Advocacy Corner
Carter L. Alleman, J.D.
ACOS Attends the Alliance Fly-In
Over one hundred specialty physicians from across the country came to Washington last month as part of the Alliance of Specialty Medicine’s annual Legislative Fly In. For three days, these providers, representing a dozen different medical specialties, would hear from and speak to health policy officials and elected leaders about legislative and regulatory matters affecting their practices and their patients. Mandip Atwal, D.O., FACOS, Carl Pesta, D.O., FACOS, Joseph Haydu, Jr, D.O., FACOS, and Alice Higdon Wilham, D.O. represented the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons.
The timing of the Fly In allowed for discussions on how best to reform healthcare and produce the next generation of providers. The Alliance’s speaker roster included Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), David Perdue (R-GA), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA). Each brought their own distinct view on how healthcare in American should be reformed and where attention needs to be given. Reps. Richard Neal (D-MA-01) and John Delaney (D-MD-06) provided comments on civility in society and the need for more funding in graduate medical education. Anna Abram, deputy commissioner from the US Food and Drug Administration provided an update on policies and future directions the FDA would be taking with pharmaceuticals and interactions with providers.
Charlie Cook, editor and publisher of The Cook Political Report served as the keynote. He discussed the upcoming midterm election as well as what causes wave elections. His analysis provided a deep dive into the composition of the electorate and the key topics which voters are examining.
In conjunction with the speaker presentations, each Alliance doctor spent an afternoon on Capitol Hill to meet with their Members of Congress and Senators (or their staffs) to advocate for legislative proposals such as medical liability reform, measures to address physician workforce shortage, graduate medical education, and keeping the Medicare payment systems stable for the foreseeable future.
Pictured: Mandip Atwal, D.O., FACOS, Carl Pesta, D.O., FACOS