Advocacy wins for family medicine
Explore the Academy's critical advocacy campaigns — and crucial wins — as the battle to sustain, support and strengthen family medicine moves forward.
New and noteworthy
Advocacy progress by topic
- Successfully encouraged CMS to finalize a rule requiring state exchanges and state-based marketplaces to establish and align time and distance network adequacy standards for qualified health plans.
- Provided robust recommendations to inform ongoing Senate conversations about primary care payment.
- Successfully urged CMS to crack down on prior authorizations and coverage denials by Medicare Advantage plans.
- Successfully recommended CMS prioritize enhanced care coordination, privacy protections, and seamless data sharing to benefit both patients and physicians in their new Interoperability Framework.
- Successfully advocated for CMS to publish a final rule to broaden electronic prior authorization standards and increase workflow automation capabilities.
- Successfully advocated for the implementation of G2211 and advanced efforts to use it alongside modifier 25.
- Successfully advocated for and influenced the design of the ACO Primary Care Flex Model.
- Supported the enactment of legislation that will now allow individuals with health savings accounts to use those funds to pay for direct primary care arrangements.
- Provided robust feedback and technical expertise to key congressional committees to inform Medicare payment reform.
- Secured a 2.5% statutorily required increase to Medicare physician payment for 2026.
- Testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging about how family physicians and primary care serve a crucial role in improving the longevity of individuals across the lifespan.
- Spoke at a meeting of the House GOP Doctors Caucus on improving Medicare payment for family physicians.
- Successfully advocated for an extension of the Conrad 30 waiver and THCGME programs through the end of 2024.
- Provided robust feedback to inform ongoing Senate conversations around GME reform and draft policy.
- Successfully advocated for CMS to provide increased flexibility and support for rural physicians and hospitals.
- Advocated strongly in defense of ongoing efforts to amend federal student debt relief programs.
- Successfully advocated against legislation that would have prevented medical residents from participating in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
- Supported legislation that was enacted to provide tax credits to small and independent physician practices.
- Successfully prevented legislation intended to levy additional taxes on certain independent physician practices.
- Advocated for better oversight of federal parity requirements to improve access to mental health and SUD care.
- Successfully advocated for stronger primary care and behavioral health access standards in Medicare Advantage, Medicaid managed care and ACA marketplace plans.
- Supported CMS’ new Medicare coding and payment rules to support primary care practices in addressing unmet social needs.
- Advocated successfully for House passage of the SUPPORT Reauthorization Act.
- Provided feedback on ways to address remaining barriers for patients with opioid use disorder to access services.
- Successfully advocated for House passage of legislation that codifies regulatory guidance to allow health plan sponsors to provide pre-deductible coverage for certain chronic disease management items and services.
- Advocated to maintain insurance coverage for all immunizations recommended by the AAFP, and provided recommendations to inform legislative efforts to protect continued access to vaccines.
- Pushed to extend all PHE-related telehealth flexibilities for prescribing controlled substances.
- Advocated for funding for behavioral health care, 9-8-8 crisis services, SUD treatment and more.
- Supported requiring state Medicaid programs to permanently cover medications for the treatment of OUD.
- Rhode Island AFP supported legislation that eliminated prior authorizations for non-pharmaceutical orders by primary care.
- Alaska AFP helped secure passage of a law requiring insurers to provide determinations on prior authorization requests within shorter timeframes, and establish transparency requirements.
- In Alabama, members successfully moved the Rural Hospital Investment Fund bill into law.
- California AFP helped protect funding for the Song-Brown Program, which supports family medicine residency training.
- The Colorado AFP helped enact the Reducing Stigma in Medical Licensure and Limiting Restrictive Employment Agreements bills.