ACP encourages physicians to vote in ‘critical elections’ this year

Key takeaways:

• Historically, physicians have had a lower rate of voter turnout compared with the general population.
• ACP developed a toolkit to help physicians and their patients overcome barriers to voting.

BOSTON — “Now more than ever,” physicians need to consider the ways in which politics affect health care and how they practice medicine, Omar Atiq, MD, MACP, new president of the ACP, said during a press briefing.

“So much of how health care works in our country is determined by government action,” he said. “This year brings critical elections all over the country, locally and nationally. It’s important for us as ACP to voice our concerns and our beliefs and recommendations.”

According to Eileen Barrett, MD, MPH, MACP, chair of the ACP Board of Regents, physicians historically have had a lower voter turnout rate compared with the general population. Many physicians, she added, cite time and work restraints as barriers to voting.

“As physicians, we are constantly interacting with members of the public,” she said. “We see people in a wide range of circumstances and with a wide range of needs. It is important to make sure that our experiences and expertise are included in the body of voters in our elections.”

To help physicians overcome these barriers, ACP developed a toolkit on voter registration, which is available on the organization’s website. In addition to information for physician voters, the toolkit includes resources that physicians can use to help ensure their patients have equitable access to voting. On the site, physicians can find a link to a free badge from Vot-ER — a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization — that features a QR code patients can scan to check their voter registration status, register to vote, check their voter records and request mail-in ballots.

“The reason that voting is so important for physicians and our patients is because the ways in which the outcomes of our elections can impact health and health care across the country,” Shari Erickson, MPH, chief advocacy officer and senior vice president of Governmental Affairs and Public Policy at ACP, said.

Congress has failed to address many issues facing health care this year, Erickson said. In the first minibus appropriations bill, there was “some funding to partially alleviate the 3.4% cut in Medicare physician payments,” she said. Still, physicians are facing a “significant payment cut,” continuing a trend that has last for nearly 2 decades, Erickson said.

“Additionally, physicians are the only group that provides care to Medicare beneficiaries whose payments are not subject to an inflationary update,” she noted.

ACP is pursuing legislation that aims to tackle payment cuts, as well as other health care issues, Erickson said. These include a bill known as the Lower Cost, More Transparency Act, which would require pharmacy benefit managers to report information on spending, rebates and feeds; the Resident Education and Deferred Interest Act, which would defer interest accrual on federal loans while medical students are enrolled in residency programs; and the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act, which would let international physicians remain in the United States after completing their residency if they practice in areas with physician shortages.

“While election years can be quite challenging in terms of moving new legislation forward, we are optimistic that we can make some headway on our top-priority issues over the coming months,” Erickson said.