American Gastroenterological Association President Sheila Crowe, MD, spent the day on Capitol Hill meeting with eight legislators to advocate for issues important to the association.
Here's what you should know:
1. Dr. Crowe spoke about a number of issues including increasing funding for the National Institutes of Health and for biomedical research as well as supporting the Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act and Restoring the Patient's Voice Act.
2. On increasing NIH funding, Dr. Crowe said the eight legislators she met with were supportive of the idea. The respective chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said legislators are close to approving a deal to increase budget caps, which would allow for increased NIH funding.
3. Dr. Crowe said the Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act continues to have wide bipartisan support in both legislative branches. The act seeks to fix the coinsurance issue where Medicare beneficiaries are charged when a screening colonoscopy becomes therapeutic.
4. On the Restoring the Patient's Voice Act, Dr. Crowe advocated for the implementation of a "fair and equitable appeals process" for when step therapy is proposed. She hopes the process would provide common sense exceptions for a physician to appeal the use of step therapy. Step therapy protocol can have adverse effects on a patient's health.
5. Dr. Crowe also met with Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., on the Food is Medicine Working Group. The group is attempting to regulate costs related to hunger, while examining the importance of nutrition when treating chronic illness or disease.
Read more about the issues here.