APMA News - April 2013 - (Page 38)

Federal Advocacy Forum By Seth A. Rubenstein, DPM Making it Politically Profitable to Do the Right Thing The late great American Nobel economist Milton Friedman, referring to Congress, once said: The important thing is to establish a political climate of opinion which will make it politically profitable for the wrong people [in Congress] to do the right thing. Unless it is politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing, the right people will not do the right thing either, or if they try, they will shortly be out of office. Friedman eloquently distilled the essence of effecting real policy change in Washington. It’s more easily said than done, of course. His words provide a guidepost from which to catch you up on what APMA’s Federal Legislative Committee and Advocacy department have been doing to help all of us—but especially you, the grassroots constituent voters—make it “politically profitable” for all members of Congress to support and work to pass our Medicaid access legislation in the next two years. Your Legislative Committee and Legislative Advocacy department have made some smart new investments to amplify our voice and influence among federal policymakers and are working to strengthen and improve our grassroots strategies and tactics. In December 2012, we retained a new legislative consulting/lobbying firm (Hart Health Strategies) to support and bolster our lobbying and public affairs activities on our legislation and enhance our reach and influence. We have completely redesigned our core advocacy materials with professional graphic design to create a greater impact. In February, the APMA Board of Trustees participated in a special lobbying day on Capitol Hill, during which they split into groups and met with 20 US Senate offices urging early support and cosponsorship for our Medicaid access-to-podiatrists legislation. This effort helped lay a strong foundation for our March Legislative Conference, during which hundreds of members, students, and state representatives lobbied on Capitol Hill. During the March House of Delegates meeting and Legislative Conference, we invested in an advertising campaign (both print and online) through POLITICO, a prominent Washington, DC, political/policy newspaper and website. POLITICO has the largest circulation of all congressional publications, averaging about 100,000 readers each day for its printed newspaper. Its Web content receives about 5.5 38 APMA News April 2013 million unique visitors per month, and the newspaper is distributed for free on Capitol Hill and in Manhattan. (The fullpage newspaper ad we ran appears opposite this column.) These are a few top-line actions we have taken to create momentum, make greater legislative inroads and impact, and provide the tools necessary for APMA members to be effective citizen lobbyists. But we cannot reach the finish line without active grassroots advocacy participation from APMA members. To assist you in this process, we encourage you to use eAdvo- Together, we can make a strong, compelling, persistent argument to members of Congress that our legislative priority will be politically profitable to them. cacy to educate and encourage federal lawmakers to cosponsor and support our DPM access bill (www.apma.org/eadvocacy). We need all APMA members to contact their elected officials and create such a groundswell of voter/grassroots clamoring that both parties see the merits of making this needed policy change. The way we gauge how effective we are is through the number of congressional cosponsors we garner for our bill. Together, we can make a strong, compelling, persistent argument to members of Congress that our legislative priority will be politically profitable to them. Your Legislative Committee and Legislative Advocacy department always are available to APMA members for questions or suggestions about how we can improve our representation of and advocacy for the profession. We are all busy. But if you as a voting constituent cannot take a few minutes to contact your elected officials and get a cosponsor commitment from them, then members of other physician groups will gladly fill the vacuum with their issues, some of which may not be in the best interests of DPMs. Thank you all for what you do for DPMs and APMA. But we need more—a lot more—grassroots support. n APMA Trustee and Legislative Committee Chair Seth A. Rubenstein, DPM, can be reached at advocacy@ apma.org. http://www.apma.org/eadvocacy

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - April 2013

APMA News - April 2013
President’s Message
Contents
Beat Bunion Blues: APMA’s Spring PR Campaign
Matthew G. Garoufalis, DPM: Presidential Inaugural Speech to the APMA House of Delegates
Nuts and Bolts of the House of Delegates and Resoultions Outcomes
State Advocacy in Focus: Building Relationships
Medicare Advantage: Answering Questions about Coverage
2012 Podiatric Practice Survey: Corporation Type
Podiatric Medical Assistants’ Program at The National Promotes Team Learning
Annual Scientifi c Meeting Registration Forms
Annual Scientifi c Meeting Sponsors
Team APMA 5K Run/Walk
Seeking Award Nominations
Reimbursement
Federal Advocacy Forum
APMAPAC Chair Report
IT Consultant
Inside APMA’s Social Media
Website Wisdom
On the Road with APMA
Small Business 101
CPME Update
In Short
Worthy of Note
Insurance Advisor
New Members
Death Notices
APMAPAC Update
Development Update
Classifi ed Advertising
Dates to Remember
Advertising Index
10 Questions
Your APMA

APMA News - April 2013