APMA News - January/February 2021 - 6

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© 2021, APMA

6 APMA News January/February 2021

President's Message

Meeting Today's Challenges;
Welcoming Tomorrow's Opportunities
How quickly the year has unfolded, and what a year it has been! My term as
president coincided with the onset of the pandemic, an associated economic recession, and a reawakening of social justice in our nation. Taken together, these challenges truly prove the mettle of a professional association.
APMA responded to the unfolding pandemic and economic recession by first
canceling our House of Delegates and suspending first-quarter dues, placing our
members' health, safety, and well-being front and center.
We leaned into the adversity of COVID-19 by seeking opportunities to support
our mission, advocating for our profession and building value for our membership.
Your APMA created a world-class online COVID-19 resource center, filled with
information and reference material to help our members understand federal financial aid programs and new safety regulations and master telemedicine. These efforts
were supplemented with free webinars featuring advice from financial and clinical
experts in their fields.
APMA submitted more than 40 broad-based comment letters to Congress, CMS,
and policymakers. These letters advocated for expansion of state scope-of-practice
acts, equal treatment as frontline health-care providers in COVID-19 legislation,
relief from administrative burdens created by Medicare Advantage organizations,
and modification of payer guidelines that restricted established surgical techniques
and use of new technologies in surgery.
We have continued and enhanced our student recruitment efforts in collaboration
with the American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine to ensure our colleges have sufficient numbers of high-caliber applicants. This initiative is an investment in our profession's future, as tomorrow's podiatrists must be capable and exceptionally trained to remain competitive in an ever-changing health-care environment.
We also expanded our collaboration with professional associations, including
building bridges with the American Academy of Dermatology to provide reporting
access on its international COVID-19 registry. We worked with the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle
Society, defending values of CPT codes of mutual interest and issuing joint comment letters advocating against abusive payer policies.
I want to thank you for your unwavering support during this very challenging
time. Member support for our Educational Foundation allowed us to award
$270,000 in scholarships to 225 third- and fourth-year podiatry students. We plan
to broaden the scope of the foundation to include support for student and public
educational opportunities in coming years.
Our Legislative Advocacy department continued to represent your interests, an
effort which, in the current environment, may be the single most important function your association provides. Member contributions to APMAPAC enable us to
educate Congress and support the campaigns of legislators who support us. I
strongly urge you to continue to support the PAC.
In conclusion, I thank you for the honor of serving as your APMA president. I am
confident Jeffrey DeSantis, DPM, will be an extraordinary president, and your APMA
will continue to provide the value and exceptional service you have come to expect.

Seth A. Rubenstein, DPM, President

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APMA News - January/February 2021

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