Why get involved?
Are you feeling like you have no control of the healthcare environment? Is the expertise of your profession helping shape the healthcare environment or are other forces shaping it for you? The answer is get involved and help shape the healthcare environment, otherwise, other forces in the industry will shape it for you.
According to Senator Ralph Alvarado, MD, FACP, Kentucky State Senate-District 28, and LMS Member, there are three ways to get involved in the political process: vote, support medicine-friendly candidates and communicate your views to them, or run for office. According to Senator Alvarado, “Physician activists help get physicians-friendly politicians elected, and they also can develop relationships with these politicians who move medicine’s agenda forward. Legislators crave our input, especially when it comes to medical bills. All to often, I have heard legislators complain that they did not ‘hear from the doctors’ on a certain issue. Only after they voted on something contrary to what we would want did they hear the complaints. By then, the law was enacted and it was ‘too late.’ (from Senator Alvarado’s article in the Winter, 2017 edition of the Kentucky Doc Magazine, click here to read the full article)
The LMS Legislative Network
LMS President Tuyen Tran, MD, has, as one of his 2018 initiatives, created the LMS Legislative Network. Dr. Tran states some objectives of the LMS Legislative Network “…include, but are not limited to, assigning physicians to talk to key legislators to favorably influence healthcare related issues, drafting resolutions which impact our practice and licensure, and partnering with our KMA colleagues to mitigate the regulatory burdens to our practice of medicine.” The LMS Legislative Network is focused on helping physicians communicate their views with their legislators.
We realize our physician members are very busy so the LMS Legislative Network focuses on connecting you virtually where you interact on your timeline. The LMS Legislative Network uses Basecamp 3, a cloud-based, closed, collaborative environment to keep members up-to-date, facilitate communication among your colleagues, and encourage communication to your legislators. The LMS Legislative Network is capable of using Go-to-Meeting software if members desire verbal communications. You can interact with Basecamp 3 through your normal email and/or download a free Basecamp 3 app for Apple and Android devices.
Get connected.
Contact Chris Hickey, LMS EVP/CEO, to get an invitation email. email or call (859) 278-0569.