Next month, members of Congress return to their states and districts for the August recess. This offers an important opportunity for ACR/ARP members to engage with their elected officials. Advocacy is vital to the mission of the College, and now is the perfect time to take the next step and start a dialogue with your members of Congress. Lawmakers will be considering appropriations bills when they return in September, so now is a great time to make sure the needs of the rheumatology community are top of mind.
Ways to Connect
Make a phone call or send an email through the ACR Legislative Action Center. As a constituent expert, you can serve as a valuable resource for your members of Congress.
You can help educate policy staff about how rheumatology-related policies affect your practice and patients. You could talk about difficulty in hiring due to the workforce shortage, the impact of stagnant Medicare reimbursement rates or the need for robust NIH research funding. The ACR’s Legislative Action Center has a campaign on each of the College’s policy priorities.
Seek out your representative at public events. Elected officials attend these events to be seen and to meet their constituents—especially during district work periods. In August, they will likely spend a lot of time out and about in the community.
To figure out where they might be, check your legislator’s social media account or website for information about public events. These in-person opportunities can be a great way to introduce yourself and start a conversation about your role in the community and rheumatology policy needs. You can build on that foundation in the future through a formal Hill meeting at Advocates for Arthritis.
Make an investment in RheumPAC. RheumPAC is not just a political action committee—it is our most effective tool to educate and influence lawmakers on the issues that matter most to rheumatology. As we move into appropriations season, RheumPAC is helping lead the charge to ensure that lawmakers are educated about the needs of ACR/ARP members and their patients.
Learn more about the Advocacy Fund. Launched in 2018, the Advocacy Fund is a powerful partnership between the ACR and rheumatology community stakeholders, such as private practices, state societies, other provider organizations and individuals. The Advocacy Fund supports the ACR’s advocacy efforts by:
- Offsetting the cost of patient and fellow-in-training attendance at the annual Advocates for Arthritis conference;
- Supporting RheumPAC fundraising and promotional activities; and
- Providing other non-election expenditures.
We need help informing—and in some cases, changing—the views policymakers have about medical professions and specialties, such as rheumatology. As a constituent and a voter, you hold a considerable amount of power, and your experience and opinions should matter to your elected officials.
We hope that you will take these steps to start a dialogue and forge a relationship with those elected to represent you in Washington, D.C. Existing relationships that ACR/ARP members have in their states make our advocacy team’s work on Capitol Hill stronger and more effective.
