- Star Grassroots Advocates
- On March 29, Dr. Pangela Dawson of the Morehouse School of Medicine PA Program and Dr. Tracy Jackson of the Wagner College PA program participated in PAEA’s “Workforce Diversity: A Pathway to Health Equity” virtual congressional briefing. Thank you for your advocacy and leadership!
- Advancing PAEA’s Advocacy Agenda
- In late March, Representative Karen Bass reintroduced the Physician Assistant Higher Education Modernization Act for the 117th Congress. This bill would re-establish access to subsidized Stafford loans for PA students, invest in PA program development at minority-serving institutions, and expand pathways to the PA profession for rural students.
- PAEA submitted a statement for the record to the House Education and Labor Higher Education subcommittee on March 17 on the future of higher education post-pandemic. In the statement, PAEA urged the subcommittee to integrate the provisions of the Physician Assistant Higher Education Modernization Act in any legislation to strengthen higher education in the 117th Congress.
- Health Care News in Washington
- On March 25, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee held a hearing examining the impact of COVID-19 on minority communities and efforts to strengthen health equity within the federal response to the pandemic.
- The Senate voted narrowly to confirm former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services in mid-March.
- Opportunities for Action
- PAEA is continuing its campaign for workforce diversity by urging members of Congress to cosponsor and pass the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act. If you have not already done so, please send a message to your representatives urging them to do so today.
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