The AAMC joined six other health professions organizations on a Sept. 8 letter urging leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to include in the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference agreement provisions related to the military health workforce.
Specifically, the letter acknowledged the pause in medical billet reductions enacted in the FY 2023 NDAA, but expressed concern that service branches already have reduced military medical end strength in a way that “has affected staffing levels at [Military Treatment Facilities] MTFs and the remaining clinicians’ ability to provide quality health care” [refer to Washington Highlights, July 8, 2022]. The letter urged negotiators to include in the FY 2024 conference agreement provisions that would examine staffing levels at MTFs and increase stipends for participants in the military departments’ health professions scholarship and financial assistance programs.
Additionally, the letter expressed support for provisions in the House and Senate versions of the NDAA regarding mental health services and reproductive health care.