An Update from the ACOI Government Affairs Committee Student Representative

During my time as the student representative for the ACOI Government Affairs Committee, I learned how to advocate for physicians on a government stage, as well as the importance of physician input on legislation. Every eight weeks, I would meet with other committee members to discuss federal policies and proposed bills that would impact physicians at every level of their training. Because these committee meetings could cover numerous diverse subjects, I grew in my understanding of the non-medical aspects of being a physician, such as the work Relative Value Unit (wRVU) and the major effects of minor changes to Medicare/Medicaid for both patients and physicians. In addition to attending committee meetings, I was given the opportunity to meet with U.S. Congressional members and their staff in order to discuss potential policies that would directly affect future opportunities for residents—specifically, the Fair Access In Residency (FAIR) Act.

Though not every topic I encountered directly applied to me as a medical student, I was deeply invested in our discussions regarding the FAIR Act, a bill with bipartisan support aimed at promoting transparency and equal treatment for both osteopathic and allopathic medical students during the residency application and match process. The FAIR Act calls for all Medicare-funded Graduate Medical Education residency programs to report the number of DO and MD students applying to their program as well as the number of DO and MD applicants who are accepted. This bill does not set quotas for residency programs to accept a certain number of applicants from each medical degree pathway, nor does it place unequivocal burdens on program administration. This bill would simply require every federally-funded residency program to demonstrate equal consideration for all applicants, regardless of osteopathic or allopathic medical education, by publicly reporting information that determines the future of every fourth-year medical student participating in the residency-match process. 

If this bill were to be passed into federal law, the consequence for any GME residency program that failed or refused to submit the required information to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for public release would be a two percent annual reduction in the federal funds they receive from the Medicare Indirect Medical Education clause.

I understand that, as medical students, we are faced with numerous standardized exams, unfathomable hours in hospitals and clinics, and the stress of residency interviews. But in the midst of all these challenges, I encourage my fellow medical students to actively participate in their own advocacy as students and future medical professionals. The most important thing I have learned while serving on the ACOI Government Affairs Committee is that we, as current and future physicians, have very few advocates on the political stage, especially in comparison to other medical entities like hospitals, pharmaceutical organizations, and insurance companies. I understand that after working 80+ hours per week in the hospital or spending the same number of hours studying in the library, political advocacy for physicians is likely not on the “to-do” list. However, if we do not advocate for our patients, for our field, and for ourselves by actively participating in policy formation and implementation, then we leave the future of medicine to individuals who do not understand the real issues in healthcare, and did not earn the title of "Doctor"—issues that one can only understand by being on the front lines of medicine.