IHPC considers funding, policy priorities for 2023

As midterm elections near and the anticipation of a new Congress in January 2023 increases, the Integrative Health Policy Consortium (IHPC) announced tentative considerations for funding, regulatory, and legislative priorities for next year.

According to a statement released by the IHPC, their policy committee is focusing on policies and recommendations in five key areas, including pain management, research, training, enhanced coverage of integrative services, and expanded access to integrative health services.

Per the statement, several agencies and programs supported by the IHPC received modest increases in funding from the Fiscal Year 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 2471, passed almost six months after fiscal year (FY) 2022 began. For example, the Veteran Administration Whole Health program received $84 million, a $10 million increase in funding from fiscal year FY 2021. In addition, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) received a $5.3 million increase in funding from FY 2021, bringing them up to approximating $159.4 million in funding levels.

In addition, in a report accompanying the 2022 bill, Congress supported efforts by The Trans-NIH Music and Health Work Group to advance music-based interventions to treat and prevent disorders of aging by directing the NCCIH to report on the project’s toolkit. Another provision in the bill urged the NIH to collaborate with the Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs to further research non-pharmacological treatments for pain management and comorbidities experienced by military personnel, veterans, and their families.

For FY 2023, the IHPC said they hope to produce a well-defined policy platform to help the consortium provide informed insights surrounding funding and policy and help implement them into law. The IHPC Policy Platform will be finalized after a draft is sent to all Partners of Health for review and feedback.