

The Academy and five peer physician organizations delivered detailed recommendations to lawmakers in Washington, D.C., last week. The Group of 6(www.groupof6.org) called for $50 million in new funding(www.groupof6.org) for public health research on preventing firearm-related morbidity and mortality, and for policy ensuring greater prescription-drug pricing transparency(www.groupof6.org), among other advocacy priorities.
The AAFP strongly supports the newly introduced Rural Physician Workforce Production Act of 2019 (S. 289)(www.congress.gov). In letters(2 page PDF) to the bill's sponsors, the Academy said the law would provide "invaluable new federal support for rural residency training, which will help alleviate physician shortages in rural communities."
The AAFP told(2 page PDF) the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Health that three bills under consideration -- 987(energycommerce.house.gov), 1010(energycommerce.house.gov), and 1143(energycommerce.house.gov) -- would safeguard key protections for patients of family physicians. The bills are in line with the AAFP's opposition to policies that would reduce patients’ insurance protections.