See What the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Federal Advocacy Team Has Been Working On.
AAFP Welcomes New President & Board Members
On October 27, 2023, Steven P. Furr, MD, FAAFP, a family physician in Jackson, Alabama, was installed as the new AAFP president.
“The AAFP has been a cornerstone in my family medicine career—one that has helped me gain immeasurable knowledge, experiences and the ability to connect with family physicians across the country. During a time where the health care landscape is changing rapidly, we need family physicians as local, state and national leaders who are willing to do the hard but exciting work of improving our health care system for all. I look forward to each of us making that kind of difference during my time as president.”
– Steven Furr, MD, FAAFP
The AAFP also welcomed new board members to its 2023-2024 board of directors.
AAFP Responds to 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule
“The AAFP applauds CMS (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) for finalizing new policies in the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule to better support access to high-quality care, including the full implementation of the G2211 Medicare add-on code. However, the finalized reduction to the Medicare conversion factor will result in untenable payment cuts for family physicians and reiterates the urgent need for long-term Medicare payment reform.”
-Steven Furr, MD, FAAFP
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON:
- The AAFP released a statement, stressing the urgent need for long-term Medicare payment reform. Practices across specialties report challenges meeting growing patient needs as practice costs rise and annual, compounding Medicare payment cuts undermine practice viability and patient access.
- The AAFP continues to call on Congress to end unsustainable physician payment cuts by enacting an annual inflationary update, reforming arbitrary Medicare budget neutrality requirements and investing in community-based primary care.
- AAFP physician leaders recently engaged with policymakers on Capitol Hill to discuss how implementation of G2211 will improve patients’ access to primary care and other longitudinal services.
- AAFP President Steven Furr, MD, FAAFP, also testified before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on the importance of fine-tuning Medicare payment to best serve seniors and strengthen the program, including by increasing physician payment.
AAFP Supports Rule to End Sale of Menthol Cigarettes & All Flavored Cigars
There is clear evidence that flavored tobacco products, including menthol, are particularly addictive for young people. Family physicians know that eliminating menthol cigarettes will save lives and promote health equity among disproportionately affected communities.
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON:
- The AAFP joined the American Heart Association and 80 other health organizations in voicing “full support” for prohibiting menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars in a full-page Washington Post ad.
- The AAFP has long supported the proposed regulation to end the sale of menthol flavored cigarettes and all flavored cigars, and we continue to support the Food and Drug Administration in finalizing these regulations.
- The AAFP continues to call for the elimination of all flavors in electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS or e-cigarettes), including menthol and vendor-mixed flavors. The AAFP also supports an immediate reduction in the nicotine content of tobacco products to non-addictive levels.
- The AAFP has repeatedly called for additional research to assess e-cigarettes’ safety, quality and efficacy as potential cessation devices, but to date, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that e-cigarettes in general are effective for smoking cessation. This is especially true for flavored e-cigarettes.
AAFP Partners With Health Organizations to Release Educational Resources on Addiction
The AAFP joined the American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatrists and American Society of Addiction Medicine to develop resources to help raise awareness, increase understanding and combat the stigma associated with addiction and seeking treatment.
See the “Top 10 Things Physicians and the Public Should Know About Addiction.”
AAFP Weighs in on the Importance of Measuring Primary Care Spending
A standardized approach to measuring and reporting on primary care spending at the national level is a vital step toward meaningfully increasing our investment in primary care. Advancing a standardized approach to measurement will enable more states to measure and report on primary care spending, facilitate improvements in relevant data and provide policymakers and other stakeholders with actionable information to improve equitable access to primary care.
With support from the Milbank Memorial Fund and the Physicians Foundation, the AAFP’s Robert Graham Center developed and published a primary care scorecard which includes measurements of primary care spending in several states. While this represents an important measure of progress, the national survey data used for primary care spending in this scorecard are not available at the state level for all 50 states.
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON:
- In a letter to the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, the AAFP emphasized the urgent need for a standardized approach to measuring primary care spending at the national level, which should not be delayed in development of new consensus definitions or create new data sets.
For the latest policy updates impacting family medicine, follow AAFP Advocacy at @aafp_advocacy.
Post author: American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
