House and Senate Hold Hearings on FY24 Budget and Appropriations Priorities

With budget season in full swing, Biden Administration officials, including U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, are making the rounds on Capitol Hill to defend the President’s FY24 budget request. Many of the hearings focused on AACOM priorities, including:

• On March 22, the Senate Finance Committee hosted Secretary Becerra, where he provided details on HHS’s funding priorities. The Secretary fielded a myriad of questions from Committee members. Notably, Secretary Becerra responded to a question from Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), stating that expanding community health centers would increase access to care in rural areas, and Senator Menendez (D-NJ) asked the Secretary to commit to working with him to expand the number of Medicare funded GME spots. View hearing.
• On March 28, Secretary Becerra testified before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing, where Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) expressed concern about the healthcare workforce shortage and rural hospital closures. She also asked if HHS would commit to ensuring the next round of GME slots are more equitably distributed to rural areas. Secretary Becerra said HHS would absolutely work with her to ensure an equitable distribution. View summary.
• On March 29, the House Appropriations Committee held an oversight hearing on rural issues. AACOM submitted written testimony to the Committee for the hearing highlighting how those in rural areas face access-to-care challenges and have disproportionately worse health outcomes than those residing in urban areas. Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) led a discussion on rural physician training and asked how we can encourage medical schools to include rural rotations or establish a rural residency track. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator for Rural Health Policy, Tom Morris, cited several HRSA programs that fund these opportunities but highlighted the high volume of applicants and the need for increased funding to support additional projects. View summary.
• On March 29, Secretary Becerra also testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the FY24 HHS budget request. Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA) discussed recruiting and retaining a health workforce, and stressed that where physicians train indicates where they will practice. Sec. Becerra said that HHS supports expanding GME residency slots in rural areas to increase the workforce. View summary.