AACOM Advocacy Delivers Key Wins in House FY27 Funding Bill
Published June 15, 2026
By AACOM Government Relations
Advocacy Appropriations Federal Policy GME Healthcare Workforce OME Advocate Osteopathic Representation Osteopathic Research Rural Medicine
On June 9, 2026, the House Appropriations Committee approved its fiscal year (FY) 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHSE) funding bill, advancing several AACOM priorities focused on strengthening the physician workforce and supporting osteopathic medical research.
A major victory for AACOM was the inclusion of $5 million in new funding to expand clinical training opportunities in rural and underserved communities, aligned with the Community TEAMS Act (H.R.3885/S.3989), stating:
"The Committee includes an increase of $5,000,000 to support medical school partnerships with FQHCs, Rural Health Clinics, or other healthcare facilities located in medically underserved communities to increase medical school clinical rotations in rural and underserved areas." (p. 41) The Committee also adopted new AACOM-requested language recognizing the role of Community Academic Health Systems (CAHS) in building physician workforce pipelines and expanding access to care in rural and underserved communities. The report encourages the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support CAHS partnerships and directs the agency to brief the Committee within 180 days of enactment of CAHS impact on physician training and distribution. (p. 236) In addition, the Committee continued its support for increasing osteopathic representation and funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), stating: "The Committee remains concerned with the historic disparity in NIH funding and representation for Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (COMs) and appreciates NIH’s commitment to broaden investments to more institutions and ideas. The Committee also appreciates recent engagement with osteopathic leaders and urges NIH to expand research funding opportunities and representation of COMs across NIH Institutes and Centers, including in study sections and national advisory councils, and to continue encouraging osteopathic researchers to apply for funding." (p. 145) The Committee included $3 million for the Delta Rural Health Innovation Demonstration Program to test innovative approaches to improving health outcomes in rural communities, including through preexisting partnerships with osteopathic medical training programs and Food is Medicine interventions (p. 56-57), and called for CMS and HRSA to take steps to expand rural residency partnerships between hospitals and non-hospital settings. (p. 247) More broadly, the House bill preserves the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and provides a modest increase for NIH funding. For a more detailed analysis of the FY27 LHHSE bill, read AACOM's full summary. As the Senate begins its work on FY27 funding legislation, AACOM will pursue similar language advancing priorities that strengthen the physician workforce, support NIH and expand opportunities for osteopathic research. Help us promote these key priorities by writing to your Senators today. |