Each year all the Chapter’s send a volunteer to Washington DC to join in our federal activism day. This year on March 9th we were represented by two Activists: Alison Zellner and Sheryl Goodman, who were joined by Chapter and Home Office staff.
During visits with our Senators Udall and Bennett and Representatives: Diana DeGette, Jared Polis, Scott Tipton, Cory Gardner, Mike Coffman, Ed Perlmutter, Mike Enzi (Wyoming), John Barassao (Wyoming) and Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming) we had the opportunity to urge support on the following three priority issues: Medicare Neurologist Incentives, Adult Day Achievement Enhancement Centers, and MS Research in the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs.
Medicare Neurologist Incentive: The Affordable Care Act provides a 10 percent bonus to Medicare physicians who specialize in family medicine, internal medicine, geriatric medicine and have allowed charges for evaluation and management services that account for at least 60 percent of their total allowed charges. Neurology is the only group of physicians who are responsible for coordinating overall patient care that are left out of the incentive and at the PPC; MS activists sought to correct that inequity.
Adult Day Achievement Center Enhancement Act: MS activists will urge support of this legislation that would sustain and grow Adult Day programs by establishing a new grant program within the Administration on Aging that is specifically designed to support Adult Day programs targeting a younger population of people, such as those living with multiple sclerosis (MS) and similar diseases.
MS Research in the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP): MS activists have successfully advocated for a new federal funding avenue that has yielded approximately $13 million for MS research. At the PPC, MS activists requested robust appropriations for MS research in the CDMRP in Fiscal Year 2012.