AACOM Celebrates Advocacy Achievements in 2025

AACOM achieved significant successes for osteopathic medical education in 2025:

• Community-Based Training: Advanced bipartisan support for expanding rural and underserved clinical rotation sites through the reintroduced Community TEAMS Act, H.R. 3885, adding 20 cosponsors and gaining support of more than 50 national and state organizations. AACOM secured Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 House and Senate report language directing the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to facilitate community-based rotations.
• GME Parity and Expansion: Reached a historic milestone with the introduction of the first-ever Senate FAIR Act, S. 2715, and its House companion, H.R. 2314, which have secured 20 total bipartisan cosponsors and are endorsed by 75 national and state organizations. AACOM supported reintroduction of the Rural Physician Workforce Production Act, H.R. 1153, and continued advocacy for long-term reauthorization of the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program.
• Increasing Osteopathic Research: Secured FY26 House and Senate report language to expand osteopathic research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Senate FY26 Veterans Affairs report language reinforcing congressional support for osteopathic manipulative medicine and non-opioid pain management, including a 180-day reporting requirement on utilization.
• Federal Student Aid and Higher Education Reform: Achieved important wins in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21), driven by coordinated congressional meetings, OME engagement, cross-organizational planning and more than 10,000 grassroots congressional messages. Successes include raising medical student loan caps to $200,000, replacing House risk-sharing with an improved Senate accountability model and preserving Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility for residency and fellowship. Since enactment, AACOM has been educating the osteopathic community about the impact of the law and seeking to mitigate harmful provisions through regulation.
• Elevating the Osteopathic Voice and Influence: Expanded federal influence with a 233 percent increase in advisory committee nominations, record-setting 550 Advocacy Day registrants, 340+ congressional meetings across 42 states, introduction of a bipartisan National Osteopathic Medicine Week resolution for the fourth consecutive year and 37 letters and formal comments sent advancing OME priorities.

These accomplishments reflect AACOM’s dedication to expanding osteopathic influence and championing policies that strengthen healthcare education and delivery. We look forward to working with you in 2026 during the second session of the 119th Congress to build on these successes and continue to strengthen the profession. View AACOM's blog post.