Leadership Forum & Spring BOG Meeting: Legislative Advocacy Highlights
Following the success of the inaugural State OTO Society Roundtable, the BOG Spring Meeting included several advocacy- related sessions where attendees learned about the importance of making their voices heard on Capitol Hill.
Following the success of the inaugural State OTO Society Roundtable, the BOG Spring Meeting included several advocacy- related sessions where attendees learned about the importance of making their voices heard on Capitol Hill.
First, the BOG Legislative Affairs Committee served as a platform for attendees to receive updates on the Academy’s various advocacy-related programs, including an overview of 2017 federal legislative priorities. In addition, attendees learned more about the legislative procedure known as “reconciliation” and how it impacts healthcare reform from well-known Senate expert, Martin B. Gold, JD, a partner at a DC lobbying firm. Finally, Mike Hamilton, Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative David McKinley (R-WV), spoke to the group about the political landscape, detailing the timeline for healthcare reform efforts over the next year and the critical nature of forming relationships with Members of Congress and their staffs. The AAO-HNS makes this easy with the BOG-sponsored initiative, PROJECT 535, which establishes a “key contact” for each U.S. Senate and House Congressional seat to improve the specialty’s outreach to federal legislators when major issues are debated by Congress.
Following the weekend sessions, leaders of the Academy traveled to Capitol Hill on Monday, March 13, to discuss issues important to the specialty, including:
- Physician participation in MIPS/APMs;
- Reauthorization of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program;
- Potential over-the-counter sale of hearing aids for individuals with mild-to-moderate hearing loss; and
- Repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).
Members met with the offices of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI-1) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12), as well as Republican and Democrat staff from the key House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over health-related issues: House Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means committees and the Senate Finance Committee and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
For more information about the Academy’s federal legislative priorities, contact legfederal@entnet.org or visit www.entnet.org/advocacy.
AAO-HNS Leaders on Capitol Hill
(Left to right) Susan R. Cordes, MD; Richard M. Rosenfeld, MD, MPH; Sujana S. Chandrasekhar, MD; Lee D. Eisenberg, MD, MPH; Sanjay R. Parikh, MD; Peter M. Vila, MD, MSPH.
(Left to right) Robert J. Stachler, MD; David R. Edelstein, MD; Matthew Smith, MD; Lawrence M. Simon, MD; Paul M. Imber, DO; Erika A. Woodson, MD.
(Left to right) Gavin Setzen, MD; Michael D. Puricelli, MD; Stacey L. Ishman, MD, MPH; James C. Denneny III, MD; Ayesha N. Khalid, MD.
