Legislative and Political Affairs

The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery believes that advocacy is the key to influencing the future and defining the specialty of otolaryngology and related policies. Advocacy also provides you the opportunity to educate your elected officials about what you do and the patients you serve.

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Federal Legislative Advocacy
Federal and State Elections
Advocacy Resources
Healthcare Reform Information
State Advocacy
Legislative Grassroots Advocacy
Advocacy Center via Surgery State Legislative Action Center
ENT Advocacy Network
The ENT Advocate
ENTPAC

Medicare Physician Payment Update (As of Tuesday, January 25, 2012, 10:00 a.m. EST)
In late December 2011, U.S. House and Senate leaders agreed on a compromise to pass year-end legislation that included a provision to halt (through February 29, 2012) the 27.4 percent cut in Medicare physician payments that was scheduled to take effect on January 1.

With both chambers of Congress now having returned to Washington, a bipartisan House/Senate Conference Committee is scheduled to begin negotiations on a longer-term package. The AAO-HNS Government Affairs team continues to closely monitor the situation on Capitol Hill and will alert Academy members as critical information becomes available. AAO-HNS members are encouraged to bookmark the Legislative and Political Affairs website for the latest news and updates.

AAO-HNS and over 100 health-related organizations sign letter urging bipartisan Conference Committee to permanently repeal the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula.

ACTION ALERT:Contact your federal legislators TODAY and tell them Congress MUST take action to halt the 27.4 percent Medicare physician payment cut scheduled for March 1, 2012.

NEW: Do you want to know if your Member of Congress supports various AAO-HNS federal legislative priorities? 

View the 112th Congressional "Scorecard"

ACTION ALERT: Contact your U.S. Representative TODAY and urge him/her to support clarity and transparency in healthcare advertisements!

Audiologists Direct Access to Medicare Patients:

• Over 115 national, state and local healthcare organizations join effort to oppose H.R. 2140, a bill that would inappropriately grant audiologists unlimited direct access to Medicare patients without a physician referral.

• ACTION ALERT: Act Now to Protect Patient Safety!
  Contact your U.S. Representative TODAY and urge him/her to oppose audiologists’ unlimited direct access to Medicare Patients!

• AAO-HNS Letter Opposing H.R. 2140, A Bill Seeking Unlimited Direct Access to Medicare Patients for Audiologists Without a Physician Referral!

AAO-HNS Legislative Priorities:

• AAO-HNS 2011 Federal Legislative Priorities
• AAO-HNS 2011 State Legislative Priorities

AAO-HNS Advocacy Center via Surgery State Legislative Action Center
The AAO-HNS Advocacy Center has been converted into the Surgery State Legislative Advocacy Center (SSLAC), a surgical coalition advocacy center hosted by the American College of Surgeons. SSLAC is not member password protected, thereby providing greater accessibility for our members' advocacy efforts. Visit SSLAC for all your advocacy needs, featuring: “Find Your Elected Officials,” all current AAO-HNS federal and state alerts, legislation searching capabilities, and election and media guides. The coalition advocacy center is shared between several surgical societies.(Please make sure your web browser and anti-virus software can accept "cookies" from capwiz.com. Settings can often be changed by clicking on Tools>Internet Options>Privacy.)

Join an Academy Network
Get involved at the federal, state, and local level by joining one of our networks. Learn more about the ENT Advocacy Network.