and 17, 2026, join fellow deans, students, faculty members, osteopathic leaders and physicians in advocating for OME federal policy priorities during AACOM Advocacy Day.

Advocacy Day brings together Members of Congress, policy experts and our Government Relations team to explore the congressional landscape, sharpen advocacy skills and highlight AACOM’s key issues on Capitol Hill. Participants will attend live virtual sessions and urge their Members of Congress to elevate OME priorities by participating in coordinated calls to action.

The event will be held virtually, requires roughly two hours each day and is open to all members of the OME community. There is no cost to participate. Further details about advocacy activities and live virtual sessions are forthcoming. Visit the Advocacy Day page for the latest updates.

Register Today!

• On April 15, 2026, FSA announced that as of April 26, 2026, ED will implement a real-time identity fraud detection feature within the FAFSA form to assess risk as students and families complete the form.
• Applicants will be classified as either low risk, moderate risk, high risk or highest risk after a real-time screening is conducted. High-risk applicants will be required to complete an additional identity confirmation process for their FAFSA to be processed. The highest-risk applicants will have their FAFSA forms processed with a reject code.
• ED expects that financial aid administrators will not need to take any action on most of rejected applications, and when a legitimate student is impacted, starting on May 3, 2026, schools will be able to assist applicants in resolving their application’s rejected status.
• View FSA’s electronic announcement for more information.

• On April 28, 2026, the House Committee on Ways and Means held a "Full Committee Hearing with Health System CEOs.” During the hearing, members examined the root causes of rising healthcare costs and barriers in rural healthcare.
• The Committee and witness panel discussed standardizing regulatory reporting, addressing the physician shortage through expanded graduate medical education and fostering collaboration among all healthcare stakeholders to ensure equitable access and affordability.
• Read AACOM’s summary for more information.

• The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on legislative proposals to strengthen U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversight of the food supply, with bipartisan agreement that diet-related chronic disease is a major public health challenge and that consumers need better transparency to make healthy food choices. View AACOM’s summary for more information.
• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently launched the Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge, a voluntary initiative encouraging hospitals to align meals with the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, including reducing ultra-processed foods, emphasizing whole grains and lean proteins and eliminating deep frying.

• Five congressional committees recently reviewed the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) FY27 budget request during a series of hearings with HHS Secretary Kennedy and ED Secretary McMahon highlighting areas of agreement and disagreement with federal health spending and agency priorities. Key topics included the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda covering chronic disease prevention, nutrition education initiatives, proposals to lower prescription drug costs and expanded access to care in rural communities.
• The Senate HELP Committee and Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (LHHS) focused on HHS agency restructuring, including proposed program consolidation of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Secretary Kennedy defended these changes as efforts to streamline operations and reduce duplication across HHS programs.
• The Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with Secretary McMahon included a brief discussion on the rulemaking that would determine how graduate and professional programs are classified under the new loan structure, which Democrats argued would push students into costlier private loans. Secretary McMahon explained the rule as a cost-reduction tool.
• View AACOM’s summary of each hearing in our action center.

• House Republicans are advancing a second budget reconciliation package, primarily to fast-track funding for immigration enforcement and national security priorities, following the Senate’s adoption of the budget resolution on April 23, 2026, by a vote of 50-48.
• While not healthcare focused, Democrats warn the proposal relies on $10 trillion in unspecified spending cuts to offset new investments, raising concerns about potential impacts to healthcare and other non-defense priorities.
• Reconciliation is a fast-track budget process that allows Congress to pass legislation affecting spending, revenue or the debt limit with a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing the filibuster, making it a key tool for advancing major policy priorities when one party controls Congress and the White House.