January 5, 2017 - Election Outcome: PAC Supported Candidates
View Election Outcome: PAC Supported Candidates
January 4, 2017 - Nominate someone for ACP Services PAC Distinguished Service Award
Nominate someone for ACP Services PAC Distinguished Service Award.
January 2, 2017 - 10 to a Million Campaign
Visit the 10 to a Million Campaign
June 13, 2016 - ACP Services PAC Working For You: Key Advocacy Priorities for 2016
Chronic Care: Urge lawmakers to develop and pass legislation to improve payment and reduce regulatory barriers to chronic care management, including eliminating the Medicare beneficiary co-pay for chronic care management services (CCM) and requiring reimbursement and coverage of additional codes for more complex CCM services.
Health Information Technology: Urge lawmakers to develop and pass legislation to reduce the burdens associated with the Electronic Health Records (EHR) meaningful use program and clinical documentation requirements and to enhance usability and interoperability. This includes the need to: Redesign the EHR meaningful use program so as to integrate it into MACRA’s new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPs); Develop and implement national EHR interoperability standards with direct input from practicing clinicians on the necessary data elements for care delivery, quality improvement and reporting, including the need for a narrative that provides the context of the care needed; Exempt clinicians in small/medium-sized practices from any unnecessary and unreasonable costs associated with the purchase of any health IT software, services or infrastructure that support data exchanges with little or no clinical value.
Telemedicine: Urge lawmakers to develop and pass legislation to eliminate payment and regulatory barriers to telemedicine in ways that support the patient-physician relationship. This includes: Eliminating geographic site restrictions that limit reimbursement of telemedicine and telehealth services by Medicare to those that originate outside of metropolitan statistical areas or for patients who live in or receive services in health professional shortage areas.
Behavioral/Mental Health: Urge lawmakers to develop and pass legislation to strengthen insurance company’s compliance with existing mental health parity laws as well as to integrate behavioral and mental health into the primary care setting and reduce barriers associated with such disorders. This includes: Establishing grants, including Innovation and Demonstration grants, to State and local governments, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations for integrating or coordinating physical health, mental health and substance abuse services; Providing a defined portion of grant funding to the effective integration of services to address mental illness and substance abuse within the primary care setting and to expand a workforce trained to integrate behavioral health within the primary care setting; Establishing a grant program to fund fully integrated practices (i.e. primary care and behavioral health that is available in the same setting) and specifically state that the team would include a primary care physician and the population treated would include patients with mental illness and co-occurring primary care conditions with chronic diseases.
Opioid Abuse: Urge lawmakers to develop and pass legislation that provides grant funding for efforts to mitigate and stem the growing problem of opioid and substance abuse disorders in this country. This includes: Establishing state grants to expand educational efforts to prevent abuse of opioids, heroin, and other substances of abuse, understand addiction as a chronic disease, and promote treatment and recovery; Creation of a Task Force to develop best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication, and a strategy for disseminating such best practices.
Prescription Drugs: Urge lawmakers to develop and pass legislation to address the rising cost of prescription drugs. This includes the need to: Increase transparency in drug pricing by requiring pharmaceutical manufacturers to publically disclose production costs including research and development investments for specific high‐cost drugs that the Secretary identifies through regulation; Authorize and appropriate more dollars for the FDA to expedite, through fast-track approval, new drugs that address unmet medical need in the treatment of a serious or life threatening condition, as well as to address the back-log of pending generic drug applications; Grant authority to the Secretary of HHS to negotiate prescription drug prices with manufacturers for prescription drugs covered under Medicare Part D.
Graduate Medical Education (GME): Urge lawmaker to develop and pass legislation to reform GME to prioritize funding toward physician specialties facing shortages including primary care internal medicine, to improve transparency, and to ensure sustainable and broadly-supported funding by all payers going forward. This includes the need to: Increase the number of GME slots by at least 3,000 per year over five years for specialties facing shortages, including internal medicine; Combining DGME and IME into a single, more functional payment program, and broaden the GME financing structure to include all payers.
March 2, 2016 - Nominate someone for ACP Services PAC Distinguished Service Award
Nominate someone for ACP Services PAC Distinguished Service Award.
January 26, 2016 - ACP Services PAC Policy “Wins” for 2015
View ACP Services PAC Policy “Wins” for 2015
June 11, 2015 - Recap of ACP Services PAC activities at Leadership Day 2015
ACP Services held its annual Leadership Day on May 20-21, 2015 in Washington, DC, and many of you answered the call to advocacy by attending the event and making your voice heard on Capitol Hill. Thank you! This event provides an opportunity for ACP Services and its members to increase their presence in Washington and bring visibility to issues important to internal medicine. Participants receive a comprehensive orientation and briefing on ACP Services’ top legislative priorities and then have an opportunity to meet with legislators and their staff on Capitol Hill.
This year, nearly 300 attendees from 44 states and DC spent time learning how to maximize the impact of their meetings with lawmakers, and educate them about ACP Services key priorities, which include:
- Extension of a federal program under Medicare that provides a 10 percent bonus on primary care services;
- Reinstatement of Medicare-Medicaid pay parity for primary care and immunization services;
- Adequate funding for key primary care workforce programs, including the National Health Service Corps, the Title VII Health Professions Program and Graduate Medical Education.
Attendees were also able to thank Congress for finally passing comprehensive legislation to eliminate Medicare’s flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and replace it with a new value-based system, a key priority for ACP Services PAC.
A key element of Leadership Day is the important role of ACP Services PAC, and this year was no exception. The PAC Board of Directors met to discuss fundraising strategies to help the PAC grow, as well as authorize the distribution of PAC funds to key congressional members who support the PAC’s priorities. During the event, the PAC also had an information booth where attendees could learn more about PAC activities, with the opportunity to contribute. Also, all 2015 PAC members in attendance were invited to attend the 11th annual “Welcome to Washington” reception, where in addition to celebrating the repeal of the SGR and other legislative accomplishments with food, drink, and plenty of red, white, and blue flashing lapel pins, the Chair of the PAC Board presented appreciation gifts to all donors in attendance who gave $1,000 or more so far this year.
Finally, the PAC issued its Distinguished Service Award to Dr. Emmett Doerr of Georgia, who has been a tireless advocate for the PAC through his service on the PAC Board, his generous annual contributions at the Leadership Club level ($1,000+), and involvement with political fundraisers for key Members of Congress.
We look forward to the many ACP Services PAC events planned for Leadership Day 2016, and we hope to see you there!
April 1, 2015 - Nominate Someone for ACP Services PAC Distinguished Service Award
Nominate someone for ACP Services PAC Distinguished Service Award.
February 2, 2015 - Contribute to ACP Services PAC Today
Help ACP Services PAC start 2015 strong by making a contribution today! Contribute online or send a personal check, payable to ACP Services PAC, to:
ACP Services PAC
25 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20001-7401
Members of ACP Services who contribute to the PAC receive special recognition and benefits. Join ACP Services PAC today to:
- Receive a distinctive ribbon and lapel pin at Internal Medicine 2015 designating you as a PAC member;
- Attend local fundraisers for candidates supported by the PAC;
- Recommend candidates for consideration by the PAC Board; and
- Attend a PAC member-only reception on May 20, during Leadership Day in Washington, DC.
May 7, 2015 - ACP Services PAC Board of Directors
Nominate someone to serve on ACP Services PAC Board of Directors.
April 1, 2015 - ACP Services PAC Distinguished Service Award
Nominate someone for ACP Services PAC Distinguished Service Award.
February 2, 2015: Contribute to ACP Services PAC Today
Help ACP Services PAC start 2015 strong by making a contribution today! Contribute online or send a personal check, payable to ACP Services PAC, to:
ACP Services PAC
25 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20001-7401
Members of ACP Services who contribute to the PAC receive special recognition and benefits. Join ACP Services PAC today to:
- Receive a distinctive ribbon and lapel pin at Internal Medicine 2015 designating you as a PAC member;
- Attend local fundraisers for candidates supported by the PAC;
- Recommend candidates for consideration by the PAC Board; and
- Attend a PAC member-only reception on May 20, during Leadership Day in Washington, DC.
December 8, 2014: Two ACP Fellows Prevail in Mid-Term Elections
Two ACP Fellows supported by ACP Services PAC won their respective elections! Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA-07) prevailed in his bid for a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives, narrowly beating his Republican opponent, Doug Ose, 50.4% to 49.6%. The Associated Press called the race over two weeks after Election Day following a protracted vote count.
Another ACP Fellow, Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA-06), defeated incumbent Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) in a December 6 runoff, 55.9% to 44.1%. Dr. Cassidy will be the first ACP Fellow to ever serve in the U.S. Senate.
The PAC also supported Dr. Manan Trivedi, the Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania's 6th district open House seat. Unfortunately, Dr. Trivedi did not prevail in his election bid, losing to his Republican opponent, 43.8% to 56.2%.
Ninety-one percent of the candidates supported by ACP Services PAC were victorious.
September 29, 2014: How Does Your State Compare
Congratulations to Pennyslvania, which continues to lead all states in contributions to ACP Services PAC. Help your state move up the ranks by contributing to ACP Services PAC today--and encourage your colleagues to do so as well! All contributions are weighed against each state's membership percentage in ACP. We will recognize the final list of top 10 states for 2014 on the PAC website, in the January 2015 PAC newsletter, and during Leadership Day.
| 1. Pennsylvania 2. Virginia 3. Nebraska 4. Oregon 5. New Mexico 6. Montana 7. Rhode Island 8. Wisconsin 9. Kansas 10. Connecticut 11. Kentucky 12. Arkansas 13. Texas 14. Mississippi 15. Alaska 16. Washington 17. Dist of Columbia 18. Delaware 19. Georgia 20. Wyoming 21. South Dakota 22. New Hampshire 23. North Dakota 24. Tennessee 25. North Carolina 26. Idaho |
27. Vermont 28. California 29. Ohio 30. South Carolina 31. Hawaii 32. Alabama 33. Colorado 34. Maine 35. Nevada 36. Oklahoma 37. Iowa 38. Utah 39. Louisiana 40. West Virginia 41. Florida 42. Missouri 43. Minnesota 44. Indiana 45. New York 46. Arizona 47. Maryland 48. New Jersey 49. Massachusetts 50. Illinois 51. Michigan |
September 8, 2014: Have you contributed to the PAC this year?
The mid-term elections are just around the corner, and ACP Services PAC needs your support! On November 4, all 435 members of the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate are up for reelection. ACP Services PAC supports internist-friendly candidates for the U.S. Congress who will work with us to preserve funding for programs that strengthen the primary care workforce, extend the Medicaid Primary Care Pay Parity Program, support federal medical liability reforms, and repeal Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, among other issues.
Thanks to contributions from hundreds of our colleagues, our PAC has raised nearly $144,000 this year. Our goal is $200,000. Help us reach our goal—and promote the issues important to Internal Medicine—by contributing today.
July 10, 2014: How Does Your State Stack Up?
Is your state among the top 10 in contributions to ACP Services PAC? Help your state move up the ranks by Dec. 31 by contributing to ACP Services PAC today--and encourage your colleagues to do so as well! All contributions are weighed against each state's membership percentage in ACP. We will recognize the top 10 states on the PAC website, in the January 2015 PAC newsletter, and during Leadership Day.
| 1. Pennsylvania 2. Virginia 3. Nebraska 4. Oregon 5. New Mexico 6. Montana 7. Rhode Island 8. Kansas 9. Wisconsin 10. Connecticut 11. Kentucky 12. Arkansas 13. Texas 14. Mississippi 15. Washington 16. Alaska 17. Georgia 18. Dist of Columbia 19. Wyoming 20. New Hampshire 21. South Dakota 22. South Carolina 23. North Dakota 24. Delaware 25. Idaho 26. Ohio |
27. Vermont 28. Hawaii 29. Alabama 30. California 31. Maine 32. North Carolina 33. Oklahoma 34. Colorado 35. Tennessee 36. Nevada 37. Utah 38. Florida 39. Iowa 40. West Virginia 41. Missouri 42. Louisiana 43. Puerto Rico 44. New York 45. Minnesota 46. Indiana 47. Arizona 48. Maryland 49. Massachusetts 50. New Jersey 51. Michigan 52. Illinois |
June 24, 2014: Mid-term Elections
The mid-term elections arejust around the corner, and ACP Services PAC needs your help! On November 4, all 435 members of the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate are up for reelection. ACP Services PAC supports internist-friendly candidates for the U.S. Congress who will work with us to preserve funding for programs that strengthen the primary care workforce, support federal medical liability reforms, and repeal Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, among other issues.
Thanks to contributions from hundreds of our colleagues, our PAC has raised over $130,000 this year. Our goal is $200,000. Help us reach our goal--and promote the issues important to Internal Medicine—by contributing today.