Leadership Day brings internists to Capitol Hill
Lawmakers who thought that health care reform was completed earlier this year were reminded how much work still needs to be done.
Lawmakers who thought that health care reform was completed earlier this year were reminded how much work still needs to be done by the attendees of ACP's annual Leadership Day.
A total of 375 College members took to Capitol Hill on May 19. The physicians visited their representatives in the Senate and the House with four major requests:
- End the cycle of Medicare physician payment cuts through the sustainable growth rate formula;
- Fund, support and improve programs to ensure enough primary care physicians and others facing shortages;
- Fund and implement programs to promote broad adoption of the patient-centered medical home; and
- Begin to build support for longer-term improvements, such as medical liability reforms and Medicare's Independent Payment Advisory Board.
“It was great to see almost 400 ACP members from 47 states take the time out of their busy lives to advocate for the College's agenda,” said Robert Doherty, ACP senior vice president of governmental affairs and public policy. “Especially given the controversy over health reform, it was gratifying to see Leadership Day attendees pull together to advocate for training more primary care internists, reforming physician payments, and ending Medicare payment cuts—issues that should have broad bipartisan support in Congress.”
Art 3 Art 4 Also during the day, P. Preston Reynolds, FACP, was presented with the College's Key Contact of the Year award, in recognition of her efforts to communicate with Congress about issues of importance to internists.
