OME Advocate Newsletter

On July 24, 2025, the AACOM Government Relations Department hosted a webinar to explain changes to the federal student financial aid landscape included in the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), H.R. 1.

Dave Bergman, JD, AACOM’s senior vice president of government relations and health affairs, and Brian Melnyk, JD, senior associate at Venable, LLP, provided an overview of the reconciliation process, AACOM’s actions and what the final law means for osteopathic medical students and schools. For more information, you can view a recording of the webinar and AACOM’s Reconciliation FAQ document.

On July 17, 2025, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill by a bipartisan vote of 26–3. The bill authorizes $153.5 billion in discretionary funding—$19.8 billion for defense funding and $133.6 billion for non-defense programs. Notably, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would receive $133.3 billion, with $113.8 billion designated for VA medical care programs including mental health, telehealth services, medical and prosthetic research, women’s health and rural initiatives.

Included in the bill’s report (page 40) is continued support for osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) and other non-pharmacologic therapies for veterans experiencing chronic pain. This language reinforces the AACOM-requested report language from the FY23 Joint Explanatory Statement and directs the Department to report on utilization of alternative pain management treatments within 180 days. The continued inclusion of this language demonstrates the commitment to OMT and other non-opioid pain management options.

Join us at AACOM Advocacy Day for two powerful days of virtual training, inspiration and action on September 9 and 10, 2025. Register today to help us engage congressional offices in all 50 states to shape the future of osteopathic medical education (OME). Participants will advocate to expand community-based training opportunities and promote residency parity through the Community TEAMS Act, H.R. 3885, and the Fair Access In Residency Act, H.R. 2314.

Key Details:

• Day 1: Advocacy Training Webinar (1-3PM ET)
• Day 2: Congressional meetings and online advocacy (~2 hours times TBD)
• Fully virtual and free
• Register by August 1 to get the best schedule with your congressional offices
• Open to the entire OME community

Visit the Advocacy Day page for the latest updates and register today!

Register

Thanks to the comprehensive efforts of osteopathic advocates and stakeholders, congressional support for the Community Training, Education, and Access for Medical Students (Community TEAMS) Act, H.R. 3885, is growing. Representatives Darren Soto (D-FL) and Shri Thanedar (D-MI) have signed on as cosponsors of H.R. 3885. This important bipartisan legislation will create a new Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant program for medical schools to partner with Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Clinics and other healthcare facilities located in medically underserved communities to increase medical school clinical rotations. Advocates can urge Congress to support H.R. 3885 through the AACOM Action Center.

Take Action

• On Thursday, July 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced its intent to establish two negotiated rulemaking (neg-reg) committees to implement recent changes enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), H.R. 1.
• The Reimagining and Improving Student Education Committee will focus on major reforms to federal student loans for graduate and professional students, including phasing out Grad PLUS loans and setting new annual and lifetime borrowing limits.
• The Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell Committee will address changes to institutional and program accountability, including potential loss of Direct Loan eligibility for programs with low graduate earnings, reinstatement of Gainful Employment rules and implementation of Financial Value Transparency measures.
• Before establishing the neg-reg committees, the public will have an opportunity to provide oral advice and recommendations addressing the implementation of the OBBBA in a virtual public hearing on August 7, 2025. Nominations for negotiators and written comments will be accepted until August 25, 2025. The committees will consist of students, student loan borrowers, state officials and other organizations representing students and taxpayers, among others. The earliest any rules resulting from this process could go into effect is July 1, 2027, assuming the ED finalizes and publishes the rules by November 1, 2026.

• On July 18, 2025, ED released a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) announcing the immediate implementation of several higher education provisions from the OBBBA, including changes to Income Based Repayment (IBR) and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
• The IBR changes include the elimination of the partial financial hardship requirement, which expands IBR eligibility to more borrowers and sets payments for these borrowers at 10 percent of discretionary income.
• Updates to PSLF include expanding eligibility to those making payments under the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), which launches by July 1, 2026.

• On Monday, July 14, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a request by the Trump administration allowing the Department of Education (ED) to proceed with firing half of the agency, roughly 1,400 employees.
• The Supreme Court’s majority did not explain the decision in the one-paragraph court order, which is not a final ruling but lifts a previous lower court injunction that blocked the administration from moving forward.
• ED first initiated the reduction in force in March and can now proceed while litigation continues in the lower courts through the appellate process.

• On Thursday, July 24, 2025, the Trump administration appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to allow it to cut $783 million in federal research grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) linked to diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Previously, U.S. District Judge William Young found the grant cuts illegal and vacated them. This lower court decision ordered the NIH to reinstate the grants and required the Trump administration to continue paying out the awards.
• The administration requested a stay to block the reinstatement of grants from going into effect, but this was denied on Friday, July 18, 2025, by the U.S. Court of Appeals.

• In July, for the first time in decades, Congress approved $9 billion in cuts in the Rescissions Act of 2025, H.R. 4. This action codified the funding cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency using authority under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
• The Senate passed the rescissions package by a vote of 51-48 on July 17, 2025 after stripping out $400 million in cuts to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). It then returned to the House and passed by a narrow vote of 216-213 early July 18, hours before the 45-day deadline to act on the rescissions package.
• The bill contained approximately $7.9 billion in cuts to foreign aid and $1.1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
• Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, has indicated that the administration will send another rescissions package to Congress.

• On July 16, 2025, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing titled, "Legislative Proposals to Maintain and Improve the Public Health Workforce, Rural Health, and Over-the-Counter Medicines," which focused on the reauthorization of several expiring programs, including those related to rural health and the public health workforce. This marked the first hearing for COM Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) as subcommittee chair.
• During question-and-answer segments, Dr. Candice Chen, the acting associate administrator for Health Workforce, HRSA, noted that reauthorization of Title VII and VIII programs are crucial as they support training in needed specialties and integrate behavioral health and other disciplines into primary care.
• Dr. Chen revealed that under current funding, the National Health Service Corp (NHSC) can award just 50 percent of applications. Further, Dr. Chen noted that the rural health workforce faces unique challenges, but workforce shortages also exist in urban and suburban areas.
• AACOM continues to advocate for the reauthorization and funding for Title VII and VIII programs and the NHSC. For more information about the hearing, view our summary and analysis.