AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, and Chief Public Policy Officer Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MHA, MPP, issued the following statement regarding passage of the second and final package of six fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations bills for the federal government:
“The AAMC is pleased that the U.S. Congress has passed a FY 2024 spending package that preserves funding for critical health care programs and services that are integral to supporting the academic medicine community and the patients they serve.
Particularly given the impractical spending caps, the AAMC appreciates the bipartisan agreement to invest $300 million in new funding across the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The longstanding bipartisan federal commitment to medical research is key to improving the health of patients, families, and communities by supporting scientists who are pursuing medical advances that will improve lives in every congressional district. The final legislation recognizes the NIH as a key national asset, and the AAMC urges lawmakers to ensure that future spending bills expand the NIH’s capacity to support medical research at the pace of both biomedical inflation and scientific opportunity.
In addition, we appreciate lawmakers’ commitment to investing in national programs to help future physicians and other health professionals, which remain vital to providing better patient care and improving the health of our nation. The Health Resources and Services Administration workforce programs, including Titles VII and VIII, National Health Service Corps, and the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program, have proven successful in recruiting, training, and supporting health providers critical to addressing the country's evolving health care needs and future public health threats. While funding for Title VII programs will remain flat, we are pleased Congress continued its support, and we hope to work with lawmakers to increase investment further to expand access to care nationwide.
Lastly, we appreciate Congress’ recognition of the need to maintain access to care for the patients and communities served by AAMC-member institutions and providers by avoiding policies that would inhibit research, education, and clinical care, including policies that would disproportionately impact teaching health systems and hospitals.
We recognize the challenges that congressional appropriators faced while creating this spending package, and we look forward to working with Congress as leaders develop spending bills for fiscal year 2025 to ensure that they robustly invest in programs vital to improving the health of patients, families, and communities across the nation.”