APMA News - July/August 2013 - (Page 30)

Federal Advocacy Forum By Seth A. Rubenstein, DPM Leveraging the Lexicon to Our Instant Advantage We have all witnessed politicians and policymakers using carefully scripted talking points to describe an issue at hand. It’s part marketing, part wordsmithing, and part strategic communication. The first impression constituents, voters, and industry stakeholders might form about an issue is highly dependent on the words the politician or policymaker uses, and the wrong first impression can forever plague the politician’s policy goals. We are not talking about “spin.” Spin is generally a derogatory term, the verbal or written equivalent of “putting lipstick on a pig.” When a politician uses the terms “user fee” or “revenue enhancement” to describe, euphemistically, a tax increase, that is spin. Strategic communication is a much more thoughtful and reasoned process. For example, when members of Congress speak about the need for entitlement reform, very few have the political fortitude to say the country must “cut entitlements.” They often use softer, more agreeable language, such as we must “preserve, strengthen, and modernize” Social Security and Medicare. It is with this communication technique in mind that I devote this month’s column to ways we can use words to our advantage to promote podiatric medicine in the advocacy arena. “Title XIX” No More! Our use of “Title XIX” to describe our legislative campaign to recognize DPMs as physicians in Medicaid is quick and easily communicated. But very few people outside of healthpolicy circles know that Title XIX refers to the Medicaid program or that Title XVIII refers to the Medicare program. These “Title” references pass over the heads of most audiences. And, because our new, improved Helping Ensure Lifeand Limb-Saving Access to Podiatric Physicians (HELLPP) Act (HR 1761) addresses patient access issues beyond just the Medicaid program (it addresses a Medicare issue, too), we have to think about an alternative shorthand term to sum up this broader patient-access initiative. One way to do this is to use the phrase “DPM access bill,” or better still, “removing barriers for patient access to podiatric physicians.” “Change the Deﬁnition of Physician” to Include Podiatrists When someone on Capitol Hill hears the advocacy goal is in some way to “change the definition of physician,” mental red flags spring up immediately. The inference they draw from 30 APMA News July/August 2013 such language is that the advocacy goal would somehow seek to diminish the august, prestigious rank of the physician. We have a unique and compelling story to tell, and so instead of starting a conversation on the wrong foot (pun intended), we might say we are seeking to “recognize doctors of podiatric medicine as physicians in Medicaid.” If you think about the word “recognize,” one of its common definitions is “to perceive as existing or true; realize.” As in: DPMs really are physicians, but we have not been recognized by lawmakers as such in Medicaid. Liberal Use of “Doctor” or “Physician/Surgeon” with “Podiatrist” In promoting and seeking to persuade audiences to support the HELLPP Act, APMA’s Legislative Advocacy department has found it most effective to repeat as often as possible the phrases “doctor of podiatric medicine” and/or “podiatric physicians and surgeons,” rather than saying “podiatrist” alone. Despite our best public education efforts, there are many in Congress who believe we are on the same educational, clinical, and practice allowance levels as optometrists or chiropractors. Many other health professions also seek inclusion in Medicaid, but we are the only ones who independently prescribe medications and perform surgeries without any supervision or collaboration requirement. We need to dispel immediately such a mental association, and one way to do it is to use the word “doctor” or “physician” and/or “surgeon” as much as possible. When a member of Congress hears that his or her constituents may be negatively affected because Medicaid can exclude access to podiatric physicians and surgeons (or doctors specializing in foot and ankle care), his or her immediate reaction is likely to be along the lines of: “That’s an outrage … I never knew that … please tell me more.” These tips provide a few ideas for revamping and revitalizing our advocacy communications tactics. Simple alterations in language can instantly create a more favorable reception for our lobbying efforts. We need to use everything to our advantage to break through the throngs of other groups lobbying for their own issues and grab the attention of Congress and its support staff. Let’s work together to speak with one voice, in the most favorable language, to make the HELLPP Act—an integral element of Vision 2015—a reality. n APMA Trustee and Legislative Committee Chair Seth A. Rubenstein, DPM, can be reached at advocacy@ apma.org.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - July/August 2013

APMA News - July/August 2013
President's Message
Contents
Destination Hawaii: The National in 2014
Arizona Study Finds Podiatry Saves Lives and Reduces Expenses
Committee Nominations Requested
US Naval Podiatrist Trains Afghan Orthopedists
The Man Behind the Marketing: The New Face of Student Recruitment
The Benefits of Working with Residents
Bylaws Propositions Due
Health Policy and Practice Committees Meet to Tackle Reimbursement Issues
Reimbursement
ICD-10: How to Code a Typical Infection
Federal Advocacy Forum
Cosponsors to the Helping Ensure Life- and Limb-Saving Access to Podiatric Physicians Act
APMAPAC Chair Report
Resolutions Submission Deadlines
Coverage Corner
IT Consultant
Inside APMA’s Social Media
Website Wisdom
On the Road with APMA
Small Business 101
CPME Update
Young Physicians’ Accomplishments
In Short
Worthy of Note
Affiliates Corner
List of Affiliated Organizations
New Members
Death Notices
APMAPAC Update
Development Update
Annual Scientifi c Meeting Sponsors
Classified Advertising
Dates to Remember
Advertising Index
10 Questions
Your APMA

APMA News - July/August 2013