NeurosurgeryPAC – Makes Its Mark in 2006 Elections

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More than 30 years ago, the AANS realized that the decisions made by Congress have a profound effect on neurosurgeons, their patients and their practices. For some of the most important issues facing neurosurgeons, including the need for medical liability reform, stabilization of reimbursement rates, pay-for-performance, clarification of emergency on-call requirements and increased research funding, the road leads through Washington, D.C. Like it or not, federal policymakers have a huge impact on how we practice, when we practice, and what we get paid to practice. And this influence is only growing.

To maximize our effectiveness, the AANS added another tool to its advocacy arsenal: a political action committee. Established in August 2005, NeurosurgeryPAC is a nonpartisan political action committee, which does not base its decisions on party affiliation, but instead focuses on the voting records, official positions and campaign pledges of the candidates. Simply put, NeurosurgeryPAC supports candidates for federal office who support neurosurgery’s advocacy goals.

Considering that NeurosurgeryPAC was created just over one year in advance of the November 2006 elections, we did fairly well with our limited fundraising efforts. As a result of direct mail, telephone solicitations and personal requests at the AANS Annual Meeting, 404 neurosurgeons contributed $313,540. Special thanks to those AANS members who made one or more contributions.

On the giving side, the NeurosurgeryPAC Board approved contributions totaling $184,795.50 to 40 candidates and one leadership PAC, with 87 percent of the funds supporting Republican candidates and 13 percent going to Democratic candidates. These contributions were based solely on the candidates’ positions on neurosurgery’s priority issues: Medicare reimbursement, medical liability reform and improving access to emergency neurosurgical services. Of the 38 candidates who ran for election or reelection, 29 won their races and nine lost, for a win/loss ratio of 76 percent to 24 percent. One candidate retired and another was not up for reelection in this cycle. Candidates receiving NeurosurgeryPAC support and their election results are shown in the table.

With the Democrats taking over both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, major changes are afoot. Although it is too early to tell what effect these changes will have on physicians, NeurosurgeryPAC will continue to support candidates who embrace neurosurgery’s positions on key issues. High priority issues for the 110th Congress including preventing a 10 percent cut in Medicare reimbursement for 2008, passing a permanent fix to the Medicare physician payment formula problem, repealing (or significantly modifying) the quality/pay-for-performance provisions that were included in the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, and promoting legislation that will improve on-call requirements and access to emergency neurosurgical services. While organized neurosurgery will continue to press for federal medical liability reform legislation, given the makeup of the new Congress, finding a bipartisan solution to this vexing problem will be a challenge — although we will not give up this fight.

Gary M. Bloomgarden, MD, is chair of NeurosurgeryPAC. Katie O. Orrico, JD, [email protected] or (202) 628-2072, is director of the AANS/CNS Washington office. NeurosurgeryPAC, www.aans.org/legislative/aans/neurosurgerypac.asp.

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