OME Advocate Newsletter

AACOM’s new Data Brief: The State of Clinical Education in Osteopathic Medical Schools highlights a growing concern in the national health workforce pipeline.

While enrollment at colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) has surged 65 percent over the past decade, clinical site availability has not kept pace.

Seventy-four percent of COM leaders report it is harder today to secure or maintain clinical training sites than it was five years ago, with shortages most pronounced in OBGYN, pediatrics and psychiatry.

COMs also shoulder the majority of training costs—covering 75 percent of preceptor expenses and most site and housing fees.

While COMs provide high-quality clinical learning experiences, national capacity and scheduling constraints complicate the student experience. Community-based clinical rotations must be expanded to increase the healthcare workforce where care is needed most.

To address this challenge, AACOM worked with congressional leaders to introduce the Community Training, Education, and Access for Medical Students (Community TEAMS) Act, H.R. 3885. The Community TEAMS Act will create a new Health Resources and Services Administration grant program to increase medical student clinical rotations through partnerships between medical schools and Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Clinics and other healthcare facilities located in medically underserved communities. U.S. Representatives Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Sharice Davids (D-KS) recently signed on as cosponsors, bringing the total cosponsor count to 18, with five new cosponsors joining in November. In addition to this authorizing legislation, AACOM has secured report language in both the House (pages 38-39) and Senate (page 46) emphasizing the need for more community-based clinical rotations.

Congress understands the important role osteopathic medical education (OME) plays in addressing the country’s healthcare needs. Urge your elected officials to increase healthcare access and strengthen the physician workforce by cosponsoring and passing the Community TEAMS Act, H.R. 3885!

Act Now!

Applications are now open for the 2026-2027 Osteopathic Health Policy Internship (OHPI) Program.

Selected osteopathic medical students will spend eight consecutive weeks working virtually with AACOM's Government Relations department, where they will learn about and advance AACOM’s legislative and regulatory advocacy priorities, including the FAIR Act, H.R. 2314 / S. 2715; the Community TEAMS Act, H.R. 3885; and osteopathic research funding.

The OHPI Program is open to current second- and third-year osteopathic medical students (OMS II and III) who will be on their clinical rotations during the 2026-2027 academic year. First-year students and students entering the Match this year are not eligible for the internship. Learn more and apply by 11:59 PM on February 20, 2026.

• Congressional leaders and Members continue to seek common ground on the next package of full-year FY26 spending bills. With the continuing resolution expiring January 30, lawmakers have limited breathing room, and there is still no bipartisan, bicameral agreement on top-line numbers or how to structure the next package.
• Three bills have already been enacted (Agriculture/FDA; Legislative Branch; Military Construction-VA), but nine remain outstanding: Defense; Labor–HHS–Education; Commerce–Justice–Science; Interior–Environment; Transportation–HUD; Energy and Water; Homeland Security; State–Foreign Operations; and Financial Services–General Government.
• The House and Senate versions of the FY26 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bills include the AACOM-requested report language urging increased National Institutes of Health (NIH) engagement with osteopathic medical schools and expanding community-based clinical rotations.
• AACOM will continue working with appropriators as negotiations move forward to ensure these priorities are retained.

• On November 18, 2025, the U.S. Education Department (ED) announced that it is entering into six new interagency agreements with four federal agencies: the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Department of the Interior, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of State.
• ED says the agreements will streamline federal functions, shift responsibility to states and reduce administrative burdens while improving services for students and grantees.
• Of importance to OME is the partnership with DOL, which will assume responsibility for most postsecondary grant programs under the Higher Education Act. ED is also partnering with HHS to oversee foreign medical school accreditation through the National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation.
• View AACOM’s summary to learn more.

• On November 18, 2025, the House Education and Workforce (E&W) Committee held a hearing on The Future of College: Harnessing Innovation to Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs. While there was agreement on the importance of higher education, Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) warned that eliminating Grad PLUS loans without an alternative solution will have a devastating effect on aspiring health professions students.
• Then, on November 21, 2025, the E&W Committee held its Member Day Hearing, giving members a chance to highlight community needs. While there was bipartisan commitment to strengthening the nation’s education and workforce systems, members diverged on access to student loans and restructuring of the Department of Education. View AACOM’s summary.

• The first session of the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell negotiated rulemaking (neg reg) committee begins on Monday, December 8, 2025 to implement changes to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, P.L 119-21.
• Specifically, this session will address changes to institutional and program accountability and Financial Value Transparency. Interested parties may register to attend virtually.
• The Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) neg reg concluded in November, and negotiators reached consensus. View AACOM’s summary of the second RISE session and the consensus package and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) outcomes chart and FAQs.

• On November 25, 2025, ED announced the appointment of five new members to the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI), which advises on accreditation and the eligibility and certification process for higher education institutions.
• A sixth member will be announced later. NACIQI’s next meeting is set for December 16, 2025. View the agenda.

• On November 21, 2025, the NIH announced a new unified strategy for funding policies at Institutes, Centers and Offices (ICOs) to guide “consistent and clearer award Decisions.” This strategy will take effect in January 2026.
• Under the framework, ICO policies should prioritize scientific merit, through peer review in its entirety rather than funding paylines. They should also align with NIH’s mission and the availability of ICO funds, promote broad funding distribution across a wide breadth of relevant topics and promote sustainability of the biomedical research workforce. ICO directors will retain the authority to determine what is funded by their ICOs.
• More detailed information on the funding policy framework can be found on the NIH Funding Decisions webpage.

• On November 14, 2025, the Trump administration announced that Richard Lucas would serve as the next acting chief operating officer (COO) of Federal Student Aid (FSA).
• Lucas, who previously served as chief financial officer of FSA, formally rejoined the office on November 17. James Bergeron, who was serving as acting FSA COO, will step into the role of principal deputy undersecretary of education.

• On November 19, 2025, the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-13 along party lines to advance Thomas Bell’s nomination for HHS Inspector General.
• The next day, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security voted to advance his nomination, 8-1.
• Bell will move forward in the Senate nomination process, which does not have a date set yet for the full Senate vote.