
advocacy efforts
SGIM channels its resources into advocating for pivotal changes across our focus areas of Clinical Practice, Education, and Research. Explore the various ways SGIM engages with policymakers through direct appeals and strategic coalitions. These efforts aim to advance general internal medicine, influence healthcare policies, and improve outcomes for physicians and patients nationwide.
Clinical Practice
SGIM's advocacy efforts support the delivery of high-quality primary and cognitive care services that improve patient outcomes and health equity by working in conjunction with Congress, federal agencies and other organizations.
Education
SGIM advocates for the education of medical students, residents, and fellows as well as faculty at academic centers, teaching hospitals and in the community. We advocate for innovations in medical education to prepare clinicians to deliver the highest quality evidence-based, culturally appropriate, and cost-effective clinical care.
Research
SGIM advocates for a wide range of research, including subfields within the broad category of health services research and primary care research. The need for robust and sustained funding for research remains the Society’s priority interest, with the inequities that have been exposed and exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Clinical PRactice
SGIM Sends Letter to Transition Team – January 2025
SGIM sent a letter to the Trump-Vance Transition Team outlining the society’s policy recommendations, which focus on three priority areas: clinical practice, educating the next generation of physicians, and medical research. Additionally, SGIM welcomed the opportunity to work together to strengthen primary care and ensure all individuals have access to comprehensive, high-quality primary care services.
Education
SGIM Comments on Draft Legislation to Improve Medicare GME - January 2025
SGIM was pleased to provide comments on bipartisan draft legislation that would fund 5,000 additional Medicare GME slots from FY 2027-2031 while prioritizing slots for primary care residencies. In addition, SGIM’s comments supported training in rural areas, creating a Medicare GME Policy Council, and improving GME data collection and transparency.
Research
Friends of AHRQ FY25 Request – February 2024
SGIM joins hundreds of other organizations and the Friends of AHRQ to request no less than $500 million in funding for FY25 appropriations. This request reflects an inflation adjustment from FY10 and the demonstrated need to expand and accelerate health services research investments to inform decision-making on the healthcare system as it recovers from the pandemic.
SGIM Supports Funding for Defense Health Research Programs – May 2024
SGIM signed on to a letter addressed to Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) calling for their support for the critical and highly successful Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the Department of Defense (DoD). Specifically, SGIM, along with over 100 stakeholders, recommended increased funding for these defense health research programs by five percent plus inflation (approximately $123 million increase).
As Congress begins to work on its fiscal year 2025 appropriations bills, SGIM joined with over 1,000 other organizations requesting that Congressional leaders appropriate enough funds to support growing needs associated with non-defense discretionary (NDD) programs. Some members of Congress continue to threaten cuts to NDD agencies and programs, including the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Health Resources and Services Administration’s health workforce training programs, that would undermine their ability to carry out their public health missions.
SGIM Comments on NIH Reform - August 2024
SGIM responded to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ framework to reform the National Institutes of Health. To reauthorize the agency, we called for her to support a bipartisan and bicameral process with public hearings and multiple opportunities for comment.
SGIM Requests Additional Funding for HRSA - September 2024
SGIM joins over 50 organizations in a request for the FY25 Labor HHS Appropriations bill to support an increase in the annual funding for the Telehealth Resources Centers (TRCs) program in the Office of Advanced Telehealth in the Health Resources and Services Administration.
SGIM Comments on NIH RFI on Postdoc Research - October 2024
SGIM submitted comments on the NIH’s RFI on Recommendations on Re-envisioning U.S. Postdoctoral Research Training and Career Progression within the Biomedical Research Enterprise, advocating for enhanced resources dedicated to training postdoctoral scholars, particularly through the T32 mechanism, which plays a vital role due to its multidisciplinary approach, strong mentorship opportunities, and contributions to primary care.
FY25 Ad Hoc Group NIH Funding Letter - November 2024
SGIM, as part of the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, joined 400 other members in signing a letter urging Congress to finalize the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) spending bill by the end of the calendar year. Specifically, SGIM advocates for the Senate Appropriations Committee-approved level of funding of $48.9 billion for the NIH as well as the funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for health (ARPA-H).
FY25 Appropriations Letter - December 2024
SGIM urged Congress to pass the fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriation bills - including the Labor Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill- before the end of the lame-duck session. Specifically, SGIM supports funding at the level included in the Senate Appropriations Committee-approved FY 2025 Labor-HHS bill to support research granting agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.