2008 Family Medicine Congressional Conference Held May 19 - 20

The 2008 Family Medicine Congressional Conference (FMCC) was held Monday-Tuesday, May 19-20, in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by AAFP and the Academic Family Medicine Advocacy Alliance (AFMAA), the FMCC educates participants on family medicine’s legislative priority issues, trains attendees on how to lobby on Capitol Hill and allows participants to put these skills to use with federal legislators and their staff. Advocacy is a high priority of AAFP and AFMAA; every family physician and educator can learn how to be effective in Washington and at home.

LAFP Members attending this year's conference included Drs. Richard Streiffer, Sherlyn Larrison, and Wayne Gravois, as well as students Randi Sokol (Tulane) and Lacey Millet (LSU). Dr. Gravois reported that there was one day of fairly intense lobbying/training and presentations on current key legislative topics. He also indicated that they had met with aides from the offices of Senators Mary Landrieu and David Vitter, and Representative Charles Melancon.

Dr. Gravois went on to say that there were primarily two issues discussed. The First issue was a request to extend the Medicare payment level for at least another 18 months- Save Medicare Act, Senate Bill 2785. Congress must act very soon to prevent the mandated 10.6 % cut scheduled for July 2008 and another 5 % reduction in January 2009. The hope is that physician groups and patient advocates will work with Med Pac (Congress funded committee) over the next 18 months to shape a new more acceptable payment formula. The patient centered medical home was also promoted. Organized, integrated care is effective for patients and is cost effective. Representatives from all three offices assured us that the Medicare cuts would not take place. They too are tired of the temporary fixes and desire a more long term solution. They are also very informed and supportive of the medical home concept and sympathetic towards the plight of primary care. Whether that will translate into a more appropriate reimbursement system favoring primary and preventive care time will tell.

The second issue discussed was in regard to medical education. There are serious concerns expressed by the AAFP that the federal government will be attempting to cut back graduate medical (GME) and indirect medical education (IME) funding in 2009.Medicare payments for residency training using volunteer physician supervisors in non-hospital areas was also discussed .

Dr. Gravois stated that overall the meetings went well and the “lobbying team” walked away feeling very positive that for now the status quo would be maintained. They all seem to agree that preventive medicine will be an important piece of whatever healthcare system is developed and that reimbursement to primary care providers needs to be improved. Once again time will tell.

PLEASE contact your federal legislators as soon as possible. You can go to the aafp website- www.aafp.org and click on Policy and Advocacy. Ask them to at least postpone the cuts, and to support Senate Bill 2587- Save Medicare Act. Also ask for the implementation of patient centered medical homes. Remember it is all about the patients. Ask Congress to pass legislation to encourage primary care training in the community and in underserved and rural areas, specifically to maintain and hopefully improve Medicare payments to the residencies. We must maintain our residencies to have future family doctors to work in the medical home model.