House Committee Approves Restoration of Geriatric Health
Professions Education Funding
On June 13, 2006, the House Appropriations Committee approved
a funding bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education (LHHS) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 that
would restore funding for Geriatric Health Professions programs
contained in Title VII of the Public Health Service Act. All
funding for these programs was eliminated by Congress for
the current fiscal year, and the Bush Administration recommended
no funding again for FY 2007. The proposal approved by the
House committee would restore funding to $31,548,000, the
amount appropriated for FY 2005. Dan Blazer, MD, MPH, PhD,
immediate past president of AAGP, in testimony before the
LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee on March 30, 2006, stressed
the importance of restoring these programs, and AAGP members
have been active in contacting members of Congress to urge
funding.
The geriatric health professions program supports three important
initiatives. The Geriatric Faculty Fellowship trains faculty
in geriatric medicine, dentistry, and psychiatry. The Geriatric
Academic Career Award program encourages newly trained geriatric
specialists to move into academic medicine. The Geriatric
Education Center (GEC) program provides grants to support
collaborative arrangements that provide training in the diagnosis,
treatment, and prevention of disease.
In FY 2005, these programs were funded at $31.5 million,
but, while they were funded in the Senate Appropriations bill
for FY 2006, the final legislation followed the House version,
which eliminated funding for them. The House committee action
on June 13 is thus particularly significant and encouraging.
|
