OME Advocate Newsletter

On March 18, 2026, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee held a hearing titled “Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of the U.S. Provider Landscape.” Committee members examined drivers of rising healthcare costs, including provider consolidation, reimbursement differences and federal policy impacts on patient access. Members discussed varying perspectives, including the role of consolidation and price transparency, as well as concerns about Medicaid funding changes and the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits on uncompensated care and hospital stability.

During the hearing, Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), sponsor of the Fair Access In Residency (FAIR) Act, questioned David Aizuss, MD, chair of the American Medical Association Board of Trustees, about barriers facing osteopathic graduates in the residency application process. She asked, “… why hasn't the medical profession done more to solve the problem …? And why shouldn't Congress act to increase transparency in Medicare funded residency programs to ensure DOs are treated fairly and that patients benefit from the full physician workforce?"

Dr. Aizuss replied, “In the eyes of the American Medical Association, an MD and a DO is equivalent. There is no difference.”

Bicameral, bipartisan support for the Community Training, Education, and Access for Medical Students (Community TEAMS) Act, H.R. 3885/S. 3989, continues to grow following reintroduction by Senators John Curtis (R-UT) and Angus King (I-ME). Representative Kim Schrier, MD (D-WA), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, recently signed on as a cosponsor to the House bill.

By expanding training opportunities in rural and underserved areas, the Community TEAMS Act will increase healthcare access and strengthen the physician workforce. Urge your elected officials to cosponsor the Community TEAMS Act today!

Take Action!

• On March 19, 2026, the Department of Education (ED) formally entered into an agreement with the Department of Treasury (Treasury) to shift key operational responsibilities for the $1.7 trillion federal student aid portfolio.
• The initial phase transfers responsibility for collecting defaulted federal student loans and managing the Default Resolution Group to the Treasury.
• All student aid systems will remain in place, and while not providing further timelines, it is expected that ED will look to transfer other responsibilities as permitted by law to advance the administration's goal of dissolving ED.

• On March 17, 2026, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director and acting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies during an oversight hearing on NIH priorities, funding and operations.
• Dr. Bhattacharya stated his aim to strengthen accountability and transparency and modernize how NIH funds science to ensure greater geographic distribution.
• Members emphasized the critical importance of sustained biomedical research and NIH’s central role in advancing treatments and improving public health, while raising concerns about funding delays and workforce challenges.
• The Office of Management and Budget recently signed off on NIH’s fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending plan after missing the 30-day statutory deadline. Dr. Bhattacharya indicated that existing funding would be quickly distributed and future funding decisions would be based on scientific merit.
• For more information about the hearing, view AACOM’s analysis.

• On March 17, 2026, the House Education & Workforce Committee marked up eight bills, including three addressing federal student aid fraud. The markup followed an Executive Order, signed by President Trump on March 16, 2026, that established a taskforce to combat fraud across all federal benefit programs.
• Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) raised concerns about privacy and institutional burden, while Chairman Tim Wahlberg (R-MI) stated the measures would “crack down on federal student aid fraud.”
• The bills included the Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act of 2026, H.R. 7891, prioritizing reviews of institutions that disburse aid without verifying student identity; the No Aid for Ghost Students Act of 2026, H.R. 7892, requiring ED to use identity fraud detection for each FAFSA; and the FAFSA Verification Efficiency Act, H.R. 7893, allowing verification of applicants’ Social Security numbers and citizenship status.

• On March 17, 2026, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) introduced the H-1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act, H.R. 7961. The legislation exempts physicians and other healthcare workers, defined under the Affordable Care Act, from the new $100,000 fee for H-1B petitions that was created by the president last September.
• The bill also prohibits new fees from being imposed on existing H-1B workers in such professions. Other lead sponsors of the legislation include Reps. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Yvette Clarke (D-NY). Learn more.

• On February 18, 2026, ED released updated data on institution nonpayment rates, warning that schools with high rates are at risk of losing access to federal student assistance in the future.
• The data is part of a broader push by the administration to improve loan repayment outcomes and assist institutions in understanding the delinquency and default risks associated with their borrowers.
• Institutions with a cohort default rate (CDR) greater than or equal to 30 percent in a single year are required to develop and submit a default prevention plan to the department. Institutions with high CDRs are recommended to submit a default prevention plan.
• An institution’s nonpayment rate is the percentage of Direct Loan borrowers who entered repayment since January 2020 and whose federal student loans were more than 90 days delinquent at the time of data collection. Learn more.

• On February 13, 2026, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced $1 billion in existing resources to address the Indian Health Service (IHS) construction backlog, beginning in FY27 and continuing until expended.
• Combined with $809.22 million appropriated for IHS facilities in FY26, the investment advances efforts to modernize Tribal healthcare infrastructure and uphold federal trust and treaty obligations to American Indian and Alaska Native populations. The announcement also included recommendations to help institutions return borrowers to repayment.

• On February 25, 2026, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held its nomination hearing for Casey Means to be medical director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service and surgeon general of the Public Health Service.
• During the hearing, Means praised efforts to fund research focused on disease prevention and reversal, make institutions accountable to measurable health outcomes and modernize medical education and dietary guidelines.
• Means’ nomination must still be advanced by the HELP Committee before moving to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. For more information, read AACOM’s analysis.