AACOM PUBLIC POLICY AGENDA FOR 2012

This document represents AACOM’s government relations agenda for the second session of the 112^th Congress.  It reflects AACOM’s priorities to raise awareness of and develop initiatives to promote osteopathic medical education as osteopathic medical schools continue to grow in size and importance to the American health care system.

CLINICAL EDUCATION

AACOM strongly supports programs that promote medical education, particularly innovative programs that are designed to better prepare physicians for the realities of clinical practice.

GME: 

• AACOM will continue to vigorously oppose cuts to GME funding in this political environment.  AACOM will act as a resource to federal lawmakers as they consider ways to reduce health costs without cutting GME funding.
• AACOM believes that GME funding should be associated with health care workforce needs.  With rising projections of physician shortages to meet the health care needs of a growing and aging population, AACOM supports the sustainable expansion of the number of GME positions. 
• AACOM believes that the Institute of Medicine’s intent to study GME could address important issues facing the nation’s medical education system and should recognize the value of osteopathic medical education to the nation’s health care system.  We will actively participate  in this process.
• AACOM represents colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) that often train students in venues outside of large academic medical centers. We support GME programs that  expand the participation of community-based institutions. This is particularly important at a time when the number of osteopathic medical school graduates is growing and is expected to continue to grow in response to physician workforce shortages that exist and/or are projected over the next five to 15 years.
• The  current number of GME positions funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not be sufficient to accommodate the number of medical school graduates seeking positions or the number of positions needed to offset projected physician workforce shortages; there is growing evidence of the need for community-based medical education to produce an outcome that will address the need for a primary care-based health care system that provides access and value to populations in rural and underserved areas as well as to those traditionally well served.  AACOM supports lifting the CMS cap on GME slots and exploring other methods of financing GME outside of CMS.
• In an effort to support innovative GME programs, AACOM supports the continuation of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Teaching Health Center (THC) GME Program, as well as appropriations for the THC development grants, as envisioned in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
• AACOM supports the COGME recommendation for AACOM and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to work with appropriate accrediting agencies, licensing boards, and other relevant organizations to review new approaches for medical education and training in the US.

HEALTH PROFESSIONS TRAINING: 

• AACOM supports increased appropriations for HRSA Title VII health professions training program funding, specifically the primary care training program, the Health Careers Opportunity Program and the Centers of Excellence Program.  Each of these programs has been vital to the growth of osteopathic medical education and is impactful on the health care system far beyond their modest costs.
• AACOM supports increased appropriations for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC).
• AACOM recognizes the growth of interprofessional practice and team-based care and supports programs that prioritize resources for implementing and evaluation of interprofessional training models. 

HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: 

• AACOM supports the expansion of health information technology (HIT) in the medical education setting.
• AACOM supports the implementation of the HITECH Act grant program for demonstration projects to develop curricula that will integrate qualified HIT in the clinical education of health professionals. 

PREVENTION:

• AACOM supports programs throughout the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and CMS that focus on prevention as a method of improving health and control health care costs.

HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE

AACOM strongly supports federal health care workforce policies to ensure an adequately trained workforce that meets the needs of the 21st Century.

• AACOM believes that addressing physician workforce shortages, especially primary care physician shortages, has become even more critical with the passage of the ACA since it is expected to increase by 30 million the number of individuals receiving health insurance.
• AACOM believes that additional resources should be devoted to ongoing health care workforce data production, analysis, and oversight to assure appropriate investments in the future.
• AACOM supports enhanced funding for the NHSC and other scholarship and loan repayment programs to help recruit and retain an adequate health care workforce in the geographical areas in which they are most needed.

FEDERAL STUDENT FINANCIAL AID

AACOM recognizes the growing debt burden that many osteopathic medical school graduates face and supports programs designed to help students better manage that debt and/or provide payback mechanisms that are associated with physician workforce needs and service.

• AACOM supports reevaluating how osteopathic medical students pay for their education, including exploration of programs that would defer payment.
• As students graduate with growing debt loads and the nation faces a critical physician workforce shortage, AACOM supports the expansion of programs that include a service component in loan repayment options.
• AACOM advocates for creating new programs and supporting current programs that directly fund students pursuing primary care and other needed specialties.
• AACOM will continue to oppose legislative and regulatory changes that increase the debt burden faced by osteopathic medical students to include continuing to advocate for lowering the interest rates on all federal student loans and opposing any increase on these loans.
• AACOM supports statutes and regulations that reduce the administrative burden on member institutions that interfere with their educational mission.

RESEARCH

As osteopathic medical education continues to grow in this country, AACOM believes that more research must be devoted to analyzing this practice modality, and supports fully integrating osteopathic medicine into the nation’s research infrastructure.

• AACOM supports increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) overall, and particularly the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM).  Included in the general goal for increased funding is the specific need for the development of research infrastructure at many COMs.
• AACOM supports funding to expand a full range of research on osteopathic manipulative medicine, from basic research into pathophysiologic mechanisms to assessment of efficacy.
• AACOM supports increased funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the expansion of programs at AHRQ that evaluate the quality of care, promote knowledge transfer and fund patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR).
• AACOM supports PCOR as will be implemented by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and encourages the allocation of sufficient resources to train osteopathic researchers in methods of PCOR.
• AACOM supports the expansion of medical education and interprofessional education research with the particular goal of improving resources for outcomes research in osteopathic medicine.

OSTEOPATHIC REPRESENTATION

AACOM advocates for osteopathic medical education and osteopathic physician representation on standing and newly established federal committees, commissions, councils, advisory panels, and task forces.

AACOM will continue to work to educate Congress and federal agencies about the importance of this representation, as well as advocate for individual members of the osteopathic medical education and osteopathic medicine communities to serve on relevant federal panels.