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 Washington Fly-In On September 17 & 18, 2002, a delegation of representatives from the Polk County Medical Society traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with our Congressional Representatives to discuss important and relative issues affecting our patients, physicians and the nation as a whole. As in past trips we were given excellent access to our Senators and Congressman and met for an hour with both Senator Grassley and Senator Harkin. We also met with Dr. Ganske and Representative Boswell. All of our representatives in Congress admitted that very little was being accomplished due to the looming threat of war with Iraq and that it was difficult to bring forth or vote on any other legislation. Nonetheless our entire Washington delegation was working diligently on the issue of the cuts in our Medicare reimbursement rates. I believe we successfully lobbied our representatives and convinced them that this truly was an issue of access for our Medicare patients as apposed to a give back or financial windfall for physicians. We discussed in detail several bills both in the House and Senate that had been proposed and were being discussed in committee, but it was obvious that the chances of them being passed and signed into law was extremely slim. Our relationships remain strong with our Congressional Representatives and they do truly value our input. As Chairman for the Legislative Committee for Polk County Medical Society I would encourage each and every physician to take the time to contact their representatives not only when they are angry or upset, but just from time to time to let them know that we are interested an available for advice and consultation. The squeaky wheel does in fact get the grease in Washington and our legislators are bombarded by many interests that are contrary to the interests of the members of our Medical Society. I would also encourage you to take the time to come along on our trips to Washington. They will give you a fascinating insight into the inner workings of the government and just how influential a few folks from Iowa can be on issues that affect the nation.
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