Influencing Your Government

Abstract

As I write these words, it is less than 2 weeks from the United States’ midterm elections. It is still unclear which party will have control of the Senate, and many gubernatorial races are considered too close to call. Many state and local races are also underway. It is commonly stated that if you do not exercise your right to vote, then you have no standing to complain about government actions (or inactions). You also dishonor those who have sacrificed life or limb to preserve our democratic form of government. Therefore, those readers who are American citizens hopefully voted.Participation in elections is an important way to help shape the priorities of elected officials and promote the enactment of laws and regulations that protect and benefit your family, community, and nation. In addition, we as career surgeons hope governmental actions serve the interests of our patients and businesses. Voting in elections helps influence government, but each of us only gets 1 vote per contest. The cynical would consider this to be such a drop in the bucket as to be meaningless in the broad scope of things. However, even the non-cynical of us understands that there is a power much stronger than one’s vote at the ballot box. That is the power of political advocacy. The multiplier effect of advocacy participation can give your hopes at the voting station major-league clout.Advocacy can take many forms. The one that comes to mind for most people is campaigning for someone running for office. Similarly, one can donate to a candidate’s campaign. These can be meaningful contributions to help elect your preferred candidate. Also, depending on your degree of involvement and magnitude of financial support, you can open communication pathways to that elected official and that official’s staff that may not be as freely available to other constituents. Helping someone get elected can be a worthwhile and satisfying endeavor; unfortunately, few of us have the time or resources to participate at a meaningful level in more than 1 contest per election. This then limits one’s reach into the government.Fortunately, we as oral-maxillofacial surgeon members of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) have other more potent means of political advocacy available. The first is via our specialty’s political action committee (PAC) and the AAOMS Standing Committee on Governmental Affairs (CGA). The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery PAC (OMSPAC) is an organization that may legally pool contributions and donate them to the campaigns of candidates for national office; this allows the amount contributed to greatly exceed the amount any one individual may make. Once the CGA and AAOMS Board of Trustees determine which federal issues, such as pending legislation or regulations, might benefit or harm AAOMS members, or others such as patients or those who may join our specialty in the future, the OMSPAC Board of Directors then identifies and selects for support those federal candidates who share mutual positions with the specialty on these issues, elected officials serving on congressional committees and subcommittees that control the language and movement of pending congressional actions, as well as candidates having solid relationships with any AAOMS members. The PAC also pays attention to a candidate’s likelihood of being elected (or re-elected).PAC contributions to candidates not only help individuals favorable to our interests get elected, but open doors of communication to these legislators. Whether or not this is the way our country’s founders meant things to be, everyone agrees that contributions to a candidate’s campaign brings access. This enables members of our specialty and our specialty’s lobbyists to educate them on issues that are of particular importance to oral-maxillofacial surgeons and our patients. Contributing to PACs like the OMSPAC exponentially magnifies your voice in federal government.Another method oral-maxillofacial surgeons can use to amplify their voice in governmental affairs is through active participation in advocacy activities of the AAOMS. In the case of the CGA, involvement can be at both the state and national levels. The members and staff of the CGA monitor governmental activity relating to the health care industry on a state-by-state basis. The information they gather can arm the individual oral-maxillofacial surgeon with knowledge to help guide constituent federal and state legislators in matters important to the practice of oral-maxillofacial surgery (OMS). The CGA also keeps a close eye on and works with our Washington, DC representatives to lobby on behalf of the specialty on federal legislative and regulatory agency activities that could impact OMS and our patients.This brings us to perhaps the most important way to impact your federal government. That is via participation in the annual AAOMS Day on the Hill. This event is held once each spring in Washington, DC. It allows the actual constituents of US senators and representatives to hold face-to-face meetings with their own members of Congress. The AAOMS, with financial assistance from the OMSPAC, organizes this event. The CGA and their staff help craft messages to share with those making decisions related to legislation and regulations. Those messages are then packaged for delivery by participating oral-maxillofacial surgeons.I have participated in several of these events and nothing can compare to looking your elected representative in the eyes and explaining why this representative should vote a certain way, or help back a pending piece of legislation. It is the rare politician who turns down the chance to meet with a constituent coming with an important message. In my experience they are eager to hear what you have to say since they are commonly unaware of all the implications of laws or regulations under consideration. The chance to educate them is one of the most ideal examples of grassroots American democracy in action.Finally, does any of this matter? Isn’t it widely thought that all politics is local? Well, a lot is; but consider some of the issues affecting your patients and the practice of OMS that reside at the federal level. Want to be able to renew prescriptions of hydrocodone analgesics over the phone? Our inability to do that now was decided at the federal level. What about a 2.3% medical device tax that will boost the cost to provide care involving devices like implants? That too is a federal case related to the Affordable Care Act. Having trouble with insurance companies telling you what your fees must be? Some believe insurers have this ability, in part due to exemptions from antitrust regulations, another federal issue. These and other items of importance to our specialty are determined by those in our federal government. So yes, you and other members of the AAOMS have a vested interest in helping promote political advocacy related to OMS and to get involved.I apologize to readers from other countries since this is, in most ways, a US-centric editorial. Other countries’ forms of government may differ in how an individual can influence governmental actions. Hopefully, they have pathways analogous to those in the United States. Surgeons in other countries are encouraged to get involved in petitioning their government on behalf of their specialty and patients.In the end, voting is the only way to let your elected leaders know how, when, and if you want government involved in various aspects of your personal and professional lives. Contributing your time and resources to the AAOMS-related advocacy initiatives mentioned in this editorial will give you the feeling of empowerment over what is happening in government; this is a feeling too often lacking in these days of widespread ambivalence toward government. If you’re not involved in advocacy activities, you lose much of your platform from which to criticize those we send to our nation’s and state capitals to represent us and the decisions they make. As I write these words, it is less than 2 weeks from the United States’ midterm elections. It is still unclear which party will have control of the Senate, and many gubernatorial races are considered too close to call. Many state and local races are also underway. It is commonly stated that if you do not exercise your right to vote, then you have no standing to complain about government actions (or inactions). You also dishonor those who have sacrificed life or limb to preserve our democratic form of government. Therefore, those readers who are American citizens hopefully voted. Participation in elections is an important way to help shape the priorities of elected officials and promote the enactment of laws and regulations that protect and benefit your family, community, and nation. In addition, we as career surgeons hope governmental actions serve the interests of our patients and businesses. Voting in elections helps influence government, but each of us only gets 1 vote per contest. The cynical would consider this to be such a drop in the bucket as to be meaningless in the broad scope of things. However, even the non-cynical of us understands that there is a power much stronger than one’s vote at the ballot box. That is the power of political advocacy. The multiplier effect of advocacy participation can give your hopes at the voting station major-league clout. Advocacy can take many forms. The one that comes to mind for most people is campaigning for someone running for office. Similarly, one can donate to a candidate’s campaign. These can be meaningful contributions to help elect your preferred candidate. Also, depending on your degree of involvement and magnitude of financial support, you can open communication pathways to that elected official and that official’s staff that may not be as freely available to other constituents. Helping someone get elected can be a worthwhile and satisfying endeavor; unfortunately, few of us have the time or resources to participate at a meaningful level in more than 1 contest per election. This then limits one’s reach into the government. Fortunately, we as oral-maxillofacial surgeon members of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) have other more potent means of political advocacy available. The first is via our specialty’s political action committee (PAC) and the AAOMS Standing Committee on Governmental Affairs (CGA). The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery PAC (OMSPAC) is an organization that may legally pool contributions and donate them to the campaigns of candidates for national office; this allows the amount contributed to greatly exceed the amount any one individual may make. Once the CGA and AAOMS Board of Trustees determine which federal issues, such as pending legislation or regulations, might benefit or harm AAOMS members, or others such as patients or those who may join our specialty in the future, the OMSPAC Board of Directors then identifies and selects for support those federal candidates who share mutual positions with the specialty on these issues, elected officials serving on congressional committees and subcommittees that control the language and movement of pending congressional actions, as well as candidates having solid relationships with any AAOMS members. The PAC also pays attention to a candidate’s likelihood of being elected (or re-elected). PAC contributions to candidates not only help individuals favorable to our interests get elected, but open doors of communication to these legislators. Whether or not this is the way our country’s founders meant things to be, everyone agrees that contributions to a candidate’s campaign brings access. This enables members of our specialty and our specialty’s lobbyists to educate them on issues that are of particular importance to oral-maxillofacial surgeons and our patients. Contributing to PACs like the OMSPAC exponentially magnifies your voice in federal government. Another method oral-maxillofacial surgeons can use to amplify their voice in governmental affairs is through active participation in advocacy activities of the AAOMS. In the case of the CGA, involvement can be at both the state and national levels. The members and staff of the CGA monitor governmental activity relating to the health care industry on a state-by-state basis. The information they gather can arm the individual oral-maxillofacial surgeon with knowledge to help guide constituent federal and state legislators in matters important to the practice of oral-maxillofacial surgery (OMS). The CGA also keeps a close eye on and works with our Washington, DC representatives to lobby on behalf of the specialty on federal legislative and regulatory agency activities that could impact OMS and our patients. This brings us to perhaps the most important way to impact your federal government. That is via participation in the annual AAOMS Day on the Hill. This event is held once each spring in Washington, DC. It allows the actual constituents of US senators and representatives to hold face-to-face meetings with their own members of Congress. The AAOMS, with financial assistance from the OMSPAC, organizes this event. The CGA and their staff help craft messages to share with those making decisions related to legislation and regulations. Those messages are then packaged for delivery by participating oral-maxillofacial surgeons. I have participated in several of these events and nothing can compare to looking your elected representative in the eyes and explaining why this representative should vote a certain way, or help back a pending piece of legislation. It is the rare politician who turns down the chance to meet with a constituent coming with an important message. In my experience they are eager to hear what you have to say since they are commonly unaware of all the implications of laws or regulations under consideration. The chance to educate them is one of the most ideal examples of grassroots American democracy in action. Finally, does any of this matter? Isn’t it widely thought that all politics is local? Well, a lot is; but consider some of the issues affecting your patients and the practice of OMS that reside at the federal level. Want to be able to renew prescriptions of hydrocodone analgesics over the phone? Our inability to do that now was decided at the federal level. What about a 2.3% medical device tax that will boost the cost to provide care involving devices like implants? That too is a federal case related to the Affordable Care Act. Having trouble with insurance companies telling you what your fees must be? Some believe insurers have this ability, in part due to exemptions from antitrust regulations, another federal issue. These and other items of importance to our specialty are determined by those in our federal government. So yes, you and other members of the AAOMS have a vested interest in helping promote political advocacy related to OMS and to get involved. I apologize to readers from other countries since this is, in most ways, a US-centric editorial. Other countries’ forms of government may differ in how an individual can influence governmental actions. Hopefully, they have pathways analogous to those in the United States. Surgeons in other countries are encouraged to get involved in petitioning their government on behalf of their specialty and patients. In the end, voting is the only way to let your elected leaders know how, when, and if you want government involved in various aspects of your personal and professional lives. Contributing your time and resources to the AAOMS-related advocacy initiatives mentioned in this editorial will give you the feeling of empowerment over what is happening in government; this is a feeling too often lacking in these days of widespread ambivalence toward government. If you’re not involved in advocacy activities, you lose much of your platform from which to criticize those we send to our nation’s and state capitals to represent us and the decisions they make.