The AAMC-supported EMPOWER for Health Act (S. 4110) and Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act (S. 1874) passed out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in a July 22 markup. The AAMC submitted a statement for the record (PDF) ahead of the markup expressing support for the bills (PDF), which would reauthorize the Health Resources and Services Administration Title VII health professions and Title VIII nursing workforce development programs for five years. The statement, however, also outlined concerns with the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act (S. 2355), also included in markup, noting that the legislation would create operational challenges for academic health systems and teaching hospitals.
During the markup, Chair Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.) shared support for the Title VII and VIII programs, highlighting their role in strengthening the health workforce. The committee adopted a manager’s amendment to the EMPOWER for Health Act (PDF) that updated the reauthorization period to fiscal years (FYs) 2027 to 2031, aligned authorized funding levels with FY 2026 appropriated levels, and made technical changes to the Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program. The committee also adopted an amendment (PDF) offered by Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), which would establish a federal nursing-focused health workforce research and technical assistance center. Additionally, the committee adopted a manager’s amendment to the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act (PDF), along with two amendments that would establish a pilot program (PDF) to improve the financial stability of state-based nursing workforce centers and a new program to provide a federal wage differential for the salary gap between clinical nursing and nurse faculty roles.
The EMPOWER for Health Act and the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act were advanced out of committee by a vote of 21-0, and the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act was advanced by a vote of 21-1. Following the markup, David J. Skorton, MD, AAMC president and CEO, and Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MHSA, MPP, AAMC chief public policy officer, released a statement thanking the committee for advancing the Title VII and VIII reauthorization bills, while also expressed concern with the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act.