Leaders from the AAMC Council of Academic Health System Executives (CAHSE) met with members of Congress and their staff on May 6 to advocate for academic medicine priorities in the budget reconciliation process, including preventing cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. Throughout their meetings, leaders emphasized the essential role that teaching health systems and hospitals and their affiliated faculty practices play in caring for patients and communities, highlighting their unique vulnerabilities in the reconciliation process. CAHSE members urged policymakers to protect academic medicine’s missions by rejecting harmful cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, protecting the 340B Drug Pricing Program, preserving the tax-exempt status of nonprofit hospitals, and defending medical research as budget reconciliation efforts continue.
Earlier this year, the AAMC outlined the academic medicine community’s priorities related to the budget reconciliation process (PDF) in a letter to congressional leadership [refer to Washington Highlights, Feb. 21]. In April, the Senate voted 51-48 to adopt an amended version of the House fiscal year 2025 budget resolution, thereby unlocking the next phase of the reconciliation process [refer to Washington Highlights, April 4]. The House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees are expected to convene next week to consider and mark up their respective pieces of the reconciliation legislation.