The AAFP has launched an all-out campaign to convince members of Congress to reinstate funds for Section 747 of Title VII of the Public Health Service Act. The effort: urging members to contact their legislators to support the funding.
Academy Makes All-Out Effort to Revive Title VII Funding
By Leslie Champlin
6/5/2005
The action grows from "an unprecedented" deletion of almost all Title VII funding on June 9 by the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, according to Susan Hildebrandt, assistant director of the AAFP Division of Government Relations.
"Virtually all Title VII health professions programs received zero funding, including the Section 747 Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry cluster, which contains family medicine training," she said. "This action is unprecedented at the House subcommittee level."
"Virtually all Title VII health professions programs received zero funding, including the Section 747 Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry cluster, which contains family medicine training," she said. "This action is unprecedented at the House subcommittee level."
Title VII has come under threat for several years from White House budgets, which have zeroed out funding for primary care training. However, Congress has routinely restored funds. Last year, Congress finally agreed to an appropriation of $89 million for Title VII funding.
The Academy and the Academic Family Medicine Advocacy Alliance jumped into action immediately after the subcommittee's vote on the issue. Among the actions being taken:
The Academy and the Academic Family Medicine Advocacy Alliance jumped into action immediately after the subcommittee's vote on the issue. Among the actions being taken:
- a mass e-mail to all family physicians who live in districts of House Appropriations Committee members;
- a Speak Out posting containing talking points for phone calls, a letter and state-specific funding information;
- calls to several members of the full House Appropriations Committee who might offer an amendment that restores funding or who might support the programs when the full committee marks up the legislation; and
- a key legislative contact alert.
Speak Out information urges members to contact their representatives and request restoration of Title VII health professions programs to at least the fiscal year 2005 level of $300 million. Contact can be made via telephone, fax or the Speak Out program. The Speak Out site includes talking points on the need to restore the Title VII funding, the economic impact of family physicians on states, and implications for whether administration-supported community health centers will have adequate staffing without Title VII-supported training programs.
