AGA is a longtime member of the Alliance for Specialty Medicine, a coalition that represents specialty physicians, and we often partner to advocate on shared areas of interest, such as prior authorization reform and Medicare payment reimbursement, which impact patients across medicine.
Last week, we joined our partners in specialty medicine to attend the Alliance’s annual fly-in on Capitol Hill. AGA members Drs. Neil Gupta, Rajiv Bhuta and Yamini Natarajan participated on behalf of GI and met with their state’s lawmakers to discuss key issues that impact you and your patients.
AGA government affairs committee member Dr. Neil Gupta was a first-time advocate and drew on his experience as a private practice gastroenterologist during his meetings with Indiana lawmakers.
Dr. Gupta emphasized the need for Medicare payment stability, which keeps practices afloat and helps provide other outpatient services that are convenient for patients and more cost effective overall.
He also spoke of a close friend with Crohn’s disease who suffered a colostomy due to a medication delay because the insurer did not process repeat prior authorization requests. This drives home the need for prior authorization and step therapy reform to give decision-making power back to physicians, not insurers.
In addition to productive in-person meetings with congressional offices, AGA members had the opportunity to meet and hear from members of Congress who have championed GI priorities, including Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-IN) and Jim McGovern (D-MA).
