Sensing the urgent need for more face-to-face advocacy, particularly with members of Congress who serve on health care committees, are leaders and/or MDs, SVS members have donated more than $150,000 to the SVS PAC in the past 18 months. All of this money is used to attend campaign fundraisers for Congressional members and non-incumbent candidates who are supportive of our issues.
I want to sincerely thank SVS members who contributed, which included all SVS members of the following vascular surgery groups: Albany Vascular Group, NY; Michigan Vascular Center, New York University, and The Cardiovascular Care Group, NJ, along with many SVS leaders.
SVS PAC is the only PAC that exclusively supports vascular surgery issues. The PAC has been a catalyst for positive provisions in the health care reform law including no additional cuts to imaging and removal of barriers to AAA screening such as co-pays, at least a freeze on Medicare physician payments for the last eight years vs. cuts and being “at the table” for Medicare physician payment reform.
With the recent Supreme Court decision on health care reform, there is much more to be done. One of SVS’ priorities is the repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). The House has passed IPAB repeal, but now we must persuade Senators to support its version of this legislation.
Although I am encouraged that more members are contributing to the PAC, only 7 percent of SVS members are donors. As the new PAC Chair, I am asking the 93 percent who have not contributed to do so today by signing in at this link for online payment. Or mail your contribution with this printed form.
As I said on the video shown at the PAC booth during the Vascular Annual Meeting “I believe that supporting the SVS PAC is one of our professional duties and is an investment in the future of vascular surgery.”
