House Committee Examines
Commissioned Corps Reform Plan
November 7, 2003 - The House Government Reform Committee
Oct. 30 held a hearing to examine the proposed plan to transform
the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps that was announced
by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in July.
The proposed plan would expand the Corps by recruiting 1,000
nurses and 100 physicians each year to practice in underserved
areas and better prepare the Corps for public health emergencies
by making it deployable by 2005. Ranking Member Henry Waxman
(D-Calif.), along with Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Administrator Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., and Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Julie Gerberding,
M.D., M.P.H., have expressed reservations about the plan's
details, specifically the new physical fitness and deployment
requirements that could drive scientists and other health
professionals out of the Public Health Service.
Testifying
at the hearing were Surgeon General Richard Carmona, M.D.,
M.P.H., former Surgeon Generals C. Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D.,
and Julius Richmond, M.D., and Captain Jerry Farrell, executive
director of the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S.
Public Health Service, which represents 70 percent of Corps
personnel. Dr. Carmona defended the plan, stating that it
includes a three-tier system in which unqualified officers,
such as bench scientists, FDA regulatory specialists or CDC
epidemiologists would not be required to participate in missions
that are not consistent with their specific training and physical
capabilities. He also emphasized the Corps' role in meeting
health care needs in underserved areas and filling the shortages
in Community Health Centers and the National Health Service
Corps placement sites where recruitment efforts have fallen
short of expectations.
Drs. Koop and Richmond expressed concerns that the plan removes
planning and management functions over the Corps from the
Surgeon General, who should be recognized as the national
authority on public health. Captain Farrell informed the Committee
that HHS did not consult his organization in creating this
plan and that many officers have stated their intent to leave
the Commissioned Corps if the proposed plan were enacted.
Information:
Erica Froyd, Director, Public Health and Research Legislative Affairs
AAMC Office of Governmental Relations
efroyd@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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