- Star Grassroots Advocates
- PAEA’s Government Relations team conducted a virtual advocacy training session with PA students at Drexel University on August 12. During the training, students learned about the Association’s key policy priorities as well as opportunities to advocate on behalf of PA education and the profession. Thank you to the Drexel University PA Program for keeping the future generation of PAs engaged in this important work!
- Advancing PAEA’s Advocacy Agenda
- In early August, the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up a series of appropriations bills including the FY25 Labor-HHS-Education legislation. In contrast to the House Labor-HHS proposal, the Senate bill includes a number of positive proposals for PA education including a $25 million increase for the STAR loan repayment program, the preservation of HCOP funding, and two community project funding requests for PA programs at Mississippi State University – Meridian, and Mississippi College.
- On August 29, PAEA submitted a letter in response to the Ways and Means Committee’s request for 2025 tax policy recommendations from stakeholders urging the committee to ensure the inclusion of H.R. 8738 - the bipartisan Rural Health Preceptor Tax Fairness Act in any legislative package designed to support workforce development and rural health care access. The bill would authorize a $1,000 nonrefundable income tax credit for preceptors of health professions students in rural health professional shortage areas.
- Health Care News in Washington
- The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced a new application cycle for the 2025 National Health Service Corps Students to Service (S2S) program. The S2S program, a component of the broader National Health Service Corps, provides PA students in the final year of their programs with up to $120,000 in loan repayment assistance in exchange for three years of full-time service in a designated health professional shortage area.
- On August 28, the Supreme Court temporarily barred the Biden administration from implementing one of its latest efforts to provide debt relief to Americans with student loans. The justices declined to allow the Department of Education to put into effect the SAVE Plan, intended to provide debt relief for lower-income borrowers while challenges to the rule continue in the lower courts.
- 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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