The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is now accepting applications for several National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Programs, offering significant student loan relief for qualified healthcare providers who serve in high-need and underserved communities. Available opportunities include: NHSC Loan Repayment Program: Provides up to $75,000 for primary care providers (and … Read More
Partnering with the AOA, the Indiana Osteopathic Association (IOA) brought osteopathic physicians and students to the Indiana Statehouse on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, for IOA’s DO Day at the Statehouse, where participants engaged directly with lawmakers on critical healthcare issues impacting Indiana. With major legislative decisions underway, advocates emphasized the need to reduce administrative burdens … Read More
As follow-up to their presentation at the Affiliate Partnership Meeting, AOA state government affairs staff will be reaching out to affiliates in the coming week to discuss sharing letters educating newly elected legislators about osteopathic medicine, and flagging the emergence of (unregulated) non-medical “osteopathy” in the U.S. for legislators and regulators. As 2026 state legislative sessions … Read More
A recent study published in “Family Practice” that examines the practice patterns of autonomous nurse practitioners (NPs) in Florida found that more than half are practicing outside of their scope of practice. Florida passed a law in 2020 to allow NPs who have completed 3,000 clinical practice hours within the past five years to register … Read More
The AOA is dedicated to advancing recognition and practice rights for osteopathic physicians abroad, and recently achieved a major win in Nova Scotia. Following years of advocacy by the AOA, the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) and the Canadian Osteopathic Association, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia (CPSNS) voted in … Read More
On Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, AOA Trustee Jennifer Kendall, DO, participated in a Federal Trade Commission panel examining the impact of non-compete clauses in employment contracts, continuing AOA’s engagement with federal policymakers on this critical issue. “The bottom line is that these physician non-competes hurt patients. They disrupt continuity of care, decrease quality of care, … Read More
To safeguard patient access to vital clinical laboratory services, the AOA signed onto a broad coalition letter supporting the Reforming and Enhancing Sustainable Updates to Laboratory Testing Services (RESULTS) Act (S. 2761 / H.R. 5269). The letter notes that: The Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) accounts for less than 1% of Medicare spending, yet laboratory services … Read More
The AOA recently joined coalitions of national and state medical organizations in letters to advance legislation that expands access to physician-led care and addresses harmful consolidation in hospital markets. The letters call on the support of the following bills: H.R. 4002 – Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act AOA joined a coalition supporting … Read More
In response to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Request for Information (RFI) on employee noncompete agreements, the AOA submitted detailed comments documenting how noncompetes in physician contracts undermine access to care and disrupt the patient-physician relationship. Drawing on member experiences from across the country, the AOA highlighted that: Noncompete clauses can force physicians to leave … Read More