That’s why we gathered our leaders from across the United States in Washington, DC, to meet with congressional offices during our annual Advocacy Day.
GIs from California to Massachusetts and many states in between met with House and Senate offices to educate members of Congress and their staff about the most critical policy issues impacting you and your patients. In total, 28 states were represented and we attended more than 100 meetings in 64 different districts, which was a mix of both Republican and Democratic offices.
University of Miami
Dr. Maria T. Abreu
For the second year in a row, we were fortunate to be joined by GI patient advocates as well, who shared personal stories about the challenges they encountered in the health care system, and the negative effects to their well-being and quality of life because of red tape caused by prior authorization and step therapy.
The in-person advocacy of our members and patient advocates makes a difference. In one of AGA President Dr. Maria Abreu’s meetings, the congressional staffer remembered that he met with her, Dr. Mel Wilcox, and a patient advocate during 2023’s Advocacy Day and recounted the impact of their conversation about delays to timely access to care for inflammatory bowel disease medication.
Numerous GIs had similar experiences on Advocacy Day and recounted the benefits of being able to walk into House and Senate offices and educate congressional staff on the issues they’re experiencing in their clinic or lab.
Being able to start these conversations about health care and GI and build these relationships showcases the value of Advocacy Day, and demonstrates how AGA works with members to make it easy to advocate for the issues important to them. We were able to have a full day of constructive meetings with lawmakers and their staff thanks to members and patient advocates. Thank you for being engaged and using your voices to protect GI patient care!
