ASCRS News: Government Relations Update
Winter 2024

by Parag Parekh, MD, MPA
ASCRS Government Relations Committee Chair

During the most recent Congress, there have been a number of key issues that ASCRS Government Relations has brought to your attention through our action alerts, and you, our members, have helped us by reaching out to your members of Congress to emphasize how important these issues are.

This underscores the importance of our grassroots and advocacy efforts and why the ASCRS political action committee, eyePAC, needs your support to fight for our profession and our doctors. 

“ASCRS plays a vital role in shaping healthcare legislation and policy at the federal level to advocate for our patients and our member doctors’ practices in Washington, D.C.,” said ASCRS President Vance Thompson, MD. 

The recent election brings a new Congress, and with these changes come new senators and representatives who need us to educate them on our issues and the specialty of ophthalmology. 

To do this, we need your support, through donations to eyePAC. Your support has helped us raise more than $230,000 in the 2024 election cycle, but we need to redouble our efforts to ensure our voices are being heard and that we continue to have a seat at the table.  

While we’ve made strides in several areas, like ensuring MIGS continues to be covered, there is much more work to be done, and ASCRS Government Relations is committed to advocating for our members. Medicare reimbursement remains a top priority. With a new Congress, we must educate and continue to amplify our message for the need for inflation updates for providers and the need for an overhaul of the Medicare reimbursement structure. We also need to educate members of Congress on the administrative burdens we face every day, including challenges with quality reporting and prior authorizations. 

The lobbying efforts by hospitals and insurance companies have resulted in major gains in both decision-making power and profit margins, said Cristos Ifantides, MD, adding that these gains have been at the expense of physician autonomy and physician reimbursement. Dr. Ifantides serves as the ASCRS YES Clinical Committee liaison to the ASCRS Government Relations Committee. “As physicians, we continue to be the sole drivers of revenue for hospitals and practices, and yet there has never been a time in history when we have had less decision-making power. It would be wise to take a lesson from their playbook and support eyePAC and the ASCRS Government Relations Committee. Otherwise, we should continue to expect physician control to decline and with it, our resources and reimbursement,” he said. In addition, it is important for young physicians to get involved with eyePAC early in their careers and stay involved as they progress in the field of ophthalmology.

eyePAC is a vital tool to reach members of Congress and helps us support those members of Congress who support ophthalmology. 

Contact 

Parekh: parag2020@gmail.com