Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has replaced the annual Family Medicine Advocacy Summit with the first-ever remote “Week of Action,” which began June 1, to advocate for family medicine in Congress. How family medicine responds to the COVID-19 pandemic will shape primary care and our health care system for years to come, and it is crucial that Congress get it right by supporting you, your practice, and your patients. Take as many actions as you can to raise family medicine’s voice.
What’s the Academy advocating for?
We need Congress to help put primary care on a sustainable path to ensure the health of our communities. Near-term financial stability will be the difference between being there for patients or practices closing. But the work won’t stop there. The system must properly resource primary care to preserve the incredible strides that have been made in chronic-care management and prevention. In addition, this pandemic has identified the limits of a purely fee-for-service structure. Now we have the opportunity to design a better future for primary care. Stabilize. Strengthen. Sustain.
- Stabilize — near-term financial relief for family physicians: Video, Talking Points, Backgrounder
- Strengthen — appropriate investment in primary care: Video, Talking Points, Backgrounder
- Sustain — a viable pathway to the future: Video, Talking Points, Backgrounder
How can you get involved?
- Request a meeting
Set up a phone call or a meeting with your member of Congress or his or her staff to advocate for our asks. View AAFP’s email for requesting a meeting and tips on how to have a productive meeting with your legislator. If you get a meeting, don’t forget to let the AAFP know how it went by filling out their form. - Send a video
Share your story in a 30-second video about the needs of primary care physicians on social media. Make sure to tag @AAFP and your member of Congress. View AAFP’s tips on taking a video, and look at examples from three AAFP leaders on how to Stabilize, Strengthen, and Sustain. - Speak out
Use your voice, your words, your story. We’ve made it easy for you by providing pre-written letters to Congress, but we encourage you to make your letter your own. Take action on all three opportunities here:
– Tell Congress to reinstate the Advance Payment program
– Tell your representative to ensure adequate resources to care for patients
– Tell Congress to facilitate primary care innovation - Tweet
Let’s get it trending. Use #StabilizeStrengthenSustain to tweet at your member of Congress and view AAFP’s tweet examples. - Tune in to AAFP’s Town Hall
All AAFP members are invited to join the virtual town hall on Wednesday, June 3, at 8 p.m. EDT to engage with special guests, Congressman Ami Bera, MD, and Congressman Phil Roe, MD, on the challenges and opportunities facing family medicine.
The AAFP wants to make it as easy for you as possible. Need your legislator’s information? Can’t access the materials? No problem, email grassroots@aafp.org.
Join us in taking action!