American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
LIAISON REPORT
Date:
April 9, 2010
To:
AACN Board of Directors
Justine Medina, Director of Professional Practice and Education
Susan Flynn, Senior Practice Associate
From:
John J Whitcomb, Ph.D., RN, CCRN
Director, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
Director, Certification Corporation
AACN
Liaisons to: American College of Chest Physicians Capitol Hill Caucus
March 8-9, 2010
Washington, DC
1. Description of Group and Purpose
Thank you for the opportunity to represent AACN at this meeting.
The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) held its 17th “Annual ACCP Capitol Hill
Caucus” to provide education about the priority public policies currently affecting chest medicine,
and to provide attendees with strategies to positively impact these policies. Participants had the
opportunity to discuss these issues with political insiders, including their own Senators and
Representatives.
The issues this year were focused around three key topics. These were: the Critical Care
Workforce shortage, abolishing the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula for Medicare, and
recognition of the Year of the Lung.
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Critical Care Workforce Shortage: The ACCP, along with the Critical Care Workforce
Partnership (CCWP), are working to re-introduce The Patient-Focused Critical Care
Enhancement Act in both the House and the Senate ((H.R 1581 and S.1020). This bill
was introduced initially to both groups in 2007and did not make it out of committee. This
bill will fund research in standardization, staffing patterns, and coordinated community
and regional approaches to providing critical care services. The legislation also will fund
development of innovative approaches to critical care, through the use of telemedicine in
rural inpatient critical care settings, and will seek to increase the supply of critical care
physicians, nurses and allied professionals through National Health Service Corps Loan
Repayment Programs.
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Abolishing the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula for Medicare: Under the
Senate proposal, current Medicare physician payment rates would be extended through
September 30, delaying for 7 months the 21% cut scheduled to take effect March 1. This
reprieve has been portrayed as a compromise between senators who want to implement
a routine 1-year payment fix through the end of the year and others who seek another
short bridge period to provide still more time for Congress to repeal the SGR formula.
The short-term approaches used in the past to stop imminent cuts have only made future
cuts steeper and increased the cost of permanent physician payment reform. If Congress
had fixed the problem in 2005, when physicians faced cuts of about 3.3%, the cost of
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
Liaison Report
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permanent reform would have been about $49 billion. Instead, physicians now face a
21% cut, and the cost of reform has skyrocketed to more than $200 billion.
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Resolutions Submitted for 2010: The Year of the Lung in Both the House and
Senate: On February 26, 2010, US Representative John Lewis (D-GA-5) submitted
a resolution, H Res 1122, supporting the goals and ideals of 2010: The Year of the Lung.
Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), FCCP(Hon), submitted a
similar resolution, S Res 432, on March 3.
The main objectives of the 2010: The Year of the Lung campaign include the following:
Increase awareness of lung health and initiate action in communities in the United States
and around the world for policy action to combat lung disease.
Reinforce the need to provide increased resources for basic and clinical research to
improve patient care and quality of life.
Convey the message that most respiratory diseases are treatable, but prevention is
highly cost-effective.
Spread the message that clean indoor and outdoor air is a fundamental human right and
should be recognized as such.
Participants were educated regarding these issues and were taught techniques for advocating
with elected officials and their staff. Additionally, appointments were arranged by ACCP staff with
each of the participants’ Senators and Representatives to discuss the issues. There were 78
participants at the meeting.
This is intended as an introduction to advocacy as well as an opportunity to build on previous
knowledge and skills. The participants were encouraged to extend their efforts beyond the
meeting, and to continue to serve as a resource to elected officials at home.
2. Meeting Discussion and Outcomes
The two-day meeting is summarized below.
Day 1: March 8, 2010, the Fairfax Embassy Row
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Welcome provided by Kalpalatha K Guntupalli, MD, FCCP, ACCP President, Introduction of
Atul Grover, MD, FCCP
Health System Reform and the Pulmonary Critical Care Workforce Crisis, Atul Grover, MD,
FCCP, Chief Advocacy Officer, Association of American Colleges
Introductions and Caucus Overview- Irwin M. Berlin, Chair, Government Relations Committee
Hill Topics and Talking Points- Michael Gaba, Esq., ACCP Legislative Counsel, Holland &
Knight
Health System Reform Legislation Overview-Richard Deem, Senior VP, Advocacy, American
Medical Association
Elimination of Consultation Codes-A Strategy Discussion-Ellen Riker, Senior Policy Advisor,
Holland & Knight
Advocacy Keynote/Training-Stephanie D. Vance, “The Advocacy Guru” Advocacy
Associates, LLC
Dinner Speaker-David Hunt, MD, FACS, Chief Medical Officer, Office of the National
Coordinator for Health Information Technology
Day 2: March 9, 2009, Russell Senate Office Building, Russell Caucus Room and Capitol Hill
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Liaison Report
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Presentations were done in the Russell Caucus Rom Building by several members of
Congress. They were focused around the topic Health System Reform-Moving Forward.
The afternoon was spent visiting the offices of Senators and Representatives from our
respective homes. Each participant went on 2-3 visits to lobby legislators for co-sponsorship
of the Bills and Resolution described in Section 1.
3. Implications for AACN
This was a wonderful opportunity for learning, for networking, and for collaboration with ACCP.
AACN was the only professional nursing association represented at the Caucus.
Looking for opportunities to expand on these Caucus experiences would have potential
implications for AACN. The opportunity exists to form relationships over time with legislators and
continue advocacy on healthcare issues far beyond this single experience. The education and
experiences were a compelling introduction to the skills and potential of this work. Adapting this
training to make it available to our members would facilitate their ability to engage their legislators
and have meaningful impact at state and national levels.
4. Future Meetings
Spring, 2011
Washington, DC