Eyeing 2019 with resolve
From the President
Dr. Olbricht served as Academy president from March 2018 to March 2019.
By Suzanne Olbricht, MD, January 1, 2019
January often calls us to make a fresh start. This doesn’t just apply to people looking to lose weight, organize their closets, or volunteer more. The New Year marks a fresh start for state and federal policymakers. Many statehouses are setting up shop for the year this month. In Washington, D.C., we have a few new faces and many incumbents who will make up the 116th United States Congress. It’s a clean slate in the health care policy world, and dermatology is ready to make its mark.
Fortunately, your Academy has a robust advocacy arm, the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AADA), that provides a consistent voice for dermatologists. The AADA ensures that public policies address the needs of practices and patient care and provides members with valuable resources and tools to adapt to the shifting health care landscape. Thanks to the advocacy efforts made by the AADA and Academy members, the specialty celebrated several successes in 2018, including increases in skin cancer research funding and legislation that addressed patient access to care. Most recently, CMS delayed a proposal to collapse E/M codes and backed away from aggressive changes to modifier 25 payments.
However, 2019 brings a whole new set of opportunities and challenges. This year, you can expect our AADA to continue its work advocating for relief from burdensome regulations and requirements on dermatologists. The Academy will work to protect patient access to care — specifically, advocating against restrictions on dermatology in-office compounding and in-office use of compounded pharmaceutical products. At the state level, we will continue to fight for indoor tanning regulations and sunscreen access, and we will remain steadfast in promoting truth in advertising and advocating against unsafe expansions of non-physician provider scope of practice.
This is just a taste of what you can expect from our Academy’s advocacy efforts — we have a lot of issues to address at the health policy level. As a result, we’ll need all the help we can get. WE NEED YOU! Make a January resolution to be an advocate for dermatology practice. It's easier than you think! Check out the AADA’s Advocacy Action Center to learn how you can get involved at https://takeaction.aad.org. Also, mark your calendars for the 2019 AADA Legislative Conference, Sept. 8-10, in Washington, D.C. Registration will open May 13.
As a specialty, we accomplished a great deal in 2018. Let’s use that momentum and resolve to do more to advocate on behalf of our patients and practices in 2019.
