Washington, D.C., January 26, 2007 - Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., president of the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges), issued the following comments on President Bush's proposed plan to redistribute federal funds to support state-based health coverage initiatives:

"The AAMC is pleased that the Bush Administration supports expanding health care coverage for the more than 46 million Americans who are uninsured.

However, as representatives of the country's nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, as well as physicians at the nation's 125 medical schools, we oppose the President's proposal to redirect federal funds from providers that sustain the health care safety net.

These institutions and the medical school physicians who work in them are committed to caring for Americans who have nowhere else to turn for medical treatment. While major U.S. teaching hospitals represent just six percent of the nation's hospitals, they provide almost 50 percent of all the charity care in this country.

If these institutions lose federal support, it will stretch the already taut health care safety net to the breaking point."

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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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