ASAHP Urges Health Professions Funding in FY 23 Appropriations

This week ASAHP joined with other members of two coalitions, the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions (FASHP) and the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC), in urging congressional leaders to include robust health professions funding in a FY 23 appropriations package.

The joint letter from FASHP advocates for strong funding for student aid programs like the Pell Grant program and campus-based aid programs, as well as continued support for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF).

The joint letter from HPNEC urges Congress to provide at least the higher of the two funding levels from the draft House and Senate Labor-HHS-Ed spending bill for the HRSA Title VII health professions and Title VIII nursing workforce development programs for FY 2023.

The current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires on December 16, and Democrats and Republicans have yet to agree on spending levels for non-defense spending along with an array of other issues, increasing the likelihood of another Continuing Resolution into the following week, giving both parties more time to negotiate an Omnibus spending agreement. Many of the most conservative Members in the House and Senate would like to push final consideration of FY 23 funding until Republicans regain control of the House next month, allowing them to recraft the bills at significantly lower overall funding levels.

The FASHP letter may be accessed here and the HPNEC letter may be accessed here.

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on the Student Loan Debt Relief Program

Today, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on the legality of the Administration’s student loan debt relief program. The case will be argued in the February 2023 argument session. In the meantime, the program will remain on hold. Last week, the Administration extended the student loan payment pause, stating, “payments will resume 60 days after the Department is permitted to implement the program or the litigation is resolved, which will give the Supreme Court an opportunity to resolve the case during its current Term. If the program has not been implemented and the litigation has not been resolved by June 30, 2023 – payments will resume 60 days after that.”

The Department of Education’s press release on the student loan payment pause extension may be accessed here.

Biden Administration to Ask Supreme Court to Reinstate Student Debt Relief

The Biden Administration plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate its student debt relief program. After two federal courts halted the program, the Biden Administration announced plans to appeal one of the rulings and is prepared to appeal the other case if needed. Announced in August, the Administration’s initiative includes $10,000 in student loan forgiveness based upon income, with an additional $10,000 in forgiveness for Pell Grant recipients.

More information may be accessed here.

ASAHP Joins ACE in Urging Congress to Protect DACA and Dreamers

ASAHP was one of 65 organizations, in an effort led by the American Council on Education (ACE), which urged Congressional leaders to pass legislation to provide permanent protection for Dreamers—young, undocumented, high-achieving individuals brought to our country as children—during the last weeks of the 117th Congress. Recent court rulings against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects hundreds of thousands of eligible Dreamers, underscore the urgency for Congress to protect Dreamers, who have been living in continuous uncertainty.

The letter may be accessed here.

Federal Court Strikes Down Student Loan Relief Program

On Thursday a federal judge struck down the Biden Administration’s student loan relief program. The Justice Department has filed an appeal of the court’s decision. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration has stopped accepting new applications to the program.

A statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona may be accessed here.

Senate Finance Committee Releases Mental Health Care Integration Discussion Draft

Today the Senate Finance Committee released its fourth component, focusing on mental health integration, of a bipartisan mental health package. Prior components focused on telehealth, youth mental health, and the mental health care network.

The press release may be accessed here. The discussion draft text is available here and a summary is available here.

U.S. Supreme Court Hearing on Race-Conscious Admissions

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard five hours of oral arguments on race-conscious admissions in Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admission v. University of North Carolina. Earlier this year, ASAHP joined the Association of American Medical Colleges and 45 health professional and educational organizations in an amicus curiae brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the limited consideration of an applicant’s racial or ethnic background or experiences in higher education admissions. A ruling is expected in June.

A recap by the Chronicle of Higher Education may be accessed here. More details may be accessed at https://www.supremecourt.gov/. The ASAHP supported amicus brief may be accessed here.

Department of Education Releases Final Higher Education Regulations

Last week the Department of Education released a series of regulations on issues including borrower defense to repayment, Pell Grants for prisoner education, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The regulations go into effect on July 1, 2023.

The regulations may be accessed here. A Department of Education press release may be accessed here. A fact sheet on improvements to targeted debt relief programs may be accessed here.

Student Loan Debt Relief Application Launches

Today, the student loan debt relief application officially launched. The program provides eligible borrowers with full or partial discharge of loans up to $20,000 to Federal Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 to non-Pell Grant recipients.

The application is available here.

Senate Finance Committee Releases Text on Expanding the Mental Health Workforce

On Thursday, Members of the Senate Finance Committee released a discussion draft of legislation aimed at expanding the mental health workforce. This discussion draft is the third legislative draft the Finance Committee has released since kicking off its bipartisan mental health initiative.

The press release, with links to the discussion draft text and a two-page summary, may be accessed here.

LOAN Act introduced in the House

On Thursday, House Education & Labor Chair Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) and Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee Chair Frederica Wilson introduced the Lowering Obstacles to Achievement Now (LOAN) Act. The LOAN Act would double the federal Pell Grant, improve the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, make loans less expensive, and lower interest rates.

The bill text is available here, a one-page fact sheet is available here, and a section-by-section is available here.

House Committee Examines U.S. Health System's role in Climate Change

The House Ways and Means Committee released a report detailing the role the U.S. health system plays in climate change. The report, “Health Care and the Climate Crisis: Preparing America’s Health Care Infrastructure”, was based on respondents to a Request For Information that includes climate innovators, providers, and trade associations. A hearing entitled, “Preparing America’s Health Care Infrastructure for the Climate Crisis ” was held on Thursday.

The report and more information may be accessed here. The hearing may be accessed here.

Administration Announces Targeted Student Debt Cancellation and Pause Extension

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced it will provide provide targeted student debt cancellation to borrowers with loans held by the Department of Education. Borrowers with annual income during the pandemic of under $125,000 (for individuals) or under $250,000 (for married couples or heads of households) who received a Pell Grant in college will be eligible for up to $20,000 in debt cancellation. Borrowers who met those income standards but did not receive a Pell Grant will be eligible for up to $10,000 in relief. The Department will be announcing further details on how borrowers can claim this relief in the weeks ahead. The application will be available no later than when the pause on federal student loan repayments terminates at the end of the year. The Administration also announced a final extension of the pause on student loan repayment, interest, and collections through December 31, 2022. Borrowers should plan to resume payments in January 2023.

The U.S. Department of Education fact sheet may be accessed here. A White House fact sheet may be accessed here.

Department of Education Webinar on How Educators Can Benefit from PSLF

The U.S. Department of Education will be holding a webinar on Wednesday, August 31, to discuss how educators can benefit from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, specifically the temporary waiver which provides time-limited changes to rules that allow borrowers to receive credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF. Borrowers are encouraged to act now since these changes are currently set to expires on October 31, 2022. The webinar will also highlight recent improvements to the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant program.

More details and registration may be accessed here.

ASAHP Advocacy Committee Releases Advocacy Toolkit

ASAHP’s Advocacy Committee released an Advocacy Toolkit including information on contacting hill offices, preparing for advocacy meetings, and much more. The 36-page guide is a valuable resource for advocating for health professions education.

The Advocacy Toolkit may be accessed here.

NC-SARA & WCET/State Authorization Network Webinar Series

The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) and WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET)/ State Authorization Network (SAN) held a two-part webinar series focused on state authorization and SARA. Part 1 was entitled “State & Federal Building Blocks for Out-of-State Activity Compliance” and Part 2 was entitled “Introduction to SARA”.

More details, including the webinar video recordings, may be accessed here.

ASAHP Joins Amicus Brief in Support of Consideration of Race in Higher Education Admissions

ASAHP joined the Association of American Medical Colleges and 45 health professional and educational organizations in an amicus curiae brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the limited consideration of an applicant’s racial or ethnic background or experiences in higher education admissions in the Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admission v. University of North Carolina cases before the Court this fall. A ruling is expected in June 2023.

The amicus curiae brief may be accessed here. The AAMC’s press release may be accessed here.

Senate Releases FY 23 Appropriations bills

Today, Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT) released the Committees FY 23 appropriations bills. The $1.67 trillion Appropriations package includes $653 billion in non-defense discretionary spending, a 10.1 percent increase over fiscal year 2022, $850 billion in defense discretionary spending, an 8.7 percent increase over fiscal year 2022, and $118.7 billion for VA medical care, a 22 percent increase over fiscal year 2022.

The Labor-HHS bill includes $119.7 billion in discretionary funding for HHS, an increase of $11.6 billion over FY 22 enacted levels and $3.6 billion less than President Joe Biden's request for the department.

The Labor-HHS bill includes $676.8 million ($158.1 million increase, or 30% increase over FY 22 enacted levels) for HRSA Title VII health professions programs, and $318.5 million ($38 million increase, or 14% increase over FY 22 enacted levels) for the HRSA Title VIII nursing workforce programs, for a total of $995.3 million for these programs. The explanatory statement also included $30 million for the new Preventing Burnout in the Health Workforce program, $5 million over the proposed funding level in the House Labor-HHS bill.

The bills will be used as the Senate’s mark in negotiations with the House, likely after the midterm elections if a topline spending agreement can be reached with Republicans.

A press release may be accessed here, a summary of the 12 bills is here, and the Labor-HHS bill details are here: bill text, explanatory statement, summary. A funding chart for the HRSA title VII and title VIII health workforce programs is available here.

House Passes Medicare Telehealth Bill

Today, the House passed H.R. 4040, the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2022 by a 416-12 vote. The bill would make permanent several telehealth flexibilities under Medicare that were initially authorized during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19. The bill is expected to pass the Senate, though when it sees the Senate floor is uncertain.

More details may be accessed here.