ISMA’s AMA delegation was on hand when Indiana 8th District Rep. Larry Bucshon, MD, received the Outstanding United States Representative award from the AMA during the 2024 National Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 13.

Rep. Bucshon, who announced on Jan. 8 that he’s retiring following the 2024 session, was a practicing surgeon specializing in cardiothoracic surgery before his election to Congress in 2010. The AMA described Rep. Bucshon as “a champion for advancing health care reforms that will give patients and their physicians the freedom to make their own health care decisions as opposed to Washington bureaucrats.” The AMA recognized Rep. Bucshon as a leader in the fight to end the opioid epidemic, and emphasized he was one of eight lawmakers recognized by the Coalition to Stop Opioid Overdose in 2016 for his work on the issue.

Rep. Bucshon currently serves as a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has broad jurisdiction over the nation’s energy, health care, telecommunications, and consumer product safety policies, as well as on the committee’s Health Subcommittee and Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee.