From The Herald Times in Bloomington, IN
2013 Capitol Fly-In Program Ends on a High Note
September 19, 2013
ASCA members from 13 states met with their members of Congress on Capitol Hill yesterday for the final event of this year’s Capitol Fly-In Program. The largest Fly-In of the year consisted of more than 70 members who advocated on behalf of ASCs from Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Texas and West Virginia.
US Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), one of the lead cosponsors of the ASC Quality and Access Act of 2013, met with attendees for breakfast and spoke about the future of health care and thanked the participants for their involvement in advocating on behalf of the ASC community.
After breakfast, participants attended close to 80 meetings with their legislators and staff, educating them about ASCs and encouraging them to become cosponsors of the ASC Quality and Access Act of 2013. Participants also asked their members of Congress to support the Removing Barriers to Colorectal Screening Act of 2013 and the Electronic Health Records Improvement Act of 2013.
This week alone, five new cosponsors have signed on to the ASC Quality and Access Act of 2013, bringing the total number of cosponsors to 33 in the House of Representatives and seven in the Senate.
US Representatives Kay Granger (R-TX), Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Bill Johnson (R-OH), Doug Lamborn (R-CO) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) are the latest legislators to stand with the ASC community to ensure that we can continue to provide high-quality care to patients across the country.