Advancing our advocacy agenda
From the President
By Susan C. Taylor, MD, FAAD, September 1, 2025
Taking care of dermatologists so that they can take care of their patients...and their practices
Dear members,
A strong advocacy agenda is one of the core tenets of the Academy, and one of my most important duties as your president is to help advance that agenda.
I know that we’re all frustrated about the continued lack of progress from Congress on Medicare payment reform. The 2.5% increase to our 2026 Medicare payments that Congress included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, thanks to advocacy from the AADA and 75 other medical societies, is better than the last several years of cuts! But we know that the continued threat of payment cuts hinders our ability as healers to provide the best possible care for our patients. That’s why securing annual inflation-based updates to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule remains the Academy’s sole federal advocacy priority.
To consider and execute new and creative strategies to address the Medicare physician payment crisis, I formed the Ad Hoc Task Force on Sustaining Physician Practices for Senior Citizen Care earlier this year. The task force, which includes current, former, and incoming AADA leadership, taps into resources using the deep and diverse expertise of the members of the task force to help fight for you. Be sure to follow the Academy on social media (@AADmember on Instagram) and look for AADA breaking news email alerts to ensure you stay informed whenever there are updates. Missed an update? You can view them all.
We must also keep up the pressure on Congress, and the best way to do so is to interact directly with the people who are responsible for writing and passing laws. That’s why the AADA’s Legislative Conference is such a unique and powerful tool that all Academy members have at their disposal. At the Conference, you can have one-on-one conversations with members of Congress and personally plead your case to them as to why Medicare payment reform is so critical, not just to dermatology, but to the practice of medicine as a whole.
For those of you who will be attending the Legislative Conference this month, I look forward to seeing you there and working side by side with you to fight for our specialty. I want to personally thank each and every one of you for your help in this fight. The stronger we stand together as dermatologists, the better chance we have of securing meaningful legislative wins. When I took office as president, I promised to never stop working toward our advocacy agenda, and it is very encouraging to see so many members also taking an active role. Once again, thank you so much for all you’ve done.
Breaking news updates
If you were unable to make this year’s Conference, don’t worry! The Academy puts on a Legislative Conference every year, so you have plenty of time to make arrangements to attend in 2026.
While having direct, face-to-face conversations is the strongest way to fight for our priorities, there are still ways you can help from the comfort of your home. The Academy has cultivated a great resource that makes it easy for you and your patients to send letters to members of Congress asking them to co-sponsor or support important legislation or oppose legislation that could be harmful. A list of current calls to action, plus additional legislative resources, can be found on the AADA Advocacy Action Center website.
The simplest way that you can help advance the Academy’s advocacy agenda is to support SkinPAC, the AADA’s political action committee that donates to candidates, regardless of political party, who have shown a strong commitment to being our allies in the fight.
There are, of course, many additional ways you can get involved in advocacy, including at a state and local level. The AADA’s advocacy hub is full of useful information and resources to help you get involved. Every little bit helps, so do not make the mistake of thinking your efforts are too small or insignificant to make a difference. I can assure you: they do.
Until next time, all my best,
Susan
