The American Gastroenterological Association traveled to Capitol Hill for the Alliance of Specialty Medicine's annual legislative conference held July 13 to July 15.
Here are five insights into the AGA's lobbying efforts.
1. AGA leadership Joel Brill, MD, AGAF; Michael Kochman, MD, AGAF; Peter Margolis, MD, AGAF and Sarah Streett, MD, thanked Congress for passing legislation to repeal the sustainable growth rate, according to the AGA report.
2. The AGA representatives pushed for legislators to continue overseeing the implementation of Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act.
3. The AGA leaders also discussed changes to Stage 3 of meaningful use. The GI society hopes to see new measures specific to specialty physicians.
4. The AGA members met with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician and member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. They discussed alternative payment models for common GI conditions and observation registries developed by the AGA Center for GI Technology and Innovation, according to the report.
5. Sen. Cassidy expressed support for the AGA's efforts in alternative payment models and observation registries.