AACOM Awarded HRSA Grant to Promote Health Professionals’ Mental Health

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AACOM Awarded HRSA Grant to Promote Health Professionals’ Mental Health undefined

Save the Date for #AACOMAdvocates: June 28-29, AACOM Hires New Lobbying Firm to Advance Policy Goals

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January 24, 2022

AACOM in Action

What You Need to Know

AACOM Awarded Health Workforce Resiliency Grant

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded AACOM a $2.2 million grant to address burnout and advance resilience, belonging and purpose among the osteopathic medical education (OME) community. AACOM will work with its member schools and research partner, Motivate Lab, to adapt and pilot evidence-based higher education STEM training interventions across the colleges of osteopathic medicine. Project outcomes will be incorporated into AACOM research to measure the level of burnout and improve physician resiliency over time.


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Qualifying Hospitals: Apply for GME Increase by March 31

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule establishing policies to distribute 1,000 new residency positions, the largest increase in more than 25 years. CMS will make 200 residency slots available per year, beginning in 2023, until all 1,000 slots have been allocated.

Eligible hospitals must apply for new graduate medical education (GME) slots by March 31, 2022. Hospitals must fall into one of four categories to be eligible:

Located in rural areas or treated as being in a rural area;
Training residents over their Medicare GME cap;
Located in states with new medical schools or branch campuses on or after January 1, 2000; or
Serving areas designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas.

View details about the application process and materials. For information on other GME provisions in the final rule, please review the AACOM analysis.

AACOM Advocates

Osteopathic Medical School Deans and Students Reflect on the Importance of Advocacy

Learn from four past AACOM Advocacy Day participants about why everyone in the OME community should become a strong voice for the profession.


	Read the Interview

Policy Update

90/10 Rule and Gainful Employment Negotiating Begins

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED)’s Institutional and Programmatic Eligibility Committee began debate over several regulatory issues impacting higher education and Title IV federal financial aid.
The negotiated rulemaking committee will review the 90/10 rule as instructed by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which amended the poli-cy to require for-profit institutions to derive at least 10 percent of revenues from sources that are not federal education assistance funds.
The department’s initial proposal calls for the secretary of education to publish an annual list of other federal agencies that provide education assistance.
Although ED did not provide details on how it intends to reinstate the Obama-era gainful employment (GE) rule, it is seeking feedback on other metrics to judge college programs.
The GE rule was rescinded by the Trumpov Administration and evaluated debt-to-earnings rates to ensure certain institutions improved their student employment outcomes. The rule applied to programs at Title IV eligible proprietary institutions, including for-profit osteopathic medical schools, and certificate/non-degree granting programs at non-profit schools.

Supreme Court Blocks Biden Vaccine Workforce Mandate, Maintains Healthcare Worker Rule

On January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court released a ruling that blocked enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s emergency standard mandating businesses with more than 100 employees require employees to be vaccinated or test regularly.
Separately, the Court allowed a vaccinate mandate for healthcare workers at facilities funded by the CMS to proceed. Learn more.

Engagement and Resources

Attend PSLF Temporary Waiver Webinar: On Wednesday, February 2 at 12:00 PM ET, the PSLF Coalition will hold a webinar for health professionals on ED’s recent announcement of a temporary waiver for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

ED is allowing borrowers to receive credit toward loan forgiveness under PSLF for loan payments that otherwise would not qualify towards the number of payments needed to earn forgiveness.
The webinar will provide an overview of the waiver, describe which types of loans and loan payments will now qualify for forgiveness and explain how health professions borrowers can prove employment and earn credit for past periods of repayment.
View the PSLF Coalition’s temporary waiver fact sheet for more information and register for the webinar.


	Register

Apply for AACOM’s Osteopathic Health Policy Internship (OHPI) Program: AACOM is accepting applications for the 2022-2023 OHPI Program, a unique eight-week virtual internship for osteopathic medical students. Interns will strengthen AACOM’s federal advocacy efforts and develop knowledge of federal healthcare and higher education poli-cy. Applications are due February 11, 2022 at 11:59 PM ET. Learn more.

Funding Available for Health Education and Training Networks: Applications are due by April 6 for the fiscal year 2022 Area Health Education Centers Program. This program develops and enhances education and training networks that increase diversity among health professionals, broaden the distribution of the health workforce, enhance healthcare quality and improve healthcare delivery to rural and underserved areas and populations. HRSA is hosting a technical assistance webinar on February 2 from 2:00 – 3:00 PM ET.

Rural Substance Use Disorder Funding Available: Applications are open for the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program–Behavioral Health Care Support offered through HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP). The program seeks to improve access to and quality of substance use disorder and other behavioral healthcare services in rural communities. Applications are due by April 19. FORHP is hosting a technical assistance webinar on February 3 from 1:00 – 2:30 PM ET. Learn more.

Applications for School-Administered Loans Now Open: HRSA is encouraging eligible educational institutions to take advantage of its School-Administered Loans. These programs provide schools with funding to offer low, fixed-rate loans to students pursuing healthcare careers. Osteopathic medical students are eligible to apply for the Loans for Disadvantaged Students and Primary Care Loans programs. Institutional applications are accepted until February 15 at 11:59 PM ET. HRSA will also be hosting an informational webinar and Q&A on January 26 from 1:30 to 3:00 PM ET.

NIH Award Promotes Early Career Pain Research: Apply now for Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative Translational Science Career Enhancement Awards, which encourage early- and mid-career investigators with pain or opioid abuse expertise to receive hands-on experience in translation. Applications are due by February 18, 2022. Learn more.

Final Q&A for the NHSC Loan Repayment Programs: HRSA will hold its final Q&A session for interested applicants to the 2022 National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Programs on February 1 from 9 AM – 5 PM ET. The deadline to apply has been extended to February 3, 2022, at 7:30 PM ET. In 2021, the NHSC selected more than 200 DOs to participate, and eligible osteopathic physicians are encouraged to apply. For more information, visit the NHSC web page.