Federal advocacy
Stay informed on federal issues that family physicians face and how the AAFP is advancing primary care via letters and statements.
Federal advocacy by topic
Family physicians belong at the heart of a primary care–focused health care system.
To achieve that aim, the Academy advocates for legislative and regulatory policy—including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, CHIP, Medicaid and Medicare—centered on high-quality primary care for all.
Universal access to basic health care services and policies that promote cost-effective, patient-centered, high-quality primary care are top Academy advocacy priorities.
To achieve this aim, the AAFP works to educate lawmakers about what family physicians know: that a primary care system centered on whole-person care and a longitudinal physician-patient relationship leads to the best health outcomes while limiting health care costs.
The AAFP supports efforts to make health IT—a critical element in improving U.S. health care delivery—more accessible and affordable to primary health care providers, who see the majority of the nation's patients.
The Academy also lobbies to protect patient privacy and advocates for standards and protocols that allow health care information to flow freely among physicians, payers, patients and pharmacies.
Family medicine is subject to regulatory and legal changes with enormous potential impacts on the specialty, so the Academy's advocacy addresses a full range of issues, including administrative simplification, antitrust laws, physician collective negotiation, HIPAA, liability reform, and legal transparency.
Physician payment reform must be a top priority across all payer systems to transform and grow comprehensive primary care.
The AAFP advocates for payment policies that meaningfully invest in primary care while correcting the income disparity between primary care physicians and subspecialists. This shift is essential to ensuring a robust and sustainable primary care workforce.
Primary care physicians are more critical than ever to U.S. health, but the family medicine workforce pathway has never been more challenged.
The AAFP is working to restore growth to America's most important medical specialty by advocating to clear regulatory and legislative obstacles.
We’re at the vanguard of the nation’s public health effort, amplifying the voice of primary care at the policymaking table.
Family physicians treat a broader range of conditions than any other medical specialty. As policymakers seek public health protections and improvements, the Academy engages with legislators and regulators at all levels on a range of crucial issues.
As the country’s only physician association dedicated to primary care, the AAFP vigorously supports new research initiatives and advocates for funding to develop and sustain primary care.