AAMC Urges Increased Funding for
Health Programs
July 2, 2004 - AAMC President Jordan Cohen, M.D., July 1
sent a letter
to all members of the House and Senate Labor-HHS-Education appropriations
subcommittees urging them "to provide the highest possible
funding levels" for the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Title
VII and VIII health professions education programs and the National
Health Service Corps (NHSC) when the subcommittees consider their
FY 2005 spending bills. Both subcommittees reportedly will mark
up their bills shortly after Congress returns from the Fourth of
July recess.
Noting "the long-standing bipartisan commitment" of the
Congress to NIH, which has resulted in "an exciting new era
in medicine," the letter asks the subcommittees to increase
funding for NIH beyond the Administration's proposal of $28.6 billion.
The AAMC also urges the subcommittees to maintain the cap on extramural
salaries at Level I of the Executive pay scale, which would allow
medical schools and teaching hospitals "to continue to attract
and retain the highest quality investigators."
The AAMC asks the subcommittees to restore funding for the Title
VII health professions programs to at least the FY 2003 level of
$308 million and provide an increase for the Title VIII nursing
programs in FY 2005. The letter states, "The Administration's
FY 2005 budget eliminates virtually all of the funding for the Title
VII health professions programs…. Failure to restore these
cuts will eliminate any federal efforts to increase the supply and
diversity of the health care workforce and provide access to quality
health care for all segments of the population." The AAMC also
encourages the subcommittees to provide the Administration's FY
2005 recommendation of $205 million for the NHSC.
For AHRQ, the AAMC recommends an FY 2005 budget of $443 million,
a $139 million increase over FY 2004. The letter notes the Medicare
Modernization Act includes a $53 million authorization for the agency
to conduct comparative efficacy studies of health services and to
convene the Citizens' Health Care Working Group. In addition, the
Administration has directed AHRQ to strengthen its current investments
in patient safety and health information technology.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Director
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Jonathan Fishburn, Director, Research, Education and Veterans' Legislative Affairs
AAMC Government Relations
jfishburn@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Erica Froyd, Director, Public Health and Research Legislative Affairs
AAMC Government Relations
efroyd@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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