The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / American College of Rheumatology (ACR) on Capitol Hill

American College of Rheumatology (ACR) on Capitol Hill

May 1, 2008 • By From the College

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF

“By tomorrow night, there will be so many more people on Capitol Hill who know—and are sensitive to—rheumatology and the issues that impact you and your patients. There is no substitute for what you are doing,” says Martha M. Kendrick, a partner at Patton Boggs, LLP, the ACR’s lobbying firm. This is what she told the physician, health professional, and patient participants of the ACR’s 2008 “Advocates for Arthritis” advocacy event—termed a fly-in—before they took their personal stories to the lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

You Might Also Like
  • Rheumatology Professionals and Patient Advocates Take Their Stories to Capitol Hill
  • Rheumatology Professionals and Patient Advocates Take Their Stories to Capitol Hill
  • Rheumatology Professionals, Patients Carry Important Messages to Capitol Hill
Explore This Issue
May 2008
Also By This Author
  • Advocacy in the Social Media Era

Over 150 advocates participated in 225 meetings during the February Washington, D.C., fly-in. However, numbers cannot fully demonstrate the power of constituents speaking with their lawmakers. It is an effort that affects laws and decision-making in ways that extend past the traditional benchmarks of success.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

“An association can successfully lobby lawmakers to a certain extent. It is when constituents call, write, and show up that lawmakers really take notice,” says Kristin Wormley, the ACR government affairs director. “The February ‘Advocates for Arthritis’ fly-in was one of those times when lawmakers took notice of the issues affecting the rheumatology community.”

The fly-in began with a day of preparation where advocates were trained by Patton Boggs. In addition to the training, participants were briefed on both the Senate and House perspectives of the issues affecting rheumatology by Billy Wynne, counsel on the Senate Finance Committee Health and Welfare Team, and Nick Shipley, legislative director to Rep. Jay Inslee (R-Wash.).

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Stephen Katz, MD, PhD, director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and William Rogers, MD, medical officer of the Office of the Director of the Physicians Regulatory Issues Team at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), gave participants an overview of the current issues coming out of their institutions.

To give participants an overview of the legislative issues affecting the entire medical community, Todd Askew, director of congressional affairs at the American Medical Association, reviewed the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and other important topics with participants.

The advocacy training ended with Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) offering her advice for advocates as they head to the Hill. Rep. Berkley immediately won the crowd over by announcing that, at the age of 47, she married a physician. She told a story of her husband asking her to test his new bone density scanner on one of their first dates. “After five minutes, a technician came in the room and told me I have osteoporosis,” says Rep. Berkley. “I realized shortly after that, he had done that deliberately.” Her husband—Dr. Larry, as she calls him—had suspected that Rep. Berkley had osteoporosis, and used his new bone density scan to “accidentally” stumble on a diagnosis. By the end of her address, it was obvious that Rep. Berkley not only understands the issues affecting rheumatology, but that she is also directly touched both as a patient and a physician’s wife.

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: From the College, Legislation & Advocacy, Professional Topics Tagged With: Advocates for Arthritis, Advocating With You, Capitol Hill, CMS, Congress, Legislation, Medicare, PoliticsIssue: May 2008

You Might Also Like:
  • Rheumatology Professionals and Patient Advocates Take Their Stories to Capitol Hill
  • Rheumatology Professionals and Patient Advocates Take Their Stories to Capitol Hill
  • Rheumatology Professionals, Patients Carry Important Messages to Capitol Hill
  • Join 125 Colleagues and Patients to Bring Rheumatology’s Message to Capitol Hill

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2021 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.