APMA News - September 2013 - (Page 36)

Federal Advocacy Forum By Seth A. Rubenstein, DPM Cranking Up Cosponsors for the HELLPP Act When it comes to promoting legislative initiatives on Capitol Hill, the key question has always been whether an interest group can get lawmakers to accept something it wants but that they otherwise would not pass. The most brilliant and innovative public policy ideas— which may make eminent sense to you and me—will often just sit on a bookshelf collecting dust because in public policy, it matters less who has the best arguments and more who gets heard—and by whom. Now that we have both a House version of the bipartisan Helping Ensure Life- and Limb-Saving Access to Podiatric Physicians (HELLPP) Act (HR 1761) and a Senate companion bill (S 1318), APMA Legislative Advocacy must turn to the important work of increasing the number of congressional cosponsors for each measure. There are, of course, instances in which members of Congress may take on a policy issue simply because they have a personal, vested interest in it. But for most issues, lawmakers and their staffs want to know that their constituents back home are clamoring for the policy before they lend their names in cosponsor support. This is where APMA’s Washington, DC, lobbying comes into play to be complemented by APMA grassroots activism. Even if your state does not restrict Medicaid patient access to podiatrists, we still need your help to ensure access is never eliminated in the future. Remember, as long as “podiatry services” remain “optional” for states in managing their Medicaid programs, we are forever potentially on the budget chopping block. To get started, visit www.apma.org/HELLPPcosponsors and determine if your legislators have signed on as cosponsors. Next, visit www.apma.org/workingforyou, open e-Advocacy, and send an e-mail to your representative and senators. And then, to truly close the sale and gain your legislators’ support as cosponsors, we need as many APMA members as possible to make phone calls to your legislators’ Washington, DC, offices and speak with the health policy staff person. We have put together easy, step-by-step instructions to guide you through this process and the relevant talking points. This helpful guide can be accessed at www.apma.org/HELLPP callinstuctions. Be brief, polite, and professional but persistent with your communication. Lawmakers receive dozens of requests every day, so it is the dedicated grassroots constituents—those who do not stop until they get a “yes”—who break through the din of other groups lobbying on their own issues. 36 APMA News September 2013 On Capitol Hill, APMA Legislative Advocacy is doing its part, having undertaken a coordinated, strategic campaign of lobbying meetings urging cosponsorship with those members of Congress who sit on the committees of jurisdiction for the HELLPP Act: the House Energy & Commerce Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. As your Legislative Committee chair, I have been working with our Legislative Committee team to lobby members of the Virginia congressional delegation to solicit cosponsor support for the House HELLPP Act. These efforts already have created a positive response. Several of our state components have been particularly successful in garnering cosponsors. Oregon, for example, has secured all five of its congressional representatives as cosponsors to the House HELLPP Act. The secret to their success is personal phone calls to Capitol Hill. If a congressional office’s health staff person says he or she is reviewing the material and background of the HELLPP Act—all of which can easily be accessed at www.apma.org/ saving—the key is to ask, “So when would be a good time to follow up with you? In one week, perhaps?” This question sends the signal to congressional staff that you are not going away and will not be satisfied with an answer other than “yes” to cosponsorship. As mentioned many times previously, the true measure of a bill’s chances is closely related to the number of congressional cosponsors it has. A significant number of bipartisan cosponsors sends the political signal to committee and congressional leaders that a proposal needs to be taken seriously and ought to pass on its own or be part of a moving legislative package. A paltry number of cosponsors for a bill sends a signal that … well, the bill may be just one of those white papers that collects dust on a bookshelf. Realizing legislative success for our HELLPP Act is within our reach. Now is the time for every APMA member to do his or her part to contribute a small amount of time in constituent grassroots advocacy. We need to crank up our cosponsors and send a strong signal to Congress that the time has come, at long last, to recognize podiatrists as physicians under Medicaid. n APMA Trustee and Legislative Committee Chair Seth A. Rubenstein, DPM, can be reached at advocacy@ apma.org. http://www.apma.org/saving http://www.apma.org/saving http://www.apma.org/HELLPPcosponsors http://www.apma.org/workingforyou http://www.apma.org/HELLPPcallinstructions http://www.apma.org/HELLPPcallinstructions

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - September 2013

APMA News - September 2013
President’s Message
Contents
What Happens in Vegas: The 2013 Annual Scientific Meeting
Annual Scientific Meeting Sponsors
Humanitarian Surgical Missions: A Different Kind of Residency Training
Collaboration is Key at Limb Salvage Clinic
Center for Professional Advocacy Reviews Recent California Medicaid Lawsuit
Oregon Podiatrists Achieve Physician Status
Letters to the Editor: Solving Our Residency Crisis; Remembering Our Heroes
Resolutions Submission Deadlines
Reimbursement
ICD-10: How to Code for Painful Hammer Toes
Federal Advocacy Forum
Cosponsors to the Helping Ensure Life- and Limb-Saving Access to Podiatric Physicians Act
APMAPAC Chair Report
Coverage Corner
Bylaws Propositions Due
IT Consultant
Website Wisdom
On the Road with APMA
Small Business 101
CPME Update
In Short
Worthy of Note
Affiliates Corner
New Members
Death Notices
APMAPAC Update
Development Update
Classified Advertising
Dates to Remember
Advertising Index
10 Questions
Your APMA

APMA News - September 2013