Miller, Colleagues Send Letter to National Institutes of Health to Increase Investment in Osteopathic Medicine

Washington D.C. - Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) joined 36 of her colleagues in sending a bipartisan, bicameral letter to National Institutes Health (NIH) Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli to advocate for increased investment and collaboration opportunities with Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (COMs) and the osteopathic medical education (OME) community.

Joining Congresswoman Miller in signing the letter are Representatives Susie Lee (D-NV), Julia Letlow (R-LA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Robert Aderholt (R-AL), John Joyce (R-PA), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Sam Graves (R-MO), John Garamendi (D-CA), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Patrick Ryan (D-NY), Troy Nehls (R-TX), Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Tim Burchett (R-TN), Ben Cline (R-VA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Steve Womack (R-AR), Mike Rogers (R-AL), Bob Good (R-VA), Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), and Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Boozman (R-AR), James Lankford (R-OK), James Risch (R-ID), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Joe Manchin (R-WV), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Angus King (I-ME), Steve Daines (R-MT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and John Kennedy (R-LA).

"The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) greatly appreciates Congresswoman Carol Miller's efforts to help eliminate the disparities in NIH funding and representation for colleges of osteopathic medicine. The Congresswoman recently met with our WVSOM team on Osteopathic Advocacy Day to review the NIH numbers and to discuss the issues. Always a supporter of health care and osteopathic medicine, Congresswoman Miller has now taken action to make change. WVSOM and the national osteopathic medical community thank her for this service to her constituents and the country," said West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine's President James Nemitz.

Click here for the full letter.

On the role Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine play in clinical research and impact on communities:

We write to strongly encourage increased representation of and investment in osteopathic medicine across the NIH enterprise.

As Members of Congress, we believe that Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (COMs) are integral to our nation's research infrastructure and are well-positioned to play a greater role in NIH clinical research. Fifty-six percent of COMs are located in Health Professional Shortage Areas, and 40 percent of COM graduating students commit to practicing in an underserved area, playing a critical role in serving rural and underserved communities across the country amidst widespread health care workforce shortages.

On the need to increase funding for Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine and osteopathic medical education:

Osteopathic medical schools have received only 0.1 percent of NIH grants compared to 40 percent for allopathic schools in Fiscal Year 2024. Congress has repeatedly highlighted the need for increased funding for - and representation from - the osteopathic medical education (OME) community in committee and conference reports accompanying consolidated appropriations acts from Fiscal Years (FY) 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Twenty-six members of Congress also sent a letter to the Acting Director addressing this topic in July 2022. Despite encouraging the NIH to increase representation of the osteopathic medical community within its agency, no additional osteopathic physicians have been named to NIH National Advisory Councils despite many nominations.

We believe NIH is missing significant opportunities to collaborate with COMs and OME to advance research in primary care, address health disparities in rural and underserved communities, strengthen nonpharmacological treatments, and invest in other vital medical areas. Osteopathic medicine continues to be associated solely with complementary and integrative health, despite data demonstrating that osteopathic scientists participate in the full continuum of medical research. We encourage the NIH to expand funding opportunities for COMs to other NIH Institutes and Centers beyond just the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH).

As Members of Congress, we urge the NIH to prioritize this issue and establish a plan to increase osteopathic research funding and representation across the NIH enterprise.

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