Jessica L. O'Hara
Although there has not been movement on a budget resolution or the 12 appropriations bills in either the House or Senate, advocacy efforts to increase funding for health professions training programs continue. As a member of the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC), the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) endorses the fiscal year (FY) 2011 funding recommendation of at least $600 million for health professions training programs, also known as Title VII and Title VIII programs, sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration.
In his FY 2011 budget, President Barack H. Obama proposed $504 million for health professions training programs, a $5.9 million (1.2%) increase over FY 2010. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA; PL 111-148) restructured existing Title VII and Title VIII programs to improve their efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability, and reauthorized them at funding levels reflective of the nation’s health workforce needs. PPACA also legislated the creation of several new initiatives designed to address health workforce challenges under Titles VII and VIII. HPNEC encourages an investment in these new programs to supplement the support for the core health professions training programs.
Through loans, loan guarantees, and scholarships to students as well as grants and contracts to academic institutions and non-profit organizations, the health professions training programs are the only federal programs designed to train health care workers in interdisciplinary settings to meet the needs of special and underserved populations as well as increase minority representation in the health care workforce. The programs also aim to increase the number of primary care providers and increase the number of faculty in health care education and training.
AAIM encourages its membership to contact their members of Congress to advocate for increased funding for health professions training programs. To find contact information for your representative and senators, please visit www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.