April 2013
Kansas Podiatric Medical Association News Letter
Welcome to Spring on the Prairie! The gorgeous weather and much needed rain have provided a slight respite from the
concern over the significant paucity of moisture, and drought worries.
I would like to dedicate this letter to the recent APMA House of Delegates and congressional visits.
Washington, DC was alive with the hustle and bustle of early Spring. Several species of flowers and a few intrepid
flowering trees were just showing color. However, the locals said we were about two weeks behind the traditional
beautiful Spring cherry blossoms that typify March in the Capital City. I met Mark Landry, DPM our President-elect.
Caught up with and received an update from Barry Wessolowski, DPM our House of Delegates representative.
The business of the APMA House by this time had been conducted with resolutions completed. Our new APMA president,
Dr. Matt Garoufalis instilled with all of the associated pomp.
I arrived in Washington, DC Monday evening. The intent: to visit with all of our
Kansas state representatives including the members of Congress, as well as our two
senators. Our scheduling had been planned for us by our PPAC liaison for the state
of Kansas, Corin Wilde, DPM.
For orientation and welcome, there was an excellent opening session Monday
evening with education, and discussion regarding the local issues including the
importance of title 19. Especially here in Kansas, where for most of us, Medicaid
services are not covered, except for perhaps in the case of pediatric patients then
it is discounted significantly. Tuesday morning bright and early before the sun was
up, we all boarded buses for an early morning breakfast and further education.
During the session, Mark and I had the good fortune of spending time with some
delegates from Louisiana. We enjoyed a marvelous breakfast. With our first Hill visit scheduled at 10 o’clock, we ran up the
hill for our first appointment and it was at a run. We had to be on time for our appointment with Sen. Roberts.
In the office of Sen. Pat Roberts we had the opportunity to visit with Jennifer Boyer his chief healthcare advisor. We also
had the good fortune of meeting Sen. Roberts. Of course he was quite busy, shook everyone’s hand made a couple of jokes
and then quickly was off to his next assignment. We felt fortunate to visit with Jennifer and discuss title 19. We also
discussed the importance of parity of physicians, VA podiatrist status as well as improving the transparency of the
diabetic shoe bill.
In the office of Mike Pompeo we had the opportunity to meet with Chris Parinello, we discussed with him the importance
of title 19, physician status and reviewed the important and significant contributions of podiatric medicine and surgery in
the comprehensive program for management of diabetes. We again discussed the importance of physician status of
podiatrists.
In the office of Rep. Kevin Yoder we had a similar excellent reception and spend time discussing the issues with Patrick,
his legislative director. He was accommodating, and felt like our position was appropriate.
We punctuated our visit with a quick trip to the American Indian Museum for lunch. Excellent cuisine from different
Indian tribes all around the Americas--see a recent review by Mark Landry, DPM.
Sen. Moran’s office was very busy. We had an opportunity to visit with Jessica Adams. As Sen. Moran sits on the Veterans
Affairs committee, as well as the committee on aging we felt like our message was well received.
By the end of the day we had walked back and forth between the Senate and congressional office buildings
several times. Back and forth across the front and back side of our Nations’ capital. It was a day to break in our
shoes. I’m sure we walked about 5 miles.
Wednesday morning we had the wonderful opportunity to visit with Tim Huelskamp. We were expecting to visit
with his contact aid, however Congressman Huelskamp came out and we had a wonderful visit discussing health
care, diabetes and title 19. He was very accommodating. We had an enjoyable visit discussing some of the local
lore as well as an appropriate focus on our professional concerns.
Our final visit was with Lynn Jenkins, Rep. Jenkins is the Congresswoman for District 4. This recently puts
Montgomery County in her district. She is amazing, well-educated lady. She has two sons here in Kansas. We
were surprised to learn, she flies back and forth maintaining a home in Kansas while she takes care of her many
responsibilities in the house. We also had a very genuine visit with her regarding the issues facing podiatric
physicians and surgeons. She was sensitive to our cause and provided excellent feedback.
We encouraged all of the elected representatives of our state at the federal government level to consider
sponsorship of the bill which will help to define podiatric surgeons as physicians for Medicaid. Remember, we
have been so defined in the Medicare act since the 70’s.
We had a couple of hours to enjoy the art museum, the Library of Congress, and a couple of other quick visits
before returning to Kansas.
This experience has been an excellent opportunity to put forth our needs and desires to our representatives. I
think it also will serve as an excellent model for us here at home in Kansas to take the time to develop a
relationship with our local elected officials. They are interested in the needs of their constituents. I think
especially as professionals and thought leaders in our profession, that our opinions and ideas will help guide
them in their policymaking. Have a great month, keep up the good work. Looking forward to our Fall meeting.
Jeffrey D Hogge, DPM, MS
Pres., Kansas Podiatric Medical Association