Members of the U.S. House and Senate this fall will hear directly from family medicine about ensuring adequate Medicare payment, reforming medical liability and providing health care coverage for the uninsured, thanks to FamMedPAC.
With donations now having exceeded $70,000, the AAFP's federal political action committee can begin delivering family medicine's message to U.S. senators and representatives in small-group seminars on health care topics, according to Mark Cribben, J.D., director of FamMedPAC.
After Sept. 30, when the FamMedPAC Board of Directors is slated to approve contribution guidelines, the committee will identify federal lawmakers who can influence health care legislation as a result of their committee assignments and leadership positions, said Cribben. Also to be identified for contributions are legislators and -- in the future -- congressional candidates who support AAFP positions on key issues identified as Academy priorities, including Medicare reimbursement, medical liability, Title VII and the uninsured.
The guidelines "give us a way to focus our giving on people who are in positions that directly impact health care legislation," said Cribben. "They spell out the amount and size of contributions to people, based on where they fall within our criteria. We have a broad membership but a focused agenda. We will base our (contribution) decisions strictly on where (recipients) stand on our key issues."
