Advocacy

This advocacy update will center on federally funded research at the forces at play.

As can be expected, this week all eyes – ours included – have been on the president's proposed budget for fiscal year (FY) 2018, so today I'll provide a recap with all we know so far.

Today the president's budget was released, providing some much-needed detail to the "skinny budget" that was released in March. Today's release confirms the Administration's earlier proposal to move the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality under the National Institutes of Health umbrella.

This week’s advocacy update will be shorter than last week’s, but there have been a few developments I wanted to be sure were on your radars.

For more than 30 years, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has collected, analyzed and disseminated data on health care utilization in the United States, including the National Health Care Surveys, a family of surveys of health care providers in inpatient, ambulatory, and long-term care settings. NCHS is now bringing this family of surveys into the electronic realm.

This morning in an email to staff, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Acting Director Dr. Sharon Arnold announced that Mr. Gopal Khanna is joining the agency today as its new director.

Since members of Congress have been channeling much of their time energies toward the final fiscal year 2017 appropriations bill, appropriations will be the predominant focus of this week’s advocacy update – though I do have some news regarding possible changes coming to the National Institutes of Health’s grants policies as well!  

Members of Congress will return to Washington on Monday after a two week April recess. While recess typically means quieter times on the advocacy front, the work in Washington continues.

As we continue to recognize health services research’s increasingly relevant place in the world of Washington, I wanted to begin weekly advocacy updates for our members – to let you know what we’re hearing and to provide you with our “read” on the state of affairs.