Media Contact
Joey Johnson, D.O., National President
American Medical Student Association
Email: [email protected]
STERLING, Virginia – June 1, 2017 – The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) National President, Dr. Joey Johnson, DO, has released the following statement regarding President Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2018, which contradicts many of AMSA’s core values and includes deep funding cuts that would impact public health, medical trainees, and the physician workforce.
“Simply put, any budget request reflects an administration’s priorities. Titled ‘A New Foundation for American Greatness,’ the President’s fiscal year 2018 budget proposal clearly defines that foundation as a ten percent increase in military spending and $2.6 billion for border security at the expense of the long-term health and prosperity of millions of vulnerable Americans.
We recognize the administration’s attempt to balance the budget within ten years without cutting Social Security or Medicare. We also support the allocation of $500 million in state grants for opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery, as well as the two-year extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
However, the severe reductions to multiple Department of Health and Human Services programs will only worsen addiction, chronic disease, and overall public health outcomes.
We are deeply concerned about the sweeping cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These reductions will hinder critical research, limit the ability to combat global epidemics like tuberculosis and HIV, and stifle innovation in disease prevention and treatment.
The proposed $610 million cut to Medicaid and its conversion to a block grant or per-capita system would have devastating consequences. While the budget claims to support pregnant women, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly, these drastic reductions would leave millions of low-income adults without access to care—many of whom rely on Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.
In the absence of a single-payer system, AMSA supports health care reform that expands comprehensive coverage for all individuals in the United States. Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a critical step toward improving access to health care and insurance.
Beyond the threats to research and Medicaid, we are equally alarmed by the severe cuts to post-secondary education funding, which will burden medical trainees with even greater debt, disproportionately impacting underrepresented minority students in medicine. The proposed budget completely eliminates the Perkins Loan Program and aims to abolish the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Additionally, existing income-driven repayment programs would be replaced by a single plan requiring payments of 12.5 percent of income over 30 years for graduate and professional students. This disregards the significant financial burden faced by medical trainees. If aspiring physicians are crushed under educational debt, the pipeline into the profession will collapse, leaving millions without access to doctors.
AMSA is also deeply concerned about massive funding cuts to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). These programs help address healthcare disparities by supporting teaching hospitals, children’s hospitals, and academic health centers in expanding the quality, quantity, and diversity of the primary care workforce. Reducing funding for these initiatives may deter undergraduates from pursuing medicine, limit the availability of primary care providers, and push trainees toward higher-paying subspecialties instead of general practice.
This budget disregards the importance of medical research and innovation, undermines health equity and social justice, and fails to address critical social determinants of health like poverty, food security, access to care, and education. As Congress convenes in June to debate this proposal, we urge all medical trainees and physicians to take action. Your voice is crucial—this is not a drill. Join us in organizing, mobilizing, and demanding that our senators and representatives reject these dangerous cuts that threaten the foundation of a healthy and just society.
About AMSA:
AMSA is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950, AMSA is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. To learn more about AMSA, our strategic priorities, or joining the organization, please visit us online at http://amsa.org.
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