With AHRQ Under Threat, Backers Remind Congress of Its Value

Once again, Republicans in Congress are targeting the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for downsizing or elimination. As a letter from almost 200 signatory organizations called the “Friends of AHRQ” points out, the organization is under threat both in the appropriations process where the House Appropriations Committee has called for eliminating it and in the Trump Administration as HHS reorganizes and eliminates agencies through the DOGE process.

Led by AcademyHealth, the 194 signatory organizations representing patients, doctors, nurses, researchers, hospitals, health systems, insurers, think tanks, universities, and more are calling for AHRQ to be funded at no less than $500 million annually. The letter is addressed to the chairs and the ranking members of the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies.

The letter explains that to deliver better outcomes, “we need to be able to differentiate which healthcare interventions work, for whom they work, and how to implement them. For example, the effectiveness of telehealth is diminished if we do not have an evidence-based approach to provide consistent access regardless of who the patient is, and addressing questions like this is where AHRQ has a proven track record. As the lead agency for health services research and primary care research, AHRQ provides the resources that policymakers, health system leaders, medical providers, and patients need to determine the effectiveness of health systems delivery.”

The letter also points out that AHRQ is the only federal agency that funds research on health systems across the nation. “The benefits of investing in health services research through AHRQ can be measured in saved lives, better value care, and improved patient outcomes to ultimately make America healthier. For example, implementing of just one AHRQ-funded study on reducing hospital acquired conditions prevented an estimated 20,500 hospital deaths and saved $7.7 billion in health care costs from 2014 to 2017. Additional investments in AHRQ are needed to maximize the implementation of research findings across the public health and health care continuum to improve patient care and keep pace with the rapidly evolving and changing health care landscape.”