Fifty-five American Gastroenterological Association members attended 79 congressional meetings as part of AGA Advocacy Day last week.
Here's what you should know:
1. AGA members lobbied legislators over three key issues:
- Continuing the ACA or developing a bill with patients' best interests in mind.
- Eliminating the therapeutic label for colonoscopies for cancer screening. The label leaves patients with large copays.
- Increasing funding for the National Institutes of Health.
2. The AGA encourages all its members to get involved in advocacy.
3. The AGA listed several reasons why advocacy is important. Those include:
- Your voice matters
- Being consistent gets your foot in the door
- You're indirectly connecting with decision-makers
- Others could be advocating against you on the same issues
- It's rewarding
- It's a critical time to take action
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