The SVS Political Action Committee (PAC) is critically important for our voices to be heard in the places where policies that affect all of our practices are being made. The PAC’s role is one of advocacy and influence—to educate Congress on the important policies and referendums that can have a direct effect on our patients and our practices.
The PAC is working diligently to move our voice forward by attending virtual Town Halls and stressing the importance of vascular surgery in the care of our patients.
PAC members attended a virtual event with U.S. Reps. Larry Bucshon MD (R-IN) and Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), both members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the subcommittee on Health.
The subcommittee oversees many aspects of policy that affect our lives, including public (Medicare, Medicaid) and private health insurance; medical malpractice and medical malpractice insurance; public health and quarantine; hospital construction; biomedical research and development; health information technology; privacy; the Department of Health and Human Services; the National Institutes of Health; the Centers for Disease Control; and the Indian Health Service. The committee also oversees other aspects of health policy.
The SVS PAC works to promote vascular surgeons and ensure that SVS members have access to U.S. representatives and senators in order to discuss issues that have a major impact on members and their practices.
As we all look forward to the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) this August, we want to remind you to donate before May 31 to be recognized at the conference. All members who will have donated between April 1, 2020, and May 31, 2021, will be recognized at VAM on signs.
The regional society with the highest percentage of members who donate during that timeframe will be recognized at VAM at the Annual Business Meeting, and its name added to the SVS Regional Society plaque.
Office practices whose members all give during that timeframe will be recognized at the meeting. We really do need to get our voices heard and understood.
Please donate to the PAC and be recognized for being a part of the force to improve our ability to care for our patients in the most effective and efficient way—one we all know that we can do with the proper practice environment.
Vivienne Halpern, MD, is a member of the PAC Steering Committee.
