Advocacy
Agency for Health, Research and Quality (AHRQ)
CAFM’s “Ask”
CAFM recommended that Congress fund AHRQ at a level of $405 million in Fiscal Year 2010. This number was developed by the Friends of AHRQ, a coalition that supports an increased committment to the agency.
CAFM will update the Fiscal Year 2011 recommended funding level for AHRQ early next year.
What is AHRQ?
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is a small federal agency with a huge responsibility for research to support clinical decision-making, reduce costs, advance patient safety, and improve health care quality and access.
Committees and Agency of Jurisdiction
House Appropriations Committee (spending levels)
Senate Appropriations Committee (spending levels)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Current Landscape
The FY 10 appropriation total for AHRQ totaled $397 million, an almost 7% increase over the total requested by the President and was appropriated in FY 09. In addition to FY 09 appropriations, AHRQ received $700 million to conduct comparative effectiveness research (CER) in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Ever since ARRA was passed, many Republican lawmakers have been attempting to use the comparative effectiveness research funding against the Democrats, characterizing CER as a tool for "health rationing." CAFM fully endorses the idea of CER as a useful tool to support clinical decision-making and improve health care quality.
