APMA News - July/August 2020 - 38

Federal Advocacy Forum
By Patrick A. DeHeer, DPM, and William S. Long, DPM, Legislative Committee Co-Chairs

Two Minutes for a Better Tomorrow
This year continues to be full of adversity and challenges.
Adversity often presents an opportunity for growth and improvement. Malcolm X said, "There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own
seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance
next time." This year's tumultuous events provide an opportunity for APMA members to take grassroots activism to heart
and engage with legislators on numerous critical issues.
The APMA eAdvocacy website (www.apma.org/eAdvocacy)
lists nine different legislative calls to action. The response rate
to APMA calls to action is on par with other medical organizations' legislative calls to action-that is to say, physicians' response rates across the board are abysmal. With so many critical pandemic-related issues that directly affect podiatric
physicians hanging in the balance, your engagement is needed
now more than ever.
The Helping Ensure Life- and Limb-Saving Access to Podiatric Physicians (HELLPP) Act (HR 2235), introduced April 10,
2019, by US Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Bill Johnson
(R-OH), would ensure that our nation's vulnerable Medicaid
population has access to the important specialized foot and
ankle care services provided by podiatric physicians. APMA's
Legislative Committee is working diligently with members of
Congress to identify a strategic pathway to move this bill
through both chambers of Congress.
Access to remote health-care services for rural Americans
remains a challenge. Podiatrists offer important health-care
services that can be delivered remotely using telehealth, virtual check-in, telephone E/M, and online digital E/M. These
services should be implemented fully and made as flexible as
possible, and access to these services should continue even
after the current emergency abates.
Protection from medical liability during these challenging
times is vital. The APMA eAdvocacy call to action urges Congress to consider broader liability protections for physicians
and other clinicians and the facilities in which they practice
as they continue their non-stop efforts to treat COVID-19 patients under unprecedented conditions.
Podiatric physicians continue to serve on the front lines of
health care during this pandemic, especially those in densely
populated urban areas. Podiatrists are assisting in triaging patients day and night, and they are working to ensure that patients have access to the important, ongoing care they need.
Therefore, it is essential that podiatric physicians are included in hazard relief pay for their involvement in the care of
COVID-19 patients.
38 APMA News July/August 2020

There are several administrative burdens that Congress can
remove. Giving health-care providers regulatory relief will
save time and money and allow providers to focus on patients
rather than unnecessary and costly paperwork.
The role of podiatric physicians as essential health-care
providers must be clarified immediately. We must instruct
legislators to direct the Department of Homeland Security
and related entities to recognize that podiatrists must be included in the essential health-care workforce; we must work
to eliminate any confusion or uncertainty, and to ensure we
can continue to provide medically necessary services to our
patients.
Allopathic, osteopathic, and podiatric physicians continue
to emphasize the need for personal protective equipment and
testing in order to serve patients safely during this pandemic.
The lack of testing has the potential to increase transmission
among providers and patients, creating unnecessary risks for
everyone.
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and direct aid for
health-care providers are essential to maintaining the healthcare system. Additional appropriations for the PPP and for
direct aid to health-care providers are key to stabilizing private and group practices until the pandemic is mitigated.
The uncertainty of the pandemic's effect on physician income and debt relief for front-line health-care providers
must be considered in Washington, DC. The enormous student loan debt many podiatric physicians, residents, and
students face adds a significant burden in an unprecedented
stressful situation.
It takes an average of two minutes to send emails through
the APMA eAdvocacy site for all nine calls to action. Contacting your members of Congress could not be easier-they are
identified for you, and the messages are prewritten for your
convenience. Can you spare a couple of minutes to preserve
our profession's well-being? n

Visit www.apma.org/eAdvocacy to contact your legislators today.

http://www.apma.org/eAdvocacy http://www.apma.org/eAdvocacy

APMA News - July/August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - July/August 2020