AAFP Advocacy

The Illinois chapter works alongside AAFP to advance our issues directly with the Illinois Congressional Delegation, to ensure they hear directly from the doctor who care for their Constituents.

Link to the AAFP Fighting for Family Medicine landing page.  Click here for the AAFP Speak Out center to email lawmakers on current issues important to family medicine.

Supporting Teaching Health Centers - IAFP Alternate Delegate to AAFP, Santina Wheat, MD participated in a Congressional Briefing on Feb. 18, 2020 to urge re-authorization and stability of the Teaching Health Center program. Read her remarks.  Dr. Wheat and THC resident Kevin Volkema, DO appeared live on WBEZ radio Feb. 26 to talk about the value of THCs to the community and workforce.  Read the Letter to the Editor published in the Chicago Sun-Times
Funding for Teaching Health Centers

ACP Vision – don’t settle for the status quo: On January 21, 2020, the American College of Physicians (ACP) released an expansive collection of new policy statements on health care coverage, health care financing, delivery system and payment reform and the social determinants of health.  Better Is Possible: The American College of Physicians’ Vision for the U.S. Health Care System. In response, AAFP released talking points  (IAFP member login required) outlining AAFP policy.

AAFP's In The Trenches: Here's How We're Battling Administrative Burden  "It is well established that administrative burden is directly associated with the growing professional dissatisfaction among family physicians. What is often overlooked are the loss of productivity and economic costs associated with administrative burden.... On average, providers spent almost $11 per transaction to conduct a prior authorization manually and nearly $4 using a web portal." MedPage Today’s recent article Insurers, CMS Seek to Ease Prior Authorizations (free registration required) highlights efforts to simplify the process.

MACRA Playbook: Making Sense of MACRA - AAFP's guide to navigating the MIPS path. 

The State of Primary Care in the United States: A Chartbook of Facts and Statistics

Supporting Illinois Congressional Candidates via AAFP FamMedPAC.  Illinois AFP past president Ellen S. Brull, MD is on the AAFP FamMedPAC Board of Directors. Learn more and  Contribute today!

Federal Advocacy Resources 

American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians  
Kaiser State Health Facts
Society of Teachers of Family Medicine 

U.S. Congress
House of Representatives
Senate