AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, issued the following statement after passage of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, which funds key health care and research, and other programs through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2020:
“The AAMC thanks Congress for passing the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 and supporting critical programs that benefit patients nationwide.
Specifically, investments in the National Institutes of Health, the Title VII diversity and workforce development programs, gun violence prevention research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – as well as other critical research, public health, and health care workforce programs – will strengthen our nation’s ability to prevent and treat disease and promote health. In addition, we applaud lawmakers for renewing the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute for another decade, which will enable patients and providers to access the best evidence on the health care decisions they face daily.
As we celebrate this bipartisan, bicameral success, we look forward to working with lawmakers to quickly address the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payment reductions now scheduled to go into effect on May 22, 2020. If implemented, these cuts will threaten access to care for some of the most vulnerable patients.
Additionally, we also hope to work with Congress to pass the bipartisan Opioid Workforce Act, which is a crucial step in responding to the nation’s opioid epidemic. The bill would support specialized training for 1,000 new physicians in addiction medicine, addiction psychiatry, and pain medicine, thus increasing the number of providers who can treat the 21.1 million individuals with substance use disorders and the 50 million people living with chronic pain.”
The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association dedicated to transforming health care through innovative medical education, cutting-edge patient care, and groundbreaking medical research. Its members comprise all 154 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 51 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and more than 80 academic societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC serves the leaders of America’s medical schools and teaching hospitals and their 173,000 faculty members, 89,000 medical students, 129,000 resident physicians, and more than 60,000 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences. Additional information about the AAMC and its member medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org.