AANEM Advocacy News Express

Recap: 2016 AMA House of Delegates Annual Meeting

    6/29/2016
At the annual American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD) meeting in June, the HOD reviewed issues including effectively addressing the current opioid crisis, encouraging Congress to fund research into gun violence, establishing extensive policy to address lead contamination in the water in Flint, MI, and across the nation, and addressing the potential implications of insurance mergers. 

AANEM’s 3rd Annual Day on Capitol Hill

    5/31/2016
AANEM hosted its third annual “Day on Capitol Hill” in Washington D.C. on May 23. AANEM Health Policy Director Millie Suk, JD, MPP, and AANEM’s Washington representatives from the Health and Medicine Counsel of Washington (HMCW) led sixteen members of AANEM’s State Liaison program to meetings with their respective legislators and legislative staff. The group met with over 50 congressional offices. 

Advocacy in Washington, D.C. & Call to Action

    3/9/2016
AANEM representatives recently returned from a productive trip to Washington, D.C. where they met with several patient groups and Senate offices to advocate for a national mandate setting quality standards based on AANEM’s EDX Laboratory Accreditation program.

Washington Update for February

    2/24/2016
On February 9, 2016, the president released his Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Budget Request to Congress.  Following President Obama’s vocal support for medical research during his final State of the Union address the public health community was optimistic about the FY 2017 Budget Request. However, the proposal mainly focused recommendations for additional public health resources exclusively towards cancer programs

Washington Update for January

    1/27/2016
Before adjourning for 2015, Congress took took action on an omnibus spending package that included the 12 annual appropriations bills. Most notably, the Fiscal year (FY) 2016 omnibus appropriations bill secured a $2 billion funding increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), bringing the agency’s total funding up to $32 billion annually.

AANEM on Capitol Hill

    12/16/2015
On Thursday, December 3, 2015, AANEM Health Policy Director Millie Suk, JD, MPP, and Dane Christiansen, AANEM’s Washington representative from the Health and Medicine Counsel of Washington, held promising meetings with leading members of congress and representatives of patient organizations to discuss mandating standards for electrodiagnostic (EDX) medicine to ensure patients receive only high quality care from qualified providers

Washington Update for December

    12/16/2015
Congress adjourned briefly on December 11, 2015, after passing a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that will keep all federal programs operating at their Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 levels until December 16. While congress is working on end of the year issues, AANEM continues to work with other stakeholders to build support for advancing optimal patient care in electrodiagnostic (EDX) medicine

Recap: 2015 AMA House of Delegates Interim Meeting

    12/1/2015
The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD) held its interim 2015 meeting in Atlanta, GA, November 14-17. A variety of important issues were reviewed by the HOD.

Washington Update for November

    11/18/2015
In an effort to better support federal medical research activities and emerging clinical/translational research programs at NIH, AANEM is joining the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) Coalition. Stakeholder organizations and congressional offices also continue to engage with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to promote collaboration that advances policies to reduce fraud and abuse in EDX medicine while promoting access to quality care.