Advocacy Update

AAHPM Refines Policy Priorities, Partners in Efforts to Engage New Administration and Congress

Jacqueline M. Kocinski, MPP

The post-election period is always one of adjustment. New leaders look to set their policy agenda while advocates consider their options and prioritize their “asks” accordingly. In terms of healthcare policy, the election of Donald J. Trump as the nation’s 45th president brought with it expectations that a Republican-controlled Congress would be able to achieve long-desired change, particularly repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and retooling the Medicaid program.

In March the president released a blueprint of his fiscal year 2018 budget proposals, which gave further insight into his administration’s health policy priorities. Though Congress will need to approve any spending bills, Trump calls for reducing the Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS) funding by 18% and eliminating $403 million in health professions and nurse training programs, noting they “lack evidence that they significantly improve the nation’s health workforce.” He also would consolidate the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and cut the NIH budget by $8 billion.