Advocacy Issues: Health Professions 

In front of an estimated 1.8 million persons on the National Mall, stretched from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial – a distance of two miles – President-Elect Barack Obama became President Barack Obama on January 20.

On January 12, the Partnership for Primary Care Workforce (PPCW) held a congressional staff briefing in the Capitol, featuring three presentations.

During a brief lame duck session, Senator Hillary Clinton introduced the Health Professions and Primary Care Reinvestment Act (S. 3708), which was endorsed by AACOM and other organizations prior to its introduction.

AACOM submitted comments on a draft report regarding the medical-dental home in the context of primary care training.

Caya Lewis, Deputy Staff Director for Health, on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, met with members of the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions (FASHP), to discuss the prospects for Title VII reauthorization and health care reform in the next Congress.

Before recessing prior to the November election, Congress considered key pieces of legislation related to the training of osteopathic and allopathic physicians.

With the reauthorization of Title VII on the congressional agenda for next session, AACOM has urged Congress to take a close look at these programs and act in order to avert a shortage of health care professionals.

AACOM twice submitted written comments on the proposed rule entitled Designation of Medically Underserved Populations and Health Professional Shortage Areas from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

The Partnership for Primary Care Workforce, a non-partisan, nationwide effort by key professional, provider, and educational organizations to strengthen and improve the nation’s primary care workforce, has developed core principles to guide the group’s work.

HRSA has updated income levels used to identify a “low income family” for the purpose of determining eligibility of individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds for health professions and nursing training programs, including Title VII of the Public Health Service Act.

On February 12, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee convened a roundtable discussion on physician workforce issues.