As a family physician, you have a pivotal role in the health care system.
As your Academy, we want to equip you with the tools you need to advocate for your patients, practice and profession. We host advocacy events, provide legislative updates and share resources that help you take action on issues that matter to you most.
Advocacy Resources
Advocacy Events
Attend an advocacy event, open to ALL members unless otherwise indicated. (See upcoming dates.)
- MAFP Intro to Advocacy
- Legislative Lunch + Physicians’ Day at the Capitol
- MAFP Resolution Forum (formerly House of Delegates)
- AAFP Family Medicine Advocacy Summit (FMAS)
Advocacy 101
The MAFP created online modules, which each include a video, tips and links to additional resources, to support members as they advocate across different mediums and settings.
Topics include:
- Preparing for Legislative Visits
- Getting an Op-Ed Published
- Using Social Media for Advocacy
- Making an Advocacy Action Plan
- Setting MAFP Policy/Direction via Resolutions
Access MAFP Intro to Advocacy modules/resources »
The Society of Teachers of Family Medicine also offers free advocacy modules online.
Health Equity
The MAFP’s Health Equity Committee has assembled resources/tools to support family physicians in bridging gaps in patient care, promoting health equity and addressing racism, including a health equity lens tool, implicit bias training and more.
Legislative Action
- Track legislation in Minnesota and contact Minnesota legislators.
- Track and understand federal legislation impacting family medicine and state legislation impacting family medicine, thanks to the AAFP.
- Contact Jami Burbidge, MAFP COO, to arrange a meeting with your legislators.
Use Your Voice
- Social media is a quick, easy way to get the attention of your legislators, colleagues and others on issues that interest you. Follow the MAFP’s advocacy conversations on Twitter using the hashtag #MAFPAdvocacy.
- Letters to the editor are a great way for you to bring attention to an issue—they will be noticed by legislators and policymakers. Use this letter to the editor template to help you organize your ideas.
- Reach out directly to your legislators. Check out the AAFP Speak Out system, which helps you message legislators. It’s quick and easy!
Legislative Priorities
The Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) Legislative Committee utilizes resolutions adopted by members and input from MAFP leaders and other members to recommend legislative priorities each year to the MAFP Board of Directors. The Board approved the following priorities for 2024.
2024 Legislative Session: What to Expect
It is a non-budget year. The Minnesota Legislature convenes for the second year of the biennium (budget cycle) on February 12, 2024. Since it’s an even-numbered year, the legislative session is one month shorter than odd-numbered years. The legislature is required by the Minnesota Constitution to adjourn no later than May 20, 2024.
New spending is expected. Even though it is a non-budget year, the state is predicted to have another large budget surplus of approximately $2 billion, so some new spending is likely.
The Democrats maintain a majority in both bodies, but the margins are narrow. Currently, the Minnesota Senate has 34 Democrats and 33 Republicans, and the Minnesota House has 70 Democrats and 64 Republicans. 2024 is also an election year for all 134 members of the House. The Senate and Governor are not up for election until 2026.
2024 Legislative Priorities: Issues We’re Championing
Increase investment in primary care. Building on the momentum of expanded measurement of primary care investment and reporting from the 2023 legislative session, the MAFP will advocate for primary care to be central to all health care reform efforts and work towards increasing reimbursement and investment in primary care through Medicaid reimbursement rate increases and incremental primary care spending goals.
Expand and diversify the primary care workforce and pipeline. The MAFP supports efforts to increase opportunities for training family physicians in rural and underserved areas, specifically through rural residency training tracks, grants to support medical education and expansion of loan forgiveness programs.
Limit mid-year formulary changes and simplify prior authorization processes. Family physicians continue to be frustrated with disruptions to their clinical practices and patient care caused by mid-year formulary changes and prior authorizations. The MAFP supports legislation to address over-utilized prior authorization processes and limit mid-year formulary changes.
2024 Legislative Priorities: Issues We’re Collaborating On
The MAFP will work with partners to influence important issues impacting patients and family medicine, including the following:
- Harm reduction and decriminalization of drug use.
- Increased access to care and affordability of prescription drugs.
- Removal of slavery from the Minnesota constitution and penal system.
Take Action in 2024
The MAFP will continue to be a vital voice at the table in 2024, advocating for our patients, our communities and our profession. We need you involved in these conversations.
Access Our Advocacy Modules: Get quick tips, watch short videos and find links to additional resources to help you prepare for legislative visits, using social media for advocacy, getting an op-ed published and more.
Join Our Legislative Committee: Make recommendations to the MAFP Board of Directors for positions on legislative matters affecting family physicians and their patients. Interested? Email Jami Burbidge, MAM, at jami@mafp.org for more information.
Follow Us Online: We regularly post updates and share legislative calls to action across our social media channels and via our advocacy blog.
Questions about serving on the MAFP Board of Directors? Want to connect with current MAFP resident and student leaders? Contact us.
Working to Increase Investment in Primary Care
Primary care, when given the appropriate infrastructure and support, delivers better health, better care and lower costs. To achieve these positive outcomes, we need a primary care system in Minnesota that delivers care that is equitable, person-centered, team-based and community-aligned.
With that in mind, the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) and the Minnesota Department of Health have been convening a primary care stakeholder group since 2019 to work to identify the barriers and opportunities in Minnesota’s primary care system and develop recommendations. View the report, “Investing in Primary Care: A Path Forward.”
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need to increase investment in primary care, and we, at the MAFP, remain committed to advocating for financial support for primary care and improved health outcomes for Minnesotans at the legislature and beyond.
Resolution Forum
Resolutions: A powerful benefit of membership.
As a member, you can author resolutions that will help guide the work of the Academy in Minnesota and raise awareness of issues of importance to family medicine. Resolutions that are adopted may even make it to the AAFP Congress of Delegates to help guide policy at the national level.
Be a change agent for your patients, your colleagues and our specialty.
Your participation in the Resolution Forum helps the Academy work for you and provides opportunities for you to develop as a leader and advocate. Find out how you can engage in the work of the Academy through resolutions.
Advocacy Modules
The Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) has an Intro to Advocacy workshop for family physician, resident physician and medical student members to help equip them to advocate effectively for patients and family medicine. As part of the workshop, in 2023, the MAFP created five online modules to support members as they advocate across different mediums and settings.
