OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY

Advocacy for increased FY 25 programmatic appropriations for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including funding for cancer research, neurosciences research and the NIH BRAIN Initiative, and national primate research centers; the Agency for Health Care Quality and Research (AHRQ); health professions workforce development and diversity programs (HRSA Title VII and Title VIII and HRSA Centers of Excellence (COE)); HRSA Transforming Pediatrics for Early Childhood Program (TPEC); University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) and Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) programs; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Total Worker Health Program; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and NIH to conduct public health research into firearm morbidity and mortality prevention; Office of Refugee Resettlement Survivors of Torture program.

Provided specific, formal written comment to US Senate legislative concept, the SUSTAIN 340B Act, amending federal statute governing the 340B Drug Discount Program. Generally, communicated support for 340B Drug Discount Program and resulting patient and community benefits provided through participating safety-net hospitals and other covered entities; support for Congressional action to prohibit pharmaceutical manufacturer denials of 340B drug discounts to safety-net hospitals and other 340B covered entities; and opposition to proposed policies limiting the scope of the program and reducing access to drug discounts currently provided under of the program structure.

Support for extending telehealth and hospital and home programs, increasing Medicare investment in graduate medical education (GME), as the largest federal funding source for medical residency training; support for funding comprehensive health services under Medicaid; the benefits of Oregon's Section 1115 Medicaid Waiver and social determinants of health, including housing and food security; support for expanding supplemental Medicaid payments for workforce development in the health professions; and oppositions to cuts in payments to Disproportionate Share Hospitals and opposing site-neutral payment policies.

Support for legislation establishing an essential hospital designation in federal law (H.R. 7397) for purposes of reimbursement of services provided under Medicare. Provided clinical expertise and faculty perspective on existing legal barriers to access to reproductive health services, contraception and abortion drugs.

Support for the unique higher education needs of academic health centers in the education and training of health care professionals, and the diversification of the health care workforce. Provided information on programs of the university to address and support students in navigating graduate medical education debt, and shared information on likely impact of current and proposed federal financial aid policies related to undergraduate and graduate students.