The AAMC and two coalitions convened by the association, the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research and the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC), submitted outside witness testimony outlining fiscal year (FY) 2023 funding priorities to the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Subcommittee on May 11. The subcommittee is responsible for drafting annual spending bills to provide funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and other programs under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The AAMC requested Senate appropriators to provide the necessary funding for “federal priorities essential in assisting medical schools and teaching hospitals to fulfill their missions that benefit patients, communities and the nation.”
Specifically, the AAMC emphasized the importance of funding increases for the NIH, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, workforce programs administered by HRSA including Title VII health professions and Title VIII nursing programs, the Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Payment Program, the National Health Service Corps, and the Hospital Preparedness Program.
The testimony also thanked the subcommittee for their efforts to strengthen these programs and affirmed support for the president’s proposal to augment ongoing and new pandemic preparedness programs with mandatory funding. In addition, the statement highlighted the need for a robust funding allocation for the Labor-HHS bill, as emphasized in a May 10 letter the association signed with nearly 400 organizations representing the diversity of Labor-HHS stakeholders.
In its testimony, the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research thanked the subcommittee for its bipartisan support of the NIH over the last seven years and added that in FY 2023, the coalition “supports at least $49.048 billion for the NIH base program level budget…Importantly, the Ad Hoc Group strongly urges lawmakers to ensure that any funding for the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) supplement our $49 billion recommendation for NIH’s base budget, rather than supplant the essential foundational investment in the NIH,” the coalition added. The Ad Hoc Group, convened by the AAMC, is a coalition of nearly 400 patient and voluntary health groups, medical and scientific societies, academic and research organizations, and industry organizations that supports robust funding for the NIH.
The AAMC testimony vocalized support for the president’s proposed $50 million under HRSA Title VII to fund the newly enacted Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. [refer to Washington Highlights, Feb. 25].The AAMC also submitted a letter on behalf of HPNEC, an alliance with over 80 national organizations that advocates for Title VII health professions and Title VIII nursing workforce development programs. The HPNEC letter recommended at least $1.51 billion for HRSA Titles VII and VIII programs to “ensure our health workforce is at the forefront of meeting all patients’ health needs.”
The Senate Labor-HHS subcommittee will continue its work to develop an FY 2023 spending bill as it hears testimony on the NIH budget request on May 17.