ISMA physician leaders and staff removed their masks briefly for a photo with Gov. Eric Holcomb (center) during Physician Advocacy Week. From left: ISMA Executive Vice President Julie Reed, JD; President Elizabeth Struble, MD; Commission on Legislation member Carrie Davis, MD; and Vice President of Government Affairs John Ruckelshaus.

Today marks the end of formal activities for ISMA’s 2022 Physician Advocacy Week. Because the event was held virtually again this year, physicians, medical students and society staff from around the state were encouraged to take part in advocacy opportunities over multiple days on three key issues: prior authorization, tobacco taxation, and health care licensure transparency. Online action centers were created with talking points, fact sheets, pre-written emails, phone scripts and other advocacy tools to guide engagement with lawmakers.

“Our sincerest thanks to everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to email and call your legislators – and who took part in our virtual town hall event,” said John Ruckelshaus, ISMA vice president of government affairs.

The Government Relations team also organized a small gathering of members from the ISMA Commission on Legislation (COL) to share their input with key legislators regarding health care proposals still under consideration by the General Assembly. 

In addition, the COL advocates met briefly with Gov. Eric Holcomb and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch.

“While it’s unfortunate that circumstances prevented us from having a massive presence at the Statehouse, it’s still incredibly impactful for lawmakers to see and hear from organized medicine in one-on-one, face-to-face situations” Ruckelshaus added. “ISMA was well represented by our COL while ensuring everyone’s safety, given the ongoing COVID-19 surge.” 

ISMA Virtual Town Hall
More than 50 attendees participated in the online event on Feb. 9, which included formal remarks from state senators and representatives over Zoom, as well as a Q&A forum moderated by Ruckelshaus and Luke McNamee, ISMA deputy director of policy. 

Participating legislators from the Senate Health and Provider Services Committee and House Public Health Committee included Sen. Vaneta Becker, Sen. Kevin Boehnlein, Sen. Jean Breaux, Sen. Ed Charbonneau, Rep. Rita Fleming, Rep. Julie Olthoff and Rep. Donna Schaibley.

Discussion centered on topics that included health care transparency, nursing shortages and the quality of clinical training, tobacco taxation, infant mortality and Gov. Holcomb’s newly formed public health commission.

Next steps for advocacy efforts
Although Physician Advocacy Week has ended, deliberations on ISMA’s top legislative issues will continue until the General Assembly adjourns in early March. It’s critical for members to get involved by engaging with their lawmakers. There’s still time to make a difference and ensure the united voice of organized medicine is heard loud and clear. 

If you haven’t already, visit the ISMA Advocacy Action Center to learn more about the key issues – health care licensure transparency, prior authorization and tobacco taxation. Then, email and call your state senator and representative using the pre-written messages and phone scripts that are available.

Or, if you wish to connect with your legislators separately to share your own message, use IGA’s Find Your Legislator tool.

Have a question? Please contact us here.