2011 Alliance Legislative Conference

On July 12-13, 2011 the Alliance of Specialty Medicine organized its annual Legislative Conference in Washington DC, with more than 80 specialty physicians attending the event. Christopher A. Clyne, MD and Sana M. Al-Khatib, MD, MHS, FHRS represented the Heart Rhythm Society, which is a member of the Alliance.

The agenda for the conference included a full-day Health Policy Forum on Tuesday, July 12, where influential members of Congress shared their views on important issues such as the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), Medical Liability Reform, and Reform and the FDA’s 510K process.

On Wednesday, July 13, participants visited their legislators and their staff to discuss and advocate for three priority legislative issues relevant to specialty care:

Independent Payment Advisory Board
The Alliance requested members of Congress to co-sponsor H.R.  452/S. 668, which will repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). The physicians expressed their concerns that the Board, under its current design, lacks clinical expertise and the research capacity to examine the national and regional effects of proposed recommendations

Medical Liability Reform
The Alliance sought co-sponsorship support for H.R. 5/S.218, the "Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011." Congressional staffers and lawmakers were asked to consider the medical liability reform models of California and Texas, which include limits on non-economic damages. Participants told decision makers that these alternative models reduce incentives for defensive medicine and help to improve patient access to specialty care; particularly in rural and underserved areas.

Medicare Physician Payment Formula
The Alliance expressed its opposition to short-term “band aid” fixes to the flawed Medicare physician payment formula and asked members of Congress to pass a permanent SGR fix prior to December 31, 2011. Ideally any system that replaces the SGR would update payments based on the Medicare Economic Index, allowing reimbursements to be based on the actual cost of providing care.

View the Conference Handouts (PDF, 5M)

Additional Information

• Learn more about the Society's first congressional fly-in March 16-17, 2011, to raise visibility and support for a resolution promoting the awareness, diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation and to discuss other issues relevant to heart rhythm care.
• The Alliance of Specialty Medicine's 2010 Legislative Conference, with Society representation by Andrea M. Russo, MD, FHRS; Jodie L. Hurwitz, MD, FHRS; Robert C. Kowal, MD, Ph.D.; Christopher A. Clyne, MD, FHRS; Bruce A. Koplan, MD, MPH and Richard I. Fogel, MD, FHRS, CCDS.