APMA News - July/August 2018 - 10
MISSION
Accomplished
Victory on VA Provider Equity
S
even years ago, APMA's advocacy staff participated in a most unusual meeting.
Tucked in the back of a nondescript deli in Washington, DC, they watched
as two men in trench coats and dark glasses approached. It sounds like
something out of a bad spy movie, but it was in reality the beginning of a
multiyear battle for parity within the Veterans' Health Administration (VHA).
The Legislative Advocacy staff had begun to investigate growing concerns about the
status of podiatry within the VHA. Podiatrists were not included in the physician pay
band, meaning their compensation lagged far behind that of other physician specialties.
They also were excluded from opportunities to advance their careers, including serving
in administrative positions within the VHA. As a result, fewer and fewer podiatrists
were interested in long-term employment at the VHA-meaning untenable wait times
for veterans seeking vital foot and ankle care.
To complicate matters, podiatrists working within the VHA were often misinformed
about their right to advocate on their own behalf, meaning many were afraid to discuss
the archaic policies, even with APMA staff.
On that day in 2011, during what Legislative Advocacy Director Benjamin J. Wallner
describes as a "cloak and dagger" meeting with representatives from VHA Podiatry
Services, the APMA team began to hone a strategy for change.
Wallner first began scheduling visits with members of the Veterans Affairs Committees within the Senate and House of Representatives. "From day one, every single office
I visited asked, 'Does the VA want this change?' When I answered, 'No,' they insisted
they would only make a change at the VA if the VA asked for it," Wallner recalled.
In 2013, that attitude changed dramatically when a story broke about veterans dying
waiting for appointments at an Arizona VHA facility. Suddenly, legislators realized there was
an urgent need for reform within the VHA-and became willing to listen. continued on page 12
10 APMA News July/August 2018
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - July/August 2018
Contents
APMA News - July/August 2018 - Cover1
APMA News - July/August 2018 - Cover2
APMA News - July/August 2018 - 3
APMA News - July/August 2018 - 4
APMA News - July/August 2018 - 5
APMA News - July/August 2018 - 6
APMA News - July/August 2018 - 7
APMA News - July/August 2018 - Contents
APMA News - July/August 2018 - 9
APMA News - July/August 2018 - 10
APMA News - July/August 2018 - 11
APMA News - July/August 2018 - 12
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APMA News - July/August 2018 - 14
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APMA News - July/August 2018 - Cover3
APMA News - July/August 2018 - Cover4
APMA News - July/August 2018 - APMA1
APMA News - July/August 2018 - APMA2
APMA News - July/August 2018 - APMA3
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