- Star Grassroots Advocates
- In early July, the Government Relations Steering Committee (GRSC) met at PAEA headquarters in Washington, DC for their annual meeting. During the meeting, the PAEA Government Relations team and the committee worked together to revise and update PAEA’s advocacy agenda and set policy priorities based upon possible electoral outcomes in November. Special thanks to all our GRSC members for their contributions to the latest advocacy agenda and for making the trip to DC.
- Advancing PAEA’s Advocacy Agenda
- The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently announced that 13 PA programs received new, five-year federal grants to support integrated primary care and behavioral health clinical rotations in rural communities. These grant awards, totaling nearly $5 million annually, were allocated via the Primary Care Training and Enhancement – PA Rural Training in Behavioral Health (PCTE-PARB) program. This funding competition, administered for the first time in 2024, is an expansion of the broader Primary Care Training and Enhancement funding stream - the largest source of direct support for PA education under Title VII of the Public Health Service Act and one of PAEA’s top funding priorities.
- Health Care News in Washington
- On July 10, the House Appropriations Committee passed the FY 25 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill with a vote of 31 to 25. None of the adopted amendments impacted PAEA priority programs that managed to be protected despite many proposed cuts.
- On July 31, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that it will begin the next step toward providing student debt relief to tens of millions of borrowers this Fall by emailing borrowers with at least one outstanding federally held student loan through the U.S. Department of Education. The email will provide updates on potential student debt relief and inform them they have until August 30 to call their servicer and opt out if they do not want this relief.
- Opportunities for Action
- Your voice matters in advocating for legislation that will positively impact the future of PA education and address healthcare disparities in underserved communities. Please contact your elected officials in Congress and urge them to support the Primary Care Team Education Centers Act.
- To decrease disparities in access to care and ensure there are enough providers to meet patient demand nationwide, reach out to your elected representatives today to advocate for increased funding for all Title VII health workforce development programs for fiscal year 2025.
- If you are committed to improving PA education as well as access to care for vulnerable patients, contact your elected representatives in Congress and tell them to support the Rural Health Preceptor Tax Fairness Act.
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