As we speak the AASM launched an announcement within the context of current adjustments in federal funding, staffing, and administrative necessities associated to biomedical analysis and well being care. The assertion advocates for federal help of sleep and circadian analysis and scientific sleep drugs, and it describes the significance of prioritizing sleep via applications administered by companies together with the Nationwide Institutes of Well being (NIH), Division of Veterans Affairs (VA), and Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Companies (CMS).
The AASM membership consists of NIH-funded researchers and VA employees clinicians, lots of whom have skilled skilled disruptions and uncertainties in current months. All our doctor members are additionally affected by the reimbursement charges carried out by CMS via the Medicare doctor price schedule. We stay dedicated to advocating for federal insurance policies that help our members and promote the well being and well-being of sufferers who’ve sleep issues.
The AASM assertion follows a sequence of different actions taken by the AASM to interact with policymakers and collaborate with different skilled societies to make sure that our voice is heard. These steps embrace:
Organizing an annual Hill Day in March, when AASM members gathered in Washington, D.C., and met with 28 congressional workplaces to debate sleep-related coverage issues
Issuing a press launch calling for motion by the federal authorities to prioritize sleep well being analysis and schooling, whereas advocating for higher consciousness of how high quality sleep is vital for kids’s improvement, well-being, and long-term well being
Sending a letter to Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and all different members of the Make America Wholesome Once more (MAHA) Fee, outlining how prioritizing wholesome sleep will assist handle the targets of the fee
Creating the “Sleep for a Stronger Nation” webpage as a useful resource for federal company employees
Utilizing social media to advertise sleep as a nationwide well being precedence
Signing on to a sleep coalition letter to Secretary Kennedy and the MAHA Fee members reinforcing the vital significance of sleep and circadian rhythms in selling well being and stopping continual illness
Sending letters to members of the MAHA Caucus, urging them to help the inclusion of sleep well being within the MAHA Fee’s efforts
Assembly with a employees member within the govt workplace of the president to emphasise the significance of sleep for well being and well-being
Signing on to a respiratory well being coalition letter urging the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee to bolster biomedical analysis by strengthening federal funding for NIH
Sending letters to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD; CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, MBA; and VA Secretary Douglas Collins, JD, emphasizing the significance of prioritizing sleep well being via their companies
Supporting the AASM Basis’s annual Younger Investigator’s Analysis Discussion board, which aids the skilled improvement of promising early profession investigators in sleep and circadian analysis
Going ahead, we are going to proceed to grab further alternatives to tell federal leaders concerning the worth of sleep analysis and sleep care. I encourage you to go to the net AASM Motion Middle to bolster these efforts by urging you legislators in Congress to prioritize funding for NIH. Your involvement and help are very important as we work collectively to affect constructive adjustments.
Our dedication to analysis, schooling, and scientific excellence stays unwavering. The AASM will proceed to advertise and help scientific developments that improve our understanding of sleep and circadian issues and enhance affected person outcomes.
We additionally stay dedicated to constructing a powerful sense of belonging inside the AASM. We’ll proceed to foster a welcoming setting that ensures each member feels supported and valued.
Collectively, we are going to proceed to uphold the very best requirements and try for a future the place each affected person receives the sleep care they deserve.
Heat regards,
Eric J. Olson, MDAASM President
