Meeting Outcomes
Participants converged on D.C. May 15 to meet each other and ACR staff, discuss these issues and undergo a few hours of advocacy training at a hotel just north of the Congressional buildings. That night, the conference also included an advocacy dinner featuring a speech by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
After breakfast on May 16, participants split into small groups divided by delegation and headed to the Hill. Most groups met with staff or leaders of at least a few Congressional offices over the next few hours. The final tally: 67 rheumatology leaders spoke with a combined 110 Congressional personnel. The ACR leaders represented the ACR’s Board of Directors, Affiliate Society Council, Government Affairs Committee, Committee on Rheumatologic Care, RheumPAC and the Insurance Subcommittee; they came from 31 states and D.C.
The Rheumatologist trailed the group from Pennsylvania. The crew included rheumatologists Ethan Craig, MD, MHS, University of Pennsylvania Division of Rheumatology (Philadelphia); Paul Killian, MD (Monroeville); and Jay Mehta, MD, MS, clinical director of pediatric rheumatology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and chair of the ACR’s Pediatric Rheumatology Special Committee. Donah Crawford, MA, a rheumatology patient and research coordinator with Arthritis Group Rheumatology of Philadelphia, completed the foursome.
They met inside a ballroom of the Hamilton Hotel at 8 that morning, with the men sporting suits and ties, and Ms. Crawford a business suit. After breakfast, they traveled to a Senate office building for their first meeting, with a staffer from Republican Senator Pat Toomey’s office. During the 15-minute ride, they expressed some doubt about their ability to influence Congress—particularly with so many other groups visiting lawmakers via similar events annually. “Maybe,” Ms. Crawford said, “this will be the time.”
The group met with Corey Ensslin, a legislative correspondent with Sen. Toomey’s office, for about 20 minutes, sitting at a long conference table headed by Mr. Ensslin in a well-lit room. Mr. Ensslin asked why more residents don’t specialize in pediatric rheumatology, promised to look into other issues and jotted notes in a notebook. After the meeting, as the group walked down a dimly lit marble hall toward its next meeting, Dr. Craig said he had also met with Mr. Ensslin in September. “He seems knowledgeable and interested,” Dr. Craig said.
Next, the group met with Megan Ruane, a legislative assistant with Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean. As light shined in through a window on this sunny day, Ms. Ruane noted her grandmother had recently suffered a broken hip. She listened intently, taking notes as the group spoke.
The group then met with Rachel Hugman, a senior legislative assistant with Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb. Ms. Hugman looked directly at Dr. Killian as he spoke, asking him to repeat the name and number of a bill he cited. She asked how there could be a shortage of rheumatologists in a large city like Pittsburgh (in Rep. Lamb’s district), noting she had also heard from other visitors about physician shortages and that her father had been a general practitioner in the small Texas town where she grew up. While the group later collectively noted they were disappointed they did not meet with Rep. Lamb himself, as planned, Ms. Hugman impressed them with her attentiveness and enthusiasm.
The foursome then walked a block and sat outside for lunch at a café, and finally met with a staffer from Democratic Sen. Bob Casey’s office.
