AAMC Statement on the Omission of Legislation to Reauthorize the Title VII Health Professions and Title VIII Nursing…

AAMC President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, and AAMC Chief Public Policy Officer Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MHSA, MPP, issued the following statement:

"The AAMC is disappointed that the House Energy and Commerce Committee did not include legislation that would reauthorize the Health Resources and Services Administration's Title VII health professions programs and the Title VIII nursing workforce development programs in its Sept. 17 markup. This would include the Educating Medical Professionals and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency and Readiness (EMPOWER) for Health Act (H.R. 4262) and the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 3593). The AAMC strongly urges the committee to swiftly take up these bills that were supported and advanced out of the Health Subcommittee by voice vote earlier this month.

The AAMC and 67 national health care organizations agree that reauthorizing these programs would reaffirm the federal government's commitment to making America healthy by building a health care workforce capable of meeting the evolving health needs of patients and communities nationwide. The programs in Title VII focused on health professions and in Title VIII focused on nursing workforce development ensure the country can support training for all providers - physicians, physician assistants, nurses, primary care providers, pediatric providers, dentists, geriatrics professionals, mental and behavioral health professionals, public health practitioners, and others - many of whom go on to serve in rural and other medically underserved communities.

Legislation that makes meaningful investments in the health care workforce is especially critical to the health of millions at a time when the U.S. faces significant health professions shortages, federal loan repayment limits, clinician burnout, and widening gaps in health outcomes for the nation's patients."