February 27, 2002

Dear Chairman Regula and Congressman Obey:

The Friends of AHRQ are concerned by the President's proposed $48 million funding cut for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). This cut will dramatically curtail AHRQ's ability to carry out needed research to improve health care quality, access, and financing in the United States. We are extremely appreciative of your leadership in providing prior funding increases for AHRQ and request, as you develop your FY2003 funding recommendations, that you not only maintain, but enhance funding for this critical agency.

As the lead Public Health Service agency focused on health care quality, AHRQ's research provides the evidence-based information needed to reduce medical errors, improve access to health care services, and more efficiently utilize health care resources. The funding Congress has provided in the past has enabled AHRQ to research important questions about how to:

• Reduce deaths from medical errors;
  
• Improve access and quality of care, particularly for persons with chronic disorders and children;
  
• Promote evidence-based health care;
  
• Assess and measure health care quality;
  
• Eliminate racial, gender and ethnic disparities;
  
• Assist in improving emergency responsiveness.

The President's FY2003 proposed budget would decrease current funding for AHRQ by $48 million, or 16 percent. The proposed cuts are targeted such that research on quality, disease management, outcomes, access and financing of health care will be severely impacted. At the proposed $252 million level, AHRQ will be unable to fund any new research or training grants. Funding for current grants for non-patient safety research will be reduced by nearly 50 percent. This reduction will require grant and contract renegotiations that will significantly reduce our knowledge and understanding of how to cost-effectively provide quality health care and discourage researcher interest in these critical health care issues at a time when we most need answers.

The Friends of AHRQ are requesting a FY2003 budget of $390 million to ensure AHRQ can not only continue its critical health mission, but also further fulfill its role in improving the quality of health care and the quality of life for all Americans. We urge your support for providing these additional resources to AHRQ in FY2003 and thank you again for your past leadership and support.

Sincerely,

Administrators of Internal Medicine
Ambulatory Pediatric Association
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for Dental Research
American College of Obstetricians-Gynecologists
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine
American College of Prevention Medicine
American College of Rheumatology
American Federation for Medical Research
American Gastroenterological Association
American Geriatrics Society
American Health Quality Association
American Heart Association
American Hospital Association
American Osteopathic Association
American Pediatric Society
American Psychiatric Nurses Association
American Public Health Association
American Society for Reproductive Medicine
Arthritis Foundation
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of Departments of Family Medicine
Association of Family Practice Residency Directors
Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs
Association of Minority Health Professions Schools
Association of Professors of Medicine
Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine
Association of Schools of Public Health
Association of Subspecialty Professors
Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
Center for Health Care Strategies
Coalition for Health Services Research
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Health Insurance Association of America
Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital/Partners HealthCare
System
Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy
Medical College of Wisconsin
Medical Group Management Association
National Association of Children's Hospitals
North American Primary Care Research Group
Renal Physicians Association
Research!America
Society for Pediatric Research
Society for Women's Health Research
Society of General Internal Medicine
Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
University of Washington