Heinrich, Lee, Wicker Lead Call For Increased Access To Osteopathic Medical Research Benefitting Rural, Underserved Communities

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on July 20, 2022
- 5:16 am

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and U.S. Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.) led a bipartisan, bicameral group of 23 lawmakers in a letter urging Acting National Institute of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak to expand funding opportunities for research in osteopathic medicine.

Osteopathic physicians have expertise in the musculoskeletal system and receive additional training in osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), a hands-on technique and non-pharmacological solution to pain management. This type of treatment can serve as a non-addictive alternative to opioids.

Increasing this focus at the NIH would help to address health disparities in rural and medically underserved populations and advance research in primary care, prevention, and treatment. This also helps address the nation’s doctor shortage – 58 percent of osteopathic medical schools are located in states with Health Professional Shortage Areas, including New Mexico, Mississippi and Nevada.

In the letter to NIH Director Tabak, the lawmakers write “We are concerned by the historic disparity in NIH funding and representation for [Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (COMs)].”

Osteopathic is the fastest growing medical field in the country and 38 osteopathic medical schools nationwide currently educate nearly 34,000 physicians – 25 percent of all U.S. medical students.

Unfortunately, osteopathic medical schools receive only 0.1 percent of NIH grants compared to 40 percent for allopathic schools.

In the letter, the lawmakers outlined critical steps for NIH to expand research funding for COMs.

This includes guidance to:

Establish a structured partnership with the osteopathic medical education community, including the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), which creates and executes a plan to increase NIH funding for COMs;
Establish a program to incentivize principal investigators from COMs;
Consider opportunities to fund research projects that incorporate the osteopathic philosophy and OMT; and
Increase representation for the osteopathic profession on NIH National Advisory Councils and study selection reviewers.

The letter from the lawmakers is supported by the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM).

“For decades, NIH has neglected the world class research being done at colleges of osteopathic medicine,” AACOM President/CEO Dr. Robert A. Cain said. “Increasing funding for osteopathic medical research will help our nation in its efforts to address health disparities in rural and underserved populations, enable us to better understand the COVID-19 pandemic and advance the quality of treatment in primary care and beyond. We thank Senators Heinrich and Wicker as well as Representative Lee for their leadership on this issue.”

The bipartisan letter is also signed by U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-Ark.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.).

In the House, the letter is signed by U.S. Representatives Cynthia Axne (D-Iowa), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Ben Cline (R-Va.), Peter DeFazio (D-Mass.), Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), David Rouzer (R-N.C.), William Timmons (R-S.C.), and Grace Meng (D-N.Y.).

Read the full text of the letter here.