The Indiana-ACC provided travel stipends for some of the attendees. Here are their comments about the event:

Shannon Colter, DNP, NP, APRN-BC, FHRS, CCDS
I want to thank the Indiana ACC for awarding the travel stipend giving me an amazing opportunity to attend the ACC’s Legislative Conference. It was truly an amazing conference with the organization of everything, the speakers, and meeting directly with our legislators. The ACC put together four issues that are important for all of us to discuss with our legislators. Being a part of bringing our issues to our legislators directly is very impactful and meaningful. I was fully prepared and prepped to take these issues to Congress and felt that I made a difference. We bring our direct experience with us to make more of an impact with Congress and I think that makes a huge impact. I would love to encourage all of our members to participate in this conference because together we can make a difference. Thank you again!

Michael GeRue, MSN
As a first time member of the ACC Advocacy program, I found it very refreshing to hear the topics being presented and to experience the involvement with our legislative leaders. The work that ACC does to develop policy statements provided us great detail to discuss and share with our leaders in Congress. What I found most impressive was their willingness to listen, learn and ask questions. They are looking to leaders such as us to help them develop and drive policy which is the ultimate goal of this level of engagement and involvement with the ACC. My time at the conference was brief but very rewarding, and I look forward to returning again in 2016. I thank the ACC leadership for this work, especially the ACC team in Washington who were tremendous to work with. They are very engaged, enthusiastic, energetic and have passion to share the issues of cardiology and healthcare.

Jon Hassel, MD
This was my first experience at the ACC Legislative Conference, and it is something that I would highly recommend.  Given the changing climate in medicine with the evolution from the fee for service to the new alternative payment models that are a part new MACRA, politics have been very important in medicine and cardiology now and for the future.  The ACC Legislative Conference is a chance for ACC members to get involved and to work directly with the Senators and Representatives from our state to discuss issues that directly affect cardiology.   It also allows us to see what the ACCPAC is doing and how they are representing the ACC to Congress as well as a chance to meet people from across the country to discuss what they are doing in their own states.  As a fellow I am very thankful to be given the opportunity to be involved now and it is something I plan to continue in the future.  Everyone in the ACC should try to attend this conference so they can better understand the political climate and make a difference.

Brenda Sue Jefferies, RN
This was the second ACC legislative conference that I have attended. I attended again this year to hear one of my favorite commentators, Charles Krauthammer, and I was not disappointed. He is able to bring such clarity and simplicity to issues that I find so confusing and difficult to resolve. He is a calm, sane voice in the midst of so much chaos and what looks like insanity at times. Many thanks and kudos to whomever was able to bring him to this conference. As during last year’s conference I was again impressed with the fact that the many healthcare regulations are even more of a burden to physicians and their medical practice and offices than most people realize. My daily frustration in my position as a staff nurse is that the increasing focus on satisfying government regulations takes me away from actually providing bedside care to my patients. While it is not comforting to know my physician colleagues share the same frustrations, it does help me realize the scope of the problem. My belief is that knowledge is power and I plan to use the knowledge I have gained from attending these conferences to inform and educate my fellow staff nurses and my family and patients about how health care regulations are affecting them. I want my coworkers to become more involved and Deb Lanning (my fellow attendee) and I have been encouraging others to attend the Legislative conference next year and to let their congress person know their thoughts on pending legislation. I have been talking to family members about physician reimbursement when they complain about the cost of healthcare and ask them to really look at the EOBs to see how much of the charges are really allowed. I talk about the penalties that hospitals incur for readmission when frequently it is patient non-adherence and not lack of education as the government regulations infer. I also share with my coworkers and families how responsive most of our legislators have been to our visits. I was pleasantly surprised that during our visits last year and this year we were sincerely welcomed into their offices. The knowledge and concern of my legislators or their assistants we spoke with was impressive. We thanked them for the repeal of the SGR. They asked appropriate questions in regards to MACRA having replaced SGR and listened to the concerns that were voiced in regards to the continued problems with the additional regulations this has generated; and the EHR; the Cardiac Rehab bills in the House and Senate (and the problem with the change from non controversial to $300 million increase in costs); and the need for additional research funding as well as the need to continue funding for GME. Both personally and professionally this was a very rewarding conference. Personally, I was able to spend time sightseeing in the capital with my daughter and granddaughters. An experience we will all cherish as each night on the evening news we see places we actually visited. Professionally because I spend a great deal of time complaining about how recent health care changes have adversely affected me and my profession and this conference makes me think or, at least, feel like I may actually be able to make a difference.

Abhishek Khemka MD, MBA
The United States senators and congressmen play a vital role in directing policy to further improve the American way of life. However, given the scope of their job and the breadth of information and avalanche of special interests that muddy the overall focus, it is imperative that cardiologists and advanced practice providers offer a single, coherent message. Participating in the ACC Legislative Conference for 2015 in Washington DC provided just such an opportunity to connect with my senators and congressmen and talk about what matters to us, from increased funding for research and training, to improved accessibility to cardiac rehab. By going to the Hill, we learned more about the political machine that is Washington DC but also are able to make personal connections that help further our cause for providing better patient care. I was pleased to hear that my conversation with Congressman Young from last year was still memorable and that they still discuss using medical apps to help coordinate patient care. Given that there are so many budget hawks and that certain programs may cost money upfront, politicians lose sight of the long term goal of improving quality of life and and longevity which eventually save money. I think, by us going, we were able to vocalize the benefits. Overall, it was a great experience from that standpoint but also from networking and meeting cardiovascular professionals from around the country.

Debra Lanning, RN
I wanted to let you know how wonderful the legislative conference was. This was my third year, and as always it was spectacular. The news of the “Doc Fix” was so exciting. Knowing that I had a small, minute part of that really made me smile. We do make a difference. Going forward, I hope we never lose the momentum so that we can take health care to the next level and beyond. One baby step at a time; it is that important.

Kristen Mennen, BS, RN
I had the privilege to attend the 2015 ACC Legislative Conference.  Even though I subscribe to the newsletters of several congressmen, read publications related to healthcare, and catch news on the web, I had not heard of MACRA of 2015.  I always look forward to learning about the latest legislation and healthcare updates from Capitol Hill.  I will continue to try to educate myself on such topics.  I often relay information to family and friends about the Affordable Care Act, so that they can make an informed decision when voting, as well as understand how the ACA affects their health.  I am also investigating how I can become more involved in EHR usability within my organization, as I work in Information Services.  Thank you for the opportunity.

Sheree L. Schroeder, MSN, RN, RDCS, AACC
First and foremost, I wish to thank Indiana ACC for awarding the travel stipend which provided me the opportunity to attend ACC’s Legislative Conference, 2015, in Washington DC. This year’s Legislative Conference was truly outstanding! The speakers provided such insight in to the current state of affairs as it relates to healthcare and how each of us can influence and contribute. I especially enjoyed Dr. Matthew Press’s presentation on CMS’s Innovation Initiative. This presentation explained CMS efforts to define and capture quality measures to crosswalk to reimbursement in order to replace the old model of “Fee for Service.” I was fully prepared and prepped to visit with our Indiana legislators to ask for their support on key issues important for securing and providing access to great cardiology care. Thank you again for this wonderful educational opportunity.

Michael Schroyer, RN, AACC
The 2015 ACC Legislative Conference highlighted the many changes alternative payment models that are in place for how cardiologists and hospitals will be paid for in the future under the new laws that have recently been passed. Increased focus on quality reporting will play a large role in payment going forward. We also heard from Matthew Press, Senior Advisor and Medical Officer, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation regarding new methodologies that Medicare is looking at for the future regarding payment and quality requirements. Many questions were asked of him, including when will Medicare be able to get us quality/outcomes sooner than the current 4-6 month lag time. He was also asked what Medicare Innovation is doing in regards to all the requirements that we are now under to document that is increasing the amount of time the entire health care team is spending on the computer instead of taking care of our patients. It was disheartening that after answering for 5 minutes during the session and being asked again afterwards he never answered the question. Going forward, advocating for the entire team with Congress and Medicare will be key to move towards more efficient methodologies of documentation so we can get back to taking care of our patients instead of taking care of the electronic medical record. We also heard about different hot topics in Regulatory Affairs regarding alternative payment models. Overall, as usual, the conference was outstanding and worthwhile.