Washington, D.C., February 7, 2003 - The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) expressed alarm today at President Bush's proposed fiscal year 2004 budget cuts to health professions programs. The administration's proposal to drastically reduce federal support for these programs, which educate and train the providers of health care in rural and underserved areas, threatens health care access for some of the nation's neediest population groups.

The Bush administration is allocating just $109 million for Title VII and VIII programs, which were funded at $378 million in FY 2002. For Title VII (non-nursing health professions) programs in particular, this represents a 96 percent cut, eliminating many of the programs altogether.

Titles VII and VIII of the Public Health Service Act are designed to increase access to health care in underserved areas by improving the quality, geographic distribution, and racial and ethnic diversity of the health care workforce.

Although the Bush budget proposal includes a plan to expand the nation's network of community-based health centers to meet the health care needs of the uninsured and underinsured, it essentially eliminates the funds needed to train the health care workers who often staff these clinics. The Title VII and VIII programs are also essential in assuring a racially and geographically diverse workforce. With cuts to professions programs in rural and underserved areas, diversity training programs, and public health programs in lower income communities, the Bush budget prevents progress in achieving a workforce reflective of our nation's diverse population.

The AAMC is concerned about cuts to the following essential programs:

• Diversity training programs, such as the Centers of Excellence and the Health Careers Opportunity Programs, provide a unique contribution to health professions training. Committed to enhancing the diversity of the health professions, the AAMC finds it shortsighted that the administration proposes to eliminate these programs.
• Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry programs, also slated for elimination, are the only federal programs that focus on bolstering the primary care workforce, which provides the majority of care in underserved communities.
• Important interdisciplinary programs that exemplify the collaborative nature of the health professions are also eliminated in the budget. Area Health Education Centers, for example, link the resources of medical schools with local communities and regions using both federal and local funding to provide precise and cost-effective care in communities across the country. Also, the Geriatric Education Programs are training a range of providers who will care for the rapidly growing elderly population.
• Support for public health training is also eliminated, including support for preventive medicine residencies programs, which are vital as the health system turns its focus to cost-saving preventive health measures. Eliminating funding for public health training weakens current efforts to bolster the country's public health infrastructure to address emerging health challenges.

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 129 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.

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