FFFM | March 2026 Advocacy Rounds

David Tully, AAFP vice president of government relations, recaps the AAFP's March 2026 advocacy efforts. Academy EVP and CEO Shawn Martin testified before Congress on how underinvestment fuels workforce shortages, longer waits and practice closures. Chronic disease drives 90% of the $4.9 trillion the US spends on health care each year, but primary care receives less than 5% of those funds. With that in mind, the AAFP urged Congress to improve patients' access and costs by making primary care affordable, supporting science-based vaccine policy, advancing targeted tax policies, protecting medical student loans (including the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program) and funding the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality at $500 million.

Topics by Timestamp

00:00 March advocacy recap

00:35 Primary care underfunding

01:48 Capitol Hill meetings

02:03 Affordable access message

02:42 Science-based vaccine policy

03:03 Tax incentives to improve the PC workforce

03:37 Student loan protections

05:23 AI principles in care

07:35 Fund AHRQ research

08:48 Closing and resources

Additional Resources

• Six ways Congress can make health care affordable for doctors and patients

• Joint Letter in Support of Fiscal Year 2027 AHRQ Funding - 030226

• AAFP Comments to ASTP-ONC on HTI-5 PR - February 25, 2026

• The Starfield Signal: A Shared Vision and Roadmap for AI in Primary Care

• Health IT End-Users Alliance Response to ASTP-ONC on HHS Health Sector AI RFI - February 20, 2026

• AI Is in the Doctor's Bag—And Primary Care Is Ready to Use It | Rock Health

• AAFP Response to Education Department on RISE PR - February 24, 2026

• AAFP Letter to Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development Hearing on Cost of Higher Education – February 18, 2026

• Health Subcommittee: Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of the U.S. Provider Landscape

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