OME Advocate Newsletter

House and Senate members are taking a closer look at National Institutes of Health (NIH) reform. On Thursday, July 10, the House Appropriations Committee will mark up its FY25 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill. Although the bill would maintain level funding for NIH at $48 billion, it would restructure NIH from 27 to 15 centers. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is seeking stakeholder feedback on its corresponding Framework for Discussion to reform the NIH. AACOM is reviewing this framework and will consider commenting before the August 16 deadline.

Last October, AACOM responded to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee ranking member’s request for information on NIH Reform, and Senator Cassidy recently released a white paper that emphasized the need for a more balanced research portfolio.

Amid these proposals, AACOM continues to advocate for increased osteopathic research funding and representation. Although colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) comprise one-quarter of all medical schools, osteopathic scientists are severely underutilized in NIH research and underrepresented on NIH Advisory Councils and study sections. AACOM has secured Report Language in FYs 2022, 2023 and 2024 funding bills, along with a bipartisan, bicameral congressional letter that recognizes the importance and benefits of osteopathic medicine and urges the NIH to do more to incorporate COMs into research activities. Yet the NIH has taken no overt action to address these concerns raised by Congress.

AACOM is engaged in a comprehensive plan to reverse this disparity and ensure that the NIH is effectively utilizing osteopathic researchers to bolster its capacity to address some of the Nation’s most pressing healthcare needs, particularly in primary care and rural health. Please contact aacomgr@aacom.org if you wish to participate in and provide any feedback to help inform our future comments and activities on NIH.

Support for the bipartisan Community TEAMS Act (H.R. 7258/S. 3968) continues to grow as Representatives Jim Costa (D-CA) and David Trone (D-MD) recently joined as cosponsors following AACOM outreach. With 10 new House cosponsors since introduction earlier this year, momentum is growing toward expanding clinical rotation training opportunities for all third- and fourth-year medical students, especially in rural and medically underserved areas.

Urge your Members of Congress to cosponsor the Community TEAMS Act to support increased funding for community-based training opportunities for medical students!

Take Action

• On June 28, 2024, the Department of Education (ED) published the list of qualifying graduate programs that have an extended earnings measurement period under the Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) regulations finalized last October.
• Qualifying programs, including osteopathic medicine degree programs, are those with a required period of postgraduate clinical or residency work necessary to obtain a professional licensure. See the full list.
• For the purposes of complying with the debt-to-earnings rates and earnings premium measures, ED will calculate the earnings of graduates of qualifying programs starting six years after graduation, three years farther out than the standard measure.
• AACOM commented on these regulations when they were proposed last year. For a summary of the final FVT/GE regulations, see AACOM’s summary.

• On June 28, 2024, the full House passed H.R. 8774, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2025, by a vote of 217 – 198, with 17 Members not voting.
• The bill appropriates $833 billion, which is $8.57 billion above the FY24 enacted level, and includes $41.2 billion for Department of Defense medical and healthcare programs.
• The accompanying report includes several items relevant to the OME community, including a requirement that the Director of the Defense Health Agency (DHA) submit vacancy rates among military and civilian medical personnel by location and specialty to the congressional defense committees on a quarterly basis.
• The Committee is also concerned about the shortage of mental health professionals for servicemembers and beneficiaries. They urge the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Director of the DHA and the Services’ Surgeons General to review available tools to increase the number of mental health professionals.
• For other programs and provisions of importance to the OME community within the appropriations bill and report, please review AACOM’s analysis.

Meet our 2024-2025 Osteopathic Health Policy Interns: AACOM is excited to announce Annie Lorelei Hoffman of the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine and Jessica Fung of Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine as its Osteopathic Health Policy Interns. Part of AACOM’s Leadership Institute, the Osteopathic Health Policy Internship Program is designed to give osteopathic medical students a chance to impact and deepen their understanding of federal healthcare policy. During their eight-week, virtual internships, Annie and Jessica AACOM’s government relations team, supporting osteopathic medicine’s public policy priorities and growing their advocacy skills. Learn more about Annie, Jessica and the OHPI Program here.

Respond to NIH HEAL Initiative RFI on Pain Research: The NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative requests information from the public to accelerate its research on pain management, opioid use disorder and overdoses. All inquiries and responses to this RFI must be submitted via email, with "HEAL RFI" in the subject line, by July 31, 2024.

Opportunity to Participate in CMS Rural Health Challenge: The CMS Innovation Center is hosting the 2024 Rural Health Hackathon—a collaborative event being held in three locations: Bozeman, Montana (August 14), Dallas, Texas (August 22) and Wilson, North Carolina (August 29). Interested in-person stakeholders should complete a survey by July 12, 2024. CMS will provide more information for those who are unable to participate in-person but still want to submit ideas.

HRSA Accepting Applications for the Medical Student Education Program: Eligible osteopathic medical schools may apply for HRSA’s Medical School Education Program funding to support or expand education for those seeking primary care careers in rural, tribal or medically underserved communities. Priority is given to applicants in states with the greatest number of federally-recognized tribes and demonstrated public-private partnerships. HRSA anticipates awarding $11 million to 3 grantees over 2.75 years. Applications are due by July 26, 2024.

VA GME Opportunity: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA) has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the VA Pilot Program on Graduate Medical Education and Residency (PPGMER). The RFP announcement provides information to Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Sponsoring Institutions (SI) about program requirements and procedures to apply for VA’s PPGMER. The pilot program provides funding to support resident physician rotations at facilities operated by Indian Health Service, Indian Tribes, or Tribal organizations. Other health care facilities located in areas designated by VA as underserved, Federally Qualified Health Center programs, and those operated by the Department of Defense are also eligible as rotation sites. The VA will host two RFP information sessions on July 25 and August 21, 2024. The application window is from August – September 30, 2024. Learn more.