The AAMC, with 18 other members of the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions (FASHP), issued a March 7 letter urging Congress to protect and support students and student loan borrowers (PDF) in any forthcoming budget reconciliation legislation. The letter highlighted the education community’s concerns with the potential elimination of the Grad PLUS program for health profession students, proposed cuts to the Pell Grant program, possible limits to public service loan forgiveness eligibility, and potential elimination of tax deductions that benefit students and student loan borrowers. The FASHP letter detailed the importance of preserving access to higher education within forthcoming reconciliation legislation, stating, “FASHP believes that there are common sense, bipartisan approaches that Congress can take to update higher education policies that would make both undergraduate and graduate education more affordable and accessible. However, we strongly oppose policies and actions that are harmful to students, the future health care workforce, and the communities they serve. We urge you to reject them as part of any budget reconciliation bill.”
The AAMC sent a Feb. 21 letter outlining priorities related to the budget reconciliation process, which highlighted the importance of preserving programs that increase access to medical school among other key issues [refer to Washington Highlights, Feb. 21].