Orlando PA Students Lobby on Capitol Hill

NSU-Orlando physician assistants students Amanda Maxwell (left) and Jennifer Tra lobbied Capitol Hill on several physician assistants issues.

Amanda Maxwell, class president of the Physician Assistants Society - Orlando, and classmate Jennifer Tra, cultural diversity officer, attended the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) Adventures in Lobbying, A Day on Capitol Hill. Their mission was to lobby several PA issues and ask for support from our Florida state senators and representatives. The conference started with a half day of lectures dedicated to learning the issues and how to lobby or “ask” for support form the senators and representatives.
 
The first bill was the House of Representatives bill 1178, the Physician Assistants Continuity of Care Act, which amends the 1997 Balanced Budget Act to allow PA’s to order home health, hospice and skilled nursing, as well as provide hospice care for Medicare beneficiaries. The second bill was bill 4651 and companion bill, Senate bill 1795, the Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act, which amends the Federal Employees Compensation Act to allow PA’s to diagnose and treat federal workers who are injured on the job.

Lobbyists spoke about the issue of restoring funding for the Title VII Health Professions Programs, which is used for PA scholarships. The goal is to have the funding back at the fiscal year 2005 funding level of $300 million. Over the last four years, the level of funding has dwindled all the way to the current status of $0 appropriated in the president’s fiscal year 2009 budget. Lastly, there were discussions of the House of Representatives 2790, which looks to optimize patient care and efficiently utilize PA’s in the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) by elevating the PA advisor to a full-time director of PA services in the VA Central Office. Currently, the position is a part-time advisor; the hope is that this change will ensure there is a PA available to provide guidance on the appropriate utilization of PA’s within the VA.

Fellow Floridians in attendance were: Eric Smith PA-C, FAPA president; Marc McCullaum PA-C, FAPA president-elect; Mary Ettari PA-C, AAPA immediate-past president; Sandra Fantauzzi PA-C, FAPA secretary; and Jeff Johnson PA-C.