588: Legislation to Manage A-I, Congress Discusses Workforce Issues

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Friday, January 26, 2024. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

CATHERINE JONES: 

I think people realize that this could be dangerous territory and we need to have safeguards to protect patients and populations.

JOHNSON: 

Artificial intelligence promises to help revolutionize health care and public health. But ASTHO's Catherine Jones says there are discussions underway to ensure the technology is properly managed.

JONES: 

Transparency, privacy, security, and keeping the doctor in the loop are just some of the big issues that need to be addressed in Congress.

JOHNSON: 

Jones says there appears to be bipartisan agreement on the need to proceed with caution.

JONES: 

Most representatives on the Hill, about 63% in one poll, believe it's important for Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to mitigate the risks of AI and healthcare. How this translates into real legislation is yet to be seen.

JOHNSON: 

Looking ahead, Jones says there are some likely topics that could draw congressional attention.

JONES: 

Future policy legislation and federal funding will likely be focused on equitable distributions of AI benefits and mitigating risks across populations, particularly vulnerable ones that have historically been negatively impacted by AI.

JOHNSON: 

You can read more about AI and federal legislation in a new ASTHO blog article now online. There's a link in the show notes.

It's a relatively quiet week for public health on Capitol Hill, but Congress remains busy. ASTHO's Jeffrey Ekoma tells us what's been happening this week in a new 'View from Washington, D.C.' report.

Jeffrey Ekoma. Great to see you here on a Friday morning. Welcome to the newscast. How have you been?

JEFFREY EKOMA: 

I've been good, pleasure to be back.

JOHNSON: 

And you're busy as always, definitely. Congress is keeping you on your toes. You know, you've been focused on these funding deadlines that keep moving around. And now they're coming up again in March. But of course, Congress has its hand in everything. While we're waiting for all of that to play out, can you tell us what else they're doing right now?

EKOMA: 

Yeah, there's a lot of activity happening on the Hill right now. Many members have been in deep discussion for the past couple of weeks on an immigration and border security plan. These discussions have been tied to plans for additional supplemental aid to support national security efforts across the world. It does seem that these discussions likely will extend into the following week. So, we're sort of loosely tracking that. In addition, there are also discussions across the Capitol on a $78 billion framework for a package of tax benefits aimed at businesses and low-income families. So, more to come here, but it's definitely a hot topic right now.

JOHNSON: 

You're always on the case when it comes to hearings, and Congress is known for having a lot of those, but staff also has meetings on issues. And there was one this week regarding workforce. You attended that meeting. What happened?

EKOMA: 

Yeah, were pleased to be a part of Intel[...], which is a private nonprofit, among other things, but they support international physicians in the U.S. graduate medical education space. And they had a congressional briefing discussing the value of international medical graduates, specifically Dr. Heidi Miller, the chief medical officer of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services participated in that briefing, and she discussed physician workforce challenges in Missouri, and also provide the congressional staff with two potential opportunities to address them. The hearing also included a representative from the American Medical Association, and also a dean from a U.S. medical school.

JOHNSON: 

So, a good briefing overall.

EKOMA: 

Absolutely. I think it was really good and staff were really engaged with standing room only, which is also really good. And it was sort of an afternoon hour, which I think a lot of staff use to get away from the office. It was a really good, really good turnout.

JOHNSON: 

And nobody does that. Jeffrey, I appreciate you taking the time to get on the newscast with us here. We hope that you have a great weekend.

EKOMA: 

Absolutely, you too. Talk soon.

JOHNSON: 

ASTHO's Government Affairs team provides Legislative Alert emails as needed, and you can get them if you sign up. We've got the link in the show notes.

Also today, everyone wants to know how Indiana leaders were able to win a 1500% increase in public health funding from their legislature last year. Indiana State Health Commissioner and ASTHO member Dr. Lindsay Weaver says it helped to have lawmakers involved in every part of the campaign.

LINDSAY WEAVER: 

So, they were hearing it and they saw where there were problems and opportunities. You could think through, "What are some legislation that could help solve those problems?"

JOHNSON: 

You can hear from Dr. Weaver and a former state legislator who helped lead the effort in a webinar scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 6. You also can read a case study about the drive to win more funding. Get more information about both by clicking the links in the show notes.

Finally this morning, get news updates delivered to your mobile device when you sign up for ASTHO's Public Health Weekly email newsletter. As always, the link to join the list is in the show notes.

Before we go, a reminder also to follow this newscast on your podcast player so you don't miss a single report and connect with ASTHO on social media. We're on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

That'll do it for today. We're back Monday morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great weekend.