Ortho Political Action Committee Is No. 1
Ortho Political Action Committee Is No. 1
When Stuart Weinstein, MD, took over as chair of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Political Action Committee (PAC) 2 election cycles ago, his goal was to make it the best funded of all US medical society PACs. He achieved that goal in 2008, and today it remains at the top of the list of medical society PACs.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the AAOS in this cycle had PAC spending of almost $1.469 million, most of it to candidates for the US House and Senate. That sum will undoubtedly increase before voters go to the polls on November 6, according to Dr. Weinstein, a professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City.
Only 2 organizations, neither of them physician medical societies, had spent more.
The Center has the partisan split for the money at 75%/25% in favor of the Republicans, but Dr. Weinstein disputes that figure and projects that it will probably be 60%/40% in favor of the Republicans when the final tally is in. In 2009, the PAC gave more money to Democrats than it did to Republicans, he said.
This year's edge to Republican candidates dovetails with orthopedic surgeons' responses to a recent survey conducted by Medscape. Although the sample was small, they favored Governor Mitt Romney over President Obama by 56%/42%. They also favored Romney running mate Representative Paul Ryan's "premium support" Medicare plan by 50%/44% but were evenly split on Mr. Ryan's plan to shift responsibility for Medicaid to the states under a block grant program.
The PAC spending is part of a larger effort to elect members of Congress who support causes that the AAOS supports, but for Dr. Weinstein, it's also part of an effort to get AAOS members off the sidelines and involved in politics where they can make a difference.
Too often, physicians have been "sideline players" and haven't recognized the importance of being active in politics, Dr. Weinstein said. Their involvement is necessary to ensure access to care and help decrease cost and improve quality.
"We have no chance of achieving our health policy advocacy agenda without a seat at the table among members of Congress, and to have that seat requires a robust PAC," Dr. Weinstein, a former president of the AAOS, said when he was given a leadership award by the AAOS last year.
For the most part, the congressional agenda for the AAOS reflects the thinking of many specialty medical societies. A top priority is to repeal and replace the Medicare sustainable growth rate formula that each year threatens to slash physician reimbursements and each year is deferred by Congress. Another top priority is medical malpractice reform.
Predictability in reimbursement and expenses are crucial to physicians, particularly those in private practices who must budget to upgrade equipment and purchase electronic health record systems, he said.
The AAOS is also among dozens of organizations, many representing medical specialty societies, who are complaining about a provision in the Affordable Care Act that creates the Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board. The board, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, is charged with developing measures to control the growth in Medicare spending. These can be overturned by Congress, but only if Congress comes up with equivalent savings.
"It's a group of unelected, unaccountable individuals who make decisions that affect payments for physicians but not hospitals," Dr. Weinstein said. "It needs to be repealed."
Also on the agenda for the AAOS is research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Musculoskeletal disorders affect one half of all Americans, yet they are addressed with only 2% of the NIH research budget, Dr. Weinstein said. "We will use our advocacy dollars to make members aware of what this means to the health of Americans."
For 3 Election Cycles, AAOS Has Led the Fundraising Pack
When Stuart Weinstein, MD, took over as chair of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Political Action Committee (PAC) 2 election cycles ago, his goal was to make it the best funded of all US medical society PACs. He achieved that goal in 2008, and today it remains at the top of the list of medical society PACs.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the AAOS in this cycle had PAC spending of almost $1.469 million, most of it to candidates for the US House and Senate. That sum will undoubtedly increase before voters go to the polls on November 6, according to Dr. Weinstein, a professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City.
Only 2 organizations, neither of them physician medical societies, had spent more.
The Center has the partisan split for the money at 75%/25% in favor of the Republicans, but Dr. Weinstein disputes that figure and projects that it will probably be 60%/40% in favor of the Republicans when the final tally is in. In 2009, the PAC gave more money to Democrats than it did to Republicans, he said.
|
|
|
Stuart Weinstein, MD |
This year's edge to Republican candidates dovetails with orthopedic surgeons' responses to a recent survey conducted by Medscape. Although the sample was small, they favored Governor Mitt Romney over President Obama by 56%/42%. They also favored Romney running mate Representative Paul Ryan's "premium support" Medicare plan by 50%/44% but were evenly split on Mr. Ryan's plan to shift responsibility for Medicaid to the states under a block grant program.
The PAC spending is part of a larger effort to elect members of Congress who support causes that the AAOS supports, but for Dr. Weinstein, it's also part of an effort to get AAOS members off the sidelines and involved in politics where they can make a difference.
Moving Off of the Sidelines
Too often, physicians have been "sideline players" and haven't recognized the importance of being active in politics, Dr. Weinstein said. Their involvement is necessary to ensure access to care and help decrease cost and improve quality.
"We have no chance of achieving our health policy advocacy agenda without a seat at the table among members of Congress, and to have that seat requires a robust PAC," Dr. Weinstein, a former president of the AAOS, said when he was given a leadership award by the AAOS last year.
For the most part, the congressional agenda for the AAOS reflects the thinking of many specialty medical societies. A top priority is to repeal and replace the Medicare sustainable growth rate formula that each year threatens to slash physician reimbursements and each year is deferred by Congress. Another top priority is medical malpractice reform.
Predictability in reimbursement and expenses are crucial to physicians, particularly those in private practices who must budget to upgrade equipment and purchase electronic health record systems, he said.
The AAOS is also among dozens of organizations, many representing medical specialty societies, who are complaining about a provision in the Affordable Care Act that creates the Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board. The board, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, is charged with developing measures to control the growth in Medicare spending. These can be overturned by Congress, but only if Congress comes up with equivalent savings.
"It's a group of unelected, unaccountable individuals who make decisions that affect payments for physicians but not hospitals," Dr. Weinstein said. "It needs to be repealed."
Also on the agenda for the AAOS is research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Musculoskeletal disorders affect one half of all Americans, yet they are addressed with only 2% of the NIH research budget, Dr. Weinstein said. "We will use our advocacy dollars to make members aware of what this means to the health of Americans."