Call Your Senator Now To Ensure Inclusion Of S 2175 (The VA Provider Act) In The Veterans First Act

I try to write about different topics from month to month to keep things fresh and exciting. Coming up with new ideas to write about is more challenging than one would guess. My prior two blogs covered the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Provider Equity Act, United States Senate bill S 2175. Unfortunately, this issue is not resolved and is in peril with a ticking clock. The immediacy of S 2175's future requires another blog on my part.

For reference, Representative Brad Wenstrup, DPM (R-OH) introduced the U.S. House bill known as the VA Provider Act, HR 3016, in the House of Representatives on July 9, 2015. All the physician members of the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee supported HR 3016 as original sponsors of the bill along with Rep. Wenstrup. Influential veterans groups such as the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled Veterans of America and the Paralyzed Veterans of America along with the Veterans Health Administration supported and testified on behalf of HR 3016 on July 14, 2015 before the U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health.

After merging more than a dozen pieces of legislation with our bill, the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee then passed the renamed Veterans Employment, Education and Healthcare Improvement Act (HR 3016) on Sept. 17. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced S 2175 in the Senate on October 8. The House passed HR 3016 on February 9, 2016 with overwhelming bipartisan support.

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), then debated two different VA omnibus bills, leading to a compromised version, titled the Veterans First Act, which came out of the committee. This legislation did not include S 2175 despite the monumental efforts of the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) and our legislative supporters (Rep. Wenstrup and Sen. Tester). More than likely the Senate will vote on the Veterans First Act before Memorial Day May 30.

There is still an opportunity to add S 2175 to the Veterans First Act but it requires APMA members and non-members to take action! Now, not tomorrow!

You may say, "I do not have anything to do with the VA so why should I care?" Good question but there is a simple answer. First, after more than a decade of fighting to recognize DPMs as physicians under Medicaid, the APMA is taking an alternative route to complete federal legislative equality by pursuing efforts to define podiatrists as physicians at all levels. American Podiatric Medical Association President Dan Davis, DPM, witnessed firsthand a private insurance payer using our lack of physician definition in Medicaid to pay DPMs less for the same services rendered in comparison to MDs and DOs. That is why this affects every DPM and why every DPM must engage.

What does “engage” mean exactly? It means calling your two state senators today. It is not as intimidating as it may seem if you remember they work for you. Call their Washington, D.C. offices. (You can find this information on the APMA eAdvocacy site at https://apmaeadvocacy.org .) I also recommend sending an email via the eAdvocacy site so you are making multiple contacts. When you call the office, ask for the senator's Veterans Affairs aide. Inform the aide that you are calling regarding S 2175 and you are specifically asking the senator to cosponsor the bill and get S 2175 added to the Veterans First Act. Inform the aide of the current cosponsors. Ask when you can follow up with another phone call.

If your senator will not cosponsor the bill, ask the reason. If you can provide an answer to the senator's concern, would the senator then agree to co-sponsor the bill? Then contact APMA's legislative department (advocacy@apma.org) for a rebuttal. Call your senator back, provide the rebuttal information and again ask for co-sponsorship. If the senator supports the legislation but won’t add his or her name as a cosponsor, then ask the senator to speak with Chairman Isakson and Ranking Member Blumenthal of the VA Committee to express support for adding the language of S 2175 to the Veterans First Act.

The clock is ticking on this and making these calls takes about 10 minutes. I called Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Dan Coats (R-IN) yesterday during my lunch, and I sent emails via the APMA eAdvocacy site.

Do you want parity and equal pay? If you do, quit expecting everybody else to do the heavy lifting and do your part now! Please!

The APMA legislative advocacy staff will continue its diligent lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., but success depends on your grassroots involvement. Members of Congress want and need to hear from actual constituents/voters to motivate them into action.