Federal Advocacy
Contact Your Legislator - AAFP's Speak Out Service can help contact your state and federal legislators. Click here to find out topics of concern and how to contact your legislators.
Georgia FPs Advocate in Washington DC
Members of the Georgia Academy attended the Family Medicine Congressional Conference (FMCC) in Washington D.C. on June 11- 12. Dr. Srinivas Bramhadevi, Dr. Bruce LeClair, Dr. Howard McMahan, Dr. Leonard Reeves, Dr. Maria Schiaffino, and Dr. George Shannon spent one day in sessions learning about Family Medicine issues and advocacy followed the next day with visits to Georgia senators and congressmen. Members presented issues regarding the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), CMS payment and the primary care bonus, Title VII (residency training) grants and reorganization of GME training, among others. Congressmen or their legislative assistants were visited at the offices of Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, and Representatives Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey, Jack Kingston, John Lewis, Jim Marshall and Lynn Westmoreland.
GAFP members had the following comments about the FMCC meeting:
"Meeting congressmen and their staff members in Washington D.C. during FMCC was informative, educational, and an incredible learning experience for me as a physician rookie," says Dr. Srinivas Bramhadevi of LaGrange.
"During the FMCC in Washington, we spoke candidly about the absolute and immediate need for Congress to abolish the flawed SGR formula which has and continues to cause much instability in Medicare physician payments and is a significant barrier to access to care for our elderly patients. Our message was heard very clearly," says Dr. Howard McMahan, Ocilla.
"I think the congressmen and senators were very receptive to our pleas, but we have to continue to speak out, making our views known," said Dr. Leonard Reeves of Rome.
"On my second year attending this conference, I realized that we still have much work to do educating our legislators as to the value of the work we do as family doctors," said Dr. Maria Schiaffino of Atlanta.
"We highlighted workforce issues when speaking with our Georgia leaders and the need to make the future careers of family physicians attractive and commensurate with their true value," said Dr. George Shannon of Columbus.
Patient Handout Helps Dispel Health Care Reform Myths
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has put together a one-page document to help AAFP members educate their patients about the truth concerning health care reform legislation.
The document, Health Care Reform and You, separates the myths from the facts about health care reform and directs patients to two Web sites to learn which statements about health care reform are true and which are false.
According to the document, the health care reform proposals being reviewed by Congress are important for patients because they will:
- Help guarantee patients can get health insurance
- Help families pay for the coverage they need
- Increase the number of primary care physicians for patients
To access the one-pager for distribution to your patients who ask about health care reform visit www.aafp.org.
The Patient's Voice in Washington
Patients want a better understanding of how health care issues and legislation affect them. Our Academy believes patients should also have a voice in the formation of the policies that determine how their health care is paid for and delivered. To help our patients better understand complicated health care issues and speak up for better health care, we have updated our “Patient’s Voice in Washington” resource.
Track Health Policy as it Happens. The free service features web casts, daily news summaries, a national health policy calendar, searchable archives and more. Sign up to receive e-mail delivery of the services at www.kaisernetwork.org/email
For policy studies on primary care and family medicine, plus fascinating one-pagers to share with decisionmakers and colleagues, the AAFP’s Robert Graham Policy Center is one stop shopping. Go to http://www.graham-center.org/
Link to www.aafp.org/policy to read about AAFP policy on a variety of issues important to our patients.