APTR and 150 undersigned members of the Friends of AHRQ respectfully request no less than $500 million in funding for the Agency for Healthcare and Research and Quality (AHRQ). This request reflects an inflation adjustment and the demonstrated need to expand and accelerate health services research (HSR) investments to inform decision-making on the health care system as it recovers from the pandemic.

The RAND Corporation released a report in 2020 as called for by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, which identified AHRQ as 'the only agency that has statutory authorizations to generate HSR and be the home for federal primary care research (PCR), and the unique focus of its research portfolio on systems-based outcomes and approaches to implementing improvement across health care settings and populations in the United States.'

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. In order to deliver better outcomes, we need to be able to differentiate which healthcare interventions work, for whom they work, and how to implement them, and HSR, PCR, and AHRQ are the process through which we develop that knowledge. 

The benefits of investing in HSR through AHRQ transcend the pandemic and provide benefits in saved lives, better value care, and improved patient outcomes across the health system.

Friends of AHRQ Sign-on Letter