aamc.org does not support this web browser.

Advocacy & Policy

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) works with policymakers and other leaders to advance policy priorities that strengthen the nation’s health and well-being.

Through policymaking that affects the intertwined missions of academic medicine, including health care delivery, research, education, health equity, and more, the federal government is a key partner in sustaining the vitality of the nation’s medical schools, teaching hospitals, and health systems and improving the health of all. Find out more about how academic medicine propels health care forward through the AAMC’s What Starts Here Saves Lives campaign.

This graph shows how funding for the NIH has not kept pace with inflation. While there has been an increase in the dollar amounts allocated to the NIH between 2003 and 2024, when adjusted for inflation, NIH funding in 2024 was actually lower than in 2003.

Congress must support robust federal funding for the NIH

As policymakers debate the focus and funding of federal agencies, it is critical that they continue to support robust federal funding for the NIH — funding that in 2024 supported more than 300,000 researchers at over 2,500 institutions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Read More

AAMC Legislative and Policy Priorities

microscope

Research

AAMC-member institutions endeavor to prepare a diverse medical research workforce and champion an environment where medical discovery can flourish. This strong commitment is key to innovation that benefits patients.

Explore Research Priorities

doctor in a coat

Clinical Care

AAMC-member teaching hospitals and faculty physicians cultivate and provide high-quality health care, especially for complex and vulnerable patients -- many of whom are unable to receive care elsewhere.

Explore Clinical Care Priorities

Doctor talking to mother and son at community outreach program

Investing in Healthier Communities

Academic medical centers serve at the crossroads of community health, health equity, and population health and are actively working to prevent and address persistent public health challenges.

Explore Healthier Communities

two doctors

Workforce

AAMC-member medical schools and teaching hospitals play a crucial role in preparing future physicians who help create a healthier future for all with innovative graduate medical education.

Explore Workforce Priorities

Capitol building, Washington, DC

Washington Highlights

Washington Highlights is a weekly newsletter that provides updates on the latest legislative and regulatory activities affecting academic medicine.

Subscribe to receive weekly Hill and regulatory updates to your inbox.

Subscribe

Find Advocacy & Policy Content

  • Recent
  • Relevance

Filter Results

Date
Custom Date Range
Date format: MM/DD/YYYY
Topic
1 - 10 of 4475 results No filters applied
Press Release

The AAMC issued a statement on the confirmation of Doug Collins as the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

  • Feb. 4, 2025
Signage and logo of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
AAMC Leads

NIH-funded research supports scientific discovery that benefits millions of Americans.

  • Feb. 4, 2025
Male scientist working in the lab using a microscope
Testimony & Correspondence

The AAMC submitted comments to the CMS in response to the CY 2026 Medicare Advantage Advance Notice.

  • Feb. 3, 2025
  • PDF
Testimony & Correspondence

The AAMC joined letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on actions to support for international students and institutions of higher education.

  • Feb. 3, 2025
  • PDF
Washington Highlights

The AAMC submitted comments to the CMS in response to the CY 2026 Medicare Advantage and Part D Policy and Technical Changes proposed rule.

  • Jan. 31, 2025
Patient in wheelchair with doctors
Washington Highlights

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a Jan. 28 hearing on the community care program.

  • Jan. 31, 2025
Signage and logo of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Washington Highlights

The Senate Finance and HELP Committees held hearings to consider the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., JD, to serve as HHS secretary.

  • Jan. 31, 2025
Covid-19 vaccine production line
Washington Highlights

The OMB issued and subsequently rescinded a memo instructing federal agencies to pause federal funding subject to additional review.

  • Jan. 31, 2025
Team of doctors and nurses
Washington Highlights

President Trump issued a Jan. 28 executive order intended to restrict gender-affirming care for minors.

  • Jan. 31, 2025
A teenage girl curls up on her bed
Washington Highlights

The AAMC joined over 53 organizations urging the Department of Education to Delay Financial Value Transparency/Gainful Employment Reporting until July.

  • Jan. 31, 2025
Students sitting in a large classroom, with one student in focus who appears to be speaking
The east side of the US Capitol in the early morning.

AAMC Advocacy Awards

The AAMC honors members of Congress, their staff, and leaders in the academic medicine community for their commitment to supporting academic health systems, teaching hospitals, medical schools, learners, physician faculty, researchers, and the patients and communities they serve with the Champion of Academic Medicine Award and the ACE Award for Advocacy, Collaboration, and Education.

Advocacy Coalitions

The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research supports enhancing the federal investment in the biomedical, behavioral, and population-based research conducted and supported by the NIH.

The GME Advocacy Coalition (GMEAC) is a group of organizations dedicated to the expansion and preservation of Medicare-supported graduate medical education.

The HPNEC advocates for continued support for the health professions and nursing workforce development programs critical to providing continued services to underserved and minority communities.

FOVA is a diverse coalition representing national academic, medical, and scientific societies; voluntary health and patient advocacy groups; and veteran-focused associations.

U.S. Capitol

Congressional Academic Medicine Caucus (CAMC)

The CAMC is a bipartisan group of Members of Congress that seeks to promote and recognize the important role that medical schools, teaching hospitals, and faculty physicians play to improve the health of people everywhere.

Learn more

Questions for the Office of Government Relations?

Email Us
AAMC Action

AAMC Action – Let’s Raise Our Voices Together

We are a community of students, residents, researchers, faculty members, physicians, and others who advocate on behalf of academic medicine to improve the health of people everywhere.

Join Us