AACOM Advocacy Day

Advocate for OME!

Advocacy Day 2023 took place on October 17 and 18 and was our largest Advocacy Day to date! Participants engaged directly with lawmakers and participate in coordinated calls to action urging Congress to support policies and programs critical to the osteopathic community. Advocacy Day 2023 has concluded but you can advocate year round! Explore our event videos, materials, and other ways to advocate below. We hope to see you at Advocacy Day 2024!

The Issues

We are asking Congress to:

Promote DO Graduate Medical Education Parity through the FAIR Act

Federally-funded graduate medical education programs frequently exclude or impose burdensome requirements on DOs. These practices exacerbate the workforce shortage by limiting the availability of licensed DO physicians. The Fair Access In Residency (FAIR) Act (H.R. 751) is needed to ensure DOs can participate in all Medicare-funded residency programs and the nation is leveraging the entire physician workforce.

Tell Congress to Support the FAIR Act

Fund Community-Based Clinical Rotations

Many community health centers are located in rural or urban underserved areas that need more physicians. Research shows that medical students receiving education and training in rural and underserved communities are more likely to stay and practice in those areas. Congress needs to increase training sites for medical students in rural communities to strengthen the physician workforce for underserved populations.

Urge Congress to Fund Clinical Rotation Opportunities

Join the Movement and Share Your Story

Introducing AACOM's newest tool for online advocacy, Gather Voices!

AACOM is eager to hear from members of the osteopathic community about why advocating for the FAIR Act is so important to ensuring that DOs have an equitable path to residency training and how your training in community-based settings, such as community health centers, ambulatory clinics and physician offices, has helped increase healthcare access in rural and underserved communities!

We encourage you to spend one minute or less recording and uploading your videos about what the FAIR Act means to you and the benefits of community-based clinical rotations:

Advocacy Day Agenda

October 17, 2023,  1:00-3:00 PM ET

• Opening Remarks
  Robert A. Cain, DO, AACOM President and CEO
  
• Congressional Health Policy Update
  Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME)

• Strengthening Osteopathic Policy Priorities Through the Budget Process
  Sarah Donovan and Rick Hegg, Senior Policy Advisors, Venable LLP
• Video Presentations
  Representatives Sam Graves (R-MO) and Julia Letlow (R-LA)

• Advocacy Training with AACOM Government Relations

October 18, 2023

• Congressional meetings and grassroots advocacy
• You can take action by:
  • Reviewing your advocacy materials
    • FAIR Act - One-pager
    • Community-based Clinical Rotations - One-pager
  • Using our Social Media Toolkit to download graphics, share messages and advocate for policy change.
  • Going to the AACOM Action Center to tell Congress to:
    
    • Support the FAIR Act
      
    • Fund Community-based Clinical Rotations
  • Recording videos about:
    • What the FAIR Act Means to You
    • The Benefits of Community-Based Clinical Rotations
      

Testimonials from past attendees

Visit the AACOM Advocacy Day 2022 page for a look at last year’s panels and policy issues.