2011 White Coats on Call Day
Drs. Sam Williams, Craig Derkay, Wilkes Hubbard, James Foster, and Barry Rose
Dr. James Foster, Delegate Greg Habeeb, and Dr. Sam Williams
Dr. Craig Derkay, Dr. Wilkes Hubbard, Senator Ralph Smith, Dr. James Foster, and Dr. Barry Rose
Dr. Barry Rose and Delegate John O'Bannon
Delegate Manoli Loupassi and Dr. Barry Rose
Dr. Sam Williams, Senator Jeff McWaters, Drs. James Foster, Wilkes Hubbard and Craig Derkay
ACS SGR Efforts - Talking Points
January 23, 2012
Virginia Chapter members: Please see the note below from the ACS Division of Advocacy and Health Policy. Please support these efforts by making a phone call to your senators and representatives regarding this important matter. Feel free to contact me with quetsions: weiretlj@EVMS.EDU.
Thank you,
Leonard J. Weireter, Jr., MD, FACS
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The ACS is making a concerted push to have Congress enact a permanent SGR repeal this year. Currently, ACS lobbyists are meeting with as many of the 535 Representatives and Senators as possible with a simple basic message:
Congress must enact legislation that permanently repeals the SGR and they should use the OCO (war funding) to help offset the cost of that repeal.
Click here to view basic talking points that support our ask - they should allow you to work through any conversation with the Member of Congress or their staff. We would appreciate any intel you can provide from your conversations - you can send them directly to me (jhedstrom@facs.org) and I'll make sure our lobbying team accounts for it in any conversations they have with those offices.
A little political context - for those of you talking to Democrats, they are for the most part are supportive of using the OCO funding to offset the SGR repeal efforts. On the other side of the aisle, we have had much more difficulty in garnering support among Republicans - their reasons vary some but most are claiming that OCO funding is a budget gimmick and they want transparent budgeting. As the talking points lay out, we do not believe that is a good answer. If you get significant pushback, please let us know so that we are able to account for that in our contact with their office.
In order to find out who to contact, go to www.house.gov OR www.senate.gov - there is a drop down listing on each of these sites which directs you to the member's website which will contain their main DC office line.
You can also simply call the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to the member's office.
Please note, the offices and switchboard are only open during the weekdays.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to email me or call me at one of my numbers below.
Regards,
John John E. Hedstrom, JD
Deputy Director, Division of Advocacy and Health Policy
American College of Surgeons
Direct: 202-672-1503
Cell: 202-256-8104
jhedstrom@facs.org
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ACS NSQUIP program
Read the NT TImes blog article on ACS NSQUIP program.
Click here.
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Board of Governors Survey
ACS Response to Major Categories of Concern
Click here
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MedPAC 2011 Data Book
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) came out with their 2011 Data Book. It can be found at http://medpac.gov/chapters/Jun11DataBookSec1.pdf
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Foundation Directors Reach Out to ACS Chapters
Acting on their charge to promote philanthropy within the Fellowship, ACS Foundation volunteers are participating in a series of ACS Chapter and society meetings around the U.S. ACS Chapters provide generous contributions each year to support the mission of the College. During the 2011 fiscal year, over $30,000 was received through Chapter donations.
In April 2011, Dr. William F. Sasser represented the ACS Foundation at the annual meeting in Hawaii of the Southwestern Surgical Congress. May was a busy month for Chapter meetings, and Foundation Directors represented the Foundation at meetings in Ohio (Dr. Richard Reiling); Virginia (Dr. Robert Berry); Northern California (Dr. Thomas Russell); and Michigan (Dr. Charles Lucas). Dr. Amilu Stewart provided energetic advocacy for philanthropy during the joint meeting of the Oregon and Washington ACS Chapters.
During July, Dr. Richard Reiling attends the joint meeting of the North and South Carolina ACS Chapters in Asheville, NC. Dr. Kenneth Sharp represents the ACS Foundation at the Tennessee ACS Chapter meeting in Memphis. The Foundation is grateful to our Board members who give of their time to promote philanthropy among the Chapter colleagues.
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