An insider's perspective on the near-death experience of AHCPR.

The story of AHCPR's struggle with Congress to remain a federal agency is an example of the longer struggle health services research (HSR) has had to hold a priority in the federal budget. But from another perspective, the growth of HSR has been substantial, albeit an up-and-down experience. Its survival during the turbulent years of 1995-1996 is attributed to a fundamental restructuring of its program priorities and building a new base of support from major health care associations and leaders. A fortunate sequence of events also contributed to the reversal of what could have been a cataclysmic occurrence for the field of HSR.