"My Experience as an AACE Key
Contact" from Your AACE Colleagues
The AACE Key Contact Program is one of the significant cornerstones of AACE advocacy activities in the legislative/regulatory
area and its effectiveness is dependent upon the involvement of
AACE members who serve as liaisons for their legislators. Each
AACE member is an integral part of the AACE Key Contact Program and your colleagues featured here discuss not only the ease
of participating in the Program but their experiences in this critical grassroots activity.
As an AACE Key Contact, I have had the opportunity to visit several
members of the Nevada Congressional Delegation. Our most recent visit
was with Rep. Cresent Hardy (R-4th-NV) to seek his support for the National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission Act (H.R. 1192 / S. 586). We
were welcomed enthusiastically by the Congressman and his staff and had
a meaningful discussion about the impetus for the bill. He expressed his
interest in the bill and his intent to co-sponsor it in the U.S. House of
Representatives once the recess concluded.
AACE’s goal for the Key Contact Program is to match at least one
AACE member with each of the 435 members of the U.S. House of
Representatives and the 100 members of the U.S. Senate. With the
115th Congress opening in January 2017, this is the perfect time
to begin establishing the roots of a relationship with your U.S.
Senators and Representatives.
These encounters with Members of Congress and their staff provide an opportunity for us, as physicians and AACE members, to convey the needs
and challenges we face as practicing endocrinologists to the policymakers who ultimately pass the laws that set the guidelines within which we
practice. This is a very crucial role for all AACE members and I intend to
continue to contribute through the AACE Key Contact Program.
Please consider taking a moment to register as an AACE Key Contact or read more about this important advocacy effort by visiting https://www.aace.com/advocacy/key-contact. If you have any
questions about the AACE Key Contact Program or any other advocacy activities, please feel free to contact Sara Milo, Director of
Legislation & Governmental Affairs, or Alysia Perry, AACE Manager of Grassroots Activities, at [email protected].
Below are firsthand testimonials from Stacey K. Condren, MD,
MM, FACE, of Vancouver, Washington; Kenneth Izuora, MD, MBA,
FACE, of Las Vegas, Nevada; and Paul Tomasic, MD, MS, FACP,
FACE, of Las Vegas, Nevada. They describe their experiences meeting with representatives in their districts.
I had a terrific meeting during the August recess
with the District Director for my federal representative, Rep. Jaime Herrera-Beutler (R-3rd-WA). We
discussed the National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission Act (H.R. 1192), as well as the Medicare
CGM bill (H.R. 1427), and I was surprised to learn
that my representative was not yet aware of either
bill. AACE is, at its core, a grassroots organization
and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help make a difference for patients on potentially a larger scale.
Alysia Perry, AACE Manager of Grassroots Activities, did all of the work
to set the meeting up for me and sent me all of the materials I needed to
become familiar with the bills and to feel comfortable talking about them.
This was a wonderful experience and I am happy that I got to interact with
my representative in Congress and hopefully make a difference for patients
with diabetes.
-Stacey K. Condren, MD, MM, FACE, Vancouver, Washington
-Kenneth Izuora, MD, MBA, FACE, Las Vegas, Nevada
Being a Key Contact
puts into practice the
motto of AACE to be
“The Voice of Clinical Endocrinology.”
Getting to know your
federal
legislators,
having them get to
know you and educating them on AACE's
positions in a meaningful, personal way is the ultimate experience in advocacy for endocrinology.
This small sacrifice of time gets the word out on issues of importance to
AACE members and our patients. Examples include the National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission Act, CGM for Medicare beneficiaries and
preserving the integrity of our prescriptions for diabetes testing supplies.
I have been a Key Contact to my own congressman, Dr. Joe Heck (R-3rdNV), for three years. I have seen the Congressman become a co-sponsor
on all legislation important to AACE and to me. When I visit with him,
whether in his local office or in Washington, D.C., I have been able to express the needs of endocrinologists and our patients, and he has been very
supportive.
Your local legislators want to hear from you and they especially want and
need to hear from constituents that come from within their own districts.
There is no better way to put the power of AACE into action than for you
to become an AACE Key Contact with your own congressional representatives.
-Paul V. Tomasic, MD, MS, FACP, FACE, Las Vegas, NV
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