- Star Grassroots Advocates
- From March 11-12, PAEA hosted the Association’s annual Spring Advocacy Trip. The event provided training to PA students and faculty in policy and advocacy and gave participants the opportunity to meet with their congressional representatives to generate support for H.R. 6077 – the POST GRAD Act as well as FY25 funding priorities for PA education. Special thanks to all the PA students and faculty who participated from the University of Colorado, MGH Institute of Health Professions, and University of Southern California PA programs. If you would like to read more about this event, check out this article on the PAEA website.
- PAEA’s Government Relations team also conducted a virtual advocacy training session with students and faculty at the University of Michigan-Flint PA program on March 19. During the training, students learned about the Association’s key policy priorities, opportunities to advocate on behalf of PA education and the profession, and how to conduct an effective advocacy meeting with their elected officials. Thank you to Stephanie Gilkey, MS, PA.-C., DFAAPA for helping to coordinate the lecture!
- Advancing PAEA’s Advocacy Agenda
- On March 7, PAEA submitted a statement to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee in response to a hearing entitled, “Divisive, Excessive, Ineffective: The Real Impact of DEI on College Campuses.” The statement urges the subcommittee to abandon anti-EDI rhetoric and instead pursue productive policy efforts to dismantle barriers for students pursuing health professions careers, such as by bolstering pipeline development programs, federal student aid resources, and investments for PA program expansion at minority-serving institutions.
- On March 23, President Biden signed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 into law, completing the budget and appropriations process for fiscal year (FY) 2024 and providing full year funding for all federal agencies through September 30. This legislation included several victories for PA education, including:
- A $35 million increase in the annual mandatory funding stream for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC),
- Preservation of funding for Title VII health workforce investments administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, and
- $1.8 million to support the development of a PA program at Hawaii Pacific University.
- Health Care News in Washington
- On March 11, the Biden administration released the fiscal year (FY) 2025 President’s Budget, officially kicking off the FY25 budget and appropriations process. The budget request included an increase in mandatory funding for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) through FY26 as well as $915 million total in National Health Service Corps (NHSC) funding.
- The Indian Health Service (IHS) is providing grant funding through the Indians into Medicine Program (INMED) to attract and recruit qualified Indians into health professions and to ensure the availability of health professionals to serve Native populations. This opportunity is open to public and nonprofit private colleges and universities with medical and allied health programs, and grant applications are due by May 14. To learn more, check out PAEA’s announcement.
- The Health Resources and Services Administration has announced that the FY24 application cycles are now open for the traditional National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program, the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Program, and the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Rural Community Loan Repayment Program. Applications for each program must be submitted by May 9 and more information is available here.
- Opportunities for Action
- Workforce shortages continue to impact access to health care in rural and underserved areas. However, programs like the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) serve as an excellent tool to fill in these provider gaps. Contact your representatives today to ensure that the NHSC can fulfill its full potential through a long-term extension of funding as proposed in the Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Act.
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