AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, and AAMC Chief Public Policy Officer Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MHSA, MPP, issued the following statement on the final U.S. House passage of the reconciliation bill:
“We are profoundly disappointed and dismayed by many of the provisions included in the reconciliation bill passed by the House today. As the Congressional Budget Office has said, massive cuts to Medicaid and changes to state health insurance marketplace exchanges will lead to tens of millions of people losing much-needed health care coverage. Additionally, eliminating the Grad PLUS loan program will affect many prospective medical and other health professions students and worsen the nation’s persistent doctor shortage.
Despite these setbacks, the academic health systems, teaching hospitals, medical schools, faculty physicians, researchers, resident physicians, fellows, and medical students that make up the academic medicine community remain a cornerstone of our nation’s health care infrastructure. The AAMC will continue fighting to ensure every patient has access to the high-quality care our member institutions provide. That includes working with the administration and lawmakers to protect and restore critical funding and mitigate the consequences of these damaging cuts across academic medicine.”