- Star Grassroots Advocates
- During the August congressional recess, Frostburg State University Program Director Beth Smolko, DMSc, PA-C, hosted a program visit by Congressman David Trone (D-MD). In February, Trone founded the Freshman Working Group on Addiction and spoke with the Frostburg PA students on the importance of the contributions of the PA workforce in combatting the opioid epidemic.
- Advancing PAEA’s Advocacy Agenda
- In response to the release of the CY 2020 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule, PAEA launched a grassroots comment campaign urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to finalize its proposal liberalizing restrictions on the use of student documentation. As of late August, over 600 comments have been submitted in support of the proposal.
- In late August, PAEA’s Government Relations staff and other members of the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition met with representatives from the Office of Management and Budget to emphasize the critical need for investments in Title VII workforce investments in advance of the release of the Trump administration’s FY 2021 budget.
- Health Care News in Washington
- Throughout the August recess, the staff of the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations subcommittee continued work on its FY 2020 funding bill in advance of the end of FY 2019 on September 30.
- In mid-August, the House Energy and Commerce Committee launched an inquiry into the business practices of e-cigarette manufacturers and their related health implications.
- Opportunities for Action
- On July 29, CMS released a proposed rule which would allow all preceptors to verify, rather than re-perform, student-provided documentation in the medical record for billing purposes. If you have not already done so, we urge you to submit a comment to the agency in support of this proposal by the deadline of September 27.
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