More than 200 orthopaedists and their spouses descended on Capitol Hill last month at this year’s National Orthopaedic Leadership Conference (NOLC) in Washington D.C. Participants included the Board of Councilors and other AAOS leaders, as well as representatives of state orthopaedic societies and several musculoskeletal specialty societies.
The theme of this year’s "Hill" visits was "Putting the Patient First." Participants discussed with their representatives the need for legislation to ensure that patients have:
Participants also talked to their representatives about the importance of passing H.R. 1304, The Quality Health Care Coalition Act, which would give physicians an exemption from anti-trust laws.
In addition, participants discussed the "hassle factors" that medical practices face in complying with the morass of Medicare administrative policies. They asked their representatives to encourage leaders in both the House and the Senate to hold hearings on the extent to which the Health Care Financing Administration’s actions are adversely affecting patient care and not reducing real fraud and abuse.
In addition to making Hill visits, NOLC participants also spent a full day being trained to interact more effectively with the media and to speak