Following 145 meetings with congressional offices on the CAP’s annual Hill Day, several legislators agreed to cosponsor legislation that pathologists specifically asked their representatives and senators to support. The positive response to pathologists lobbying their lawmakers was just another example of a successful 2023 Pathologists Leadership Summit in Washington, DC.

“Being constituents to these representatives and senators in Congress when we go to Capitol Hill is a big deal and what we have to say really resonates with them,” said CAP President-elect Don Karcher, MD, FCAP. “All of us have tremendous sway because we are their constituents, and they do listen to us.”

The CAP’s lobbying on Hill Day yielded nine cosponsors to legislation concerning the specialty. Two members of Congress agreed to cosponsor the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA), which would address pending Medicare cuts to clinical laboratory services, and another seven members agreed to cosponsor the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act, which would address physician workforce shortages. Pathologists also asked their legislators to support future legislative efforts to stop Medicare cuts to pathologists and other physician specialties.

Overall, the reception to advocacy by CAP members was favorable. For example, Dr. Karcher, along with Drs. Vidya Sathiyamoorthy and David Daniel, spoke with Rep. Jamie Raskin’s (D-MD) office about the CAP’s three asks of Congress and he followed-up with the staff legislative director after Hill Day. Dr. Karcher expressed his appreciation for taking the time to meet with his group and for listening to their concerns. He again asked for the congressman’s support for SALSA, the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act, and efforts to stop the Medicare payment cuts to pathology services. During the meeting, Dr. Karcher and his colleagues emphasized the impact of payment cuts and how cuts affect pathology practices in rural communities and health care shortage areas like in the city of Baltimore. Payment cuts and shortages of physicians in the workforce pipeline make recruiting pathologists to communities throughout the state much more difficult.

Dr. Karcher had also noted that Rep. Raskin had cosponsored the previous version of the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act and suggested it would be helpful if he could cosponsor the bill again as it was recently reintroduced.

A couple weeks later, the legislative director thanked Dr. Karcher for the follow-up and let him know that Rep. Raskin agreed to cosponsor the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act again.

“We didn’t have to change his mind on the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act but participating in the CAP’s Hill Day does have an impact on legislation and legislators,” Dr. Karcher said. “This is important work and I’m hopeful more and more CAP members will get involved.”