ARN Health Policy Digest – March 2024

We are pleased to present the March issue of the ARN Health Policy Digest. This member benefit provides updates on health policy and legislative and regulatory developments that may be of interest to rehabilitation nurses.  

Updates on FYs 2024 and 2025 Appropriations

​On March 9, President Joe Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (H.R. 4366) into law. The bill finalized fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding levels for six spending bills, avoiding a partial government shutdown. Congress is now working to reach an agreement on the remaining spending bills, including the Labor-HHS and Defense bills, which are set to expire on March 22. As a reminder, all twelve appropriations bills must be passed by April 30 to avoid a 1% sequestration on all discretionary spending.

Although FY 2024 funding is not finalized, ARN is moving forward with planning for our FY 2025 appropriations requests.

President Highlights Health Priorities in SOTU

On March 7, President Biden delivered his State of the Union (SOTU) Address. The SOTU focused on many of the Biden Administration's priorities, including his vision for healthcare. The President highlighted his efforts to strengthening Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act through laws such as the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, which have lowered prescription drug costs and insurance premiums. The President highlighted home- and community-based services, women's health research, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) as areas of importance. Additionally, ensuring mental health care access, working to prevent surprise medical bills and fees, and strengthening nursing home care are ongoing priorities for this Administration. Overall, the SOTU highlighted the Administrations continued commitment to provide quality care, protect against financial burdens, and secure Medicare and Social Security benefits for seniors and those in need. A fact sheet outlining the President's healthcare priorities can be found here and the text of the SOTU can be found here.

White House Releases FY 2025 Budget Request

On March 11, President Joe Biden released his FY 2025 Budget Request, including a $130.7 billion proposal for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a 9.4% decrease from the FY 2024 Budget Request but a 3% increase from the FY 2023 enacted level. The budget request and HHS Budget in Brief are available for review.

This year's request will be lower than last year's requests due to the agreed upon budget caps from the Fiscal Responsibility Act for FY 2025. Below are some key health funding details compared to FY 2023 since FY 2024 Labor-HHS funding levels are still being finalized.

• $50.1 billion for National Institutes of Health (NIH), a 6% increase from FY 2023
  • This includes $198 million for the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR).
• $1.5 billion for Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), consistent with final FY 2023 funding
• $8 billion for Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a 17% decrease from FY 2023
  • This includes $320.5 million in total funding for the Title VIII nursing workforce development programs, a 6.7% increase above FY 2023 levels.
• $9.7 billion for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a 4.3% increase from FY 2023

• $2.6 billion for Administration for Community Living (ACL), a 4% increase from FY 2023

• This includes $119 million for the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, consistent with final FY 2023 funding.

As a reminder, the budget includes the President's recommendations for both discretionary and mandatory spending and will not be enacted unless Congress adopts it. 

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Act Reintroduced

Representative Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), the co-chairman Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, reintroduced the Traumatic Brain Injury Program Reauthorization Act (H.R. 7208). The TBI Act is the only federal law that specifically addresses issues faced by approximately 5.3 million American children and adults with long-term, severe disability as a result of TBI each year. The legislation reauthorizes programs created by the 1996 law which enables the CDC to provide funding to states for brain injury patients to access treatment and rehabilitation programs.

On March 12, the bill was passed unanimously out of the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Subcommittee on Health. This is a significant milestone in the legislative process and indicates strong bipartisan support for the legislation within the subcommittee. The bill will now move to the full E&C Committee for consideration.

ARN Endorses Legislation to Increase Nursing Workforce

ARN was pleased to endorse the bipartisan, bicameral Future Advancement of Academic Nursing (FAAN) Act (S.3770/H.R.7266), introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL). This legislation aims to bolster nursing schools through a grant program, crucial for tackling workforce shortages and, if passed, will improve readiness for emergencies, enroll underrepresented students, and modernize nursing education and infrastructure. The FAAN Act is endorsed by more than 30 organizations, including ARN. The bill text and section-by-section are available for review.

Notice of Funding Opportunities

Below is a list of other funding opportunities for interested ARN members.

• Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Developing and Testing Multi-level Physical Activity Interventions to Improve Health and Well-Being (NOT-OD-24-058)
• Consortium for Palliative Care Research Across the Lifespan (U54 Clinical Trial Optional) (RFA-AG-25-002)
• BRAIN Initiative: Scaled reagent resources for brain cell type-specific access across vertebrate species (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (RFA-MH-25-100)
• BRAIN Initiative: Production and distribution facilities for brain cell type-specific access reagents (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (RFA-MH-25-105)
• INCLUDE (INvestigation of Co-occurring conditions across the Lifespan to Understand Down syndromE) Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (RFA-OD-24-007)
• Notice of NICHD Participation in PAR-23-144 "STrengthening Research Opportunities for NIH Grants (STRONG): Structured Institutional Needs Assessment and Action Plan Development for Resource Limited Institutions") (NOT-HD-24-007)
• BRAIN Initiative: Research on the Ethical Implications of Advancements in Neurotechnology and Brain Science (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (RFA-MH-25-170)
• BRAIN Initiative: Research on the Ethical Implications of Advancements in Neurotechnology and Brain Science (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) (RFA-MH-25-171)

• Request for Information (RFI): Proposed Use of Common Data Elements (CDEs) for NIH-Funded Clinical Research and Trials (NOT-OD-24-063)
• Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Research supplements to promote workforce diversity and enhance utility and use of Common Fund datasets (NOT-RM-24-003)
• Long-Term Effects of Disasters on Healthcare Systems in Populations with Health Disparities (R01- Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-24-109)
• Translational Neural Devices (R61/R33 - Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-24-151)
• NIH Guidance on Marking Changes in Resubmission Applications (NOT-OD-24-061)
• NINDS OPEN House webinar for PA-23-271: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Parent F31-Diversity) (NOT-NS-24-066)
• Request for Information on Potential Solutions for Reducing Publication Bias Against Null Studies (NOT-NS-24-052)

• Advanced Nursing Education – Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (ANE-SANE) Program (HRSA-24-017)