Academy Leaders Burst Onto Capitol Hill With Message About Primary Care's Key Role in Health Reform

On March 10, AAFP leaders converged on Capitol Hill, meeting with multiple lawmakers and congressional staff members to talk about the importance of giving primary care and the patient-centered medical home, or PCMH, a prominent role in health care reform initiatives.

"We continue to drive home hard the message about primary care and the patient-centered medical home," said AAFP President Ted Epperly, M.D., of Boise, Idaho, who joined AAFP President-elect Lori Heim, M.D., of Vass, N.C.; AAFP Board Chair Jim King, M.D., of Selmer, Tenn.; and AAFP EVP Douglas Henley, M.D., in making the Capitol Hill visits.

"Our message was very well received, and things are looking very good in regard to support for primary care and the patient-centered medical home. That is very encouraging because Congress will start putting together a health care reform bill within the next several weeks," Epperly said.

King agreed with Epperly's assessment. "We are developing contacts with the new legislators in Congress and their staff and strengthening the case for primary care as these committees start debating health care legislation," he said.

The four Academy leaders started their day by attending political action committee, or PAC, events for various House members. Epperly attended a PAC event for Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho, a freshman congressman and a member of the House's Democratic Blue Dog Coalition. As a so-called Blue Dog, Minnick is one of 49 moderate and conservative Democratic members in the House whose support for health care reform will be instrumental in passing comprehensive health care reform, Epperly said.

In the afternoon, the AAFP leaders met as a group with a senior policy analyst for Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. Baucus is chair of the Senate Finance Committee, one of two Senate committees with jurisdiction over health care legislation.

They then met separately with other lawmakers and congressional staff members to urge them to provide a long-term fix to Medicare's broken payment system and to block scheduled reductions in the Medicare payment rate.

Heim met with newly elected Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., who serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, or HELP, Committee, which also has jurisdiction over health care legislation. According to Heim, one of the reasons for her visit was to establish a relationship with the new senator.

"As a new senator and a member of the HELP committee, I want to make sure she understands the role of primary care and knows about the patient-centered medical home," said Heim. "I hope (the senator) will come to see the Academy as a source of solutions and ideas and a resource for her."

During his visits with Congress staff members, King said he got the unmistakable impression that Congress wants to enact health care reform legislation this year. "They seem very open to suggestions for us to work with them," he said. "I really feel they want something to happen this year."