- Star Grassroots Advocates
- During PAEA’s 2018 Leadership Summit in April, Government Relations Steering Committee Chair Michael DeRosa, Ph.D, MPH, PA-C, participated on a panel discussing the ramifications for PA program accreditation, among other implications, under the potential reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Great job, Mike!
- Advancing PAEA’s Advocacy Agenda
- In late April, PAEA President Lisa Mustone Alexander, EdD, MPH, PA-C, submitted testimony to the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) Appropriations subcommittee for fiscal year 2019. This year’s testimony focused on structural barriers to a fully-empowered PA response to the opioid epidemic, including the clinical site shortage, limited funding for curricular innovation under Title VII, and insufficient resources to promote student diversity.
- PAEA recently submitted comments to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee on its discussion draft of the Opioid Crisis Response Act, urging the committee to ensure permanent DATA waiver eligibility for PAs and to include PAs as eligible “mental and behavioral health professionals” under a proposed loan repayment initiative focusing on substance use disorder treatment.
- Health Care News in Washington
- On April 12, the House Labor-HHS Appropriations subcommittee held a hearing on federal investments in the nation’s health workforce and rural communities. During the hearing, Luis Padilla, MD, the Associate Administrator for Health Workforce at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), provided the subcommittee with an update on the value that Title VII programs such as Primary Care Training and Enhancement (PCTE) grants and the National Health Service Corps play in expanding access to high-quality care.
- On April 25, the House Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee voted to advance a comprehensive opioid package consisting of 57 bills, to the full committee. Of note, this package includes H.R. 5102, the Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Act, which would offer loan repayment of up to $250,000 over 6 years of service to eligible providers – including PAs. PAEA is strongly supportive of this proposal and recently sent a letter of support for the legislation to the offices of Reps. Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY).
- Opportunities for Action
- The Government Relations team recently sent an action alert asking PAEA members to contact their representatives and tell them to protect and prioritize funding for Title VII health workforce programs in FY 2019. If you have not already done so, please take action to promote Title VII funding.
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