1601 N. Tucson Blvd. Suite 9
Tucson, AZ 85716-3450
Phone: (800) 635-1196
Hotline: (800) 419-4777
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc.
A Voice for Private Physicians Since 1943
Omnia pro aegroto

8/30/99

ACTION ALERT! CONGRESS NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU OVER RECESS

Congressmen and Senators are home now for recess until after Labor Day weekend. This is not a vacation, but a chance to hear from constituents in their district. Make sure that they hear from you. Check with the district office about scheduled Town Hall meetings. Make an appointment to talk to your Senator or Representative about your strong concerns, either individually or with a group of like-minded citizens. Ask specific questions such as those suggested below.

All Members do something public on Labor Day. Try to attend this event.

The 106th Congress is reputedly a Do-Nothing Congress. Tell your Member you'd like to see a Do- No-Harm Congress. Americans need a break from the avalanche of very harmful legislation (e.g. Kassebaum-Kennedy and KidCare). More of same is waiting in the wings. In their search for campaign issues, urge your legislator not to push for Snake Oil "benefits" (such as a huge expansion of Medicare entitlements). We do not need more programs that fail to solve problems and have very nasty side effects (unaffordable insurance, rationing of drugs or services, huge compliance burdens, violation of privacy, etc.)

But beyond avoiding harm, Members should start a movement in the right direction: Making government accountable. Congress needs to meet its oversight responsibilities over the regulatory monsters it has created. We need serious, hard-hitting Congressional investigations, with officials called to testify under oath, of wide-ranging governmental malpractice.

A productive American can hardly live and work for a single day without doing something that is forbidden-or failing to do something that is required-by some obscure regulation. Regulatory agencies are empowered to impose taxes without representation; to act as prosecutor, judge, and jury in administrative show trials; and to force citizens to waste time and money in attempts to first discover and then comply with ever- changing, Byzantine rules. Bring your own, well-documented example to your legislator's attention; or support a colleague or fellow citizen who has an example. There is grist for far-reaching investigations of many federal agencies. Send us your documentation, also. Some ideas on where to start:

  1. HCFA. This agency is becoming more abusive than even the IRS. Physicians are finding it ever more difficult to practice good medicine and comply with HCFA requirements (much less earn a decent living). Examples needed for: the mind-boggling stupidity of documentation requirements; abusive audits and investigations; malfeasance and incompetence of Medicare carriers; unlawful prosecutorial practices such as extortion or suborning perjury; interference with patient-physician relationships; use of armed auditors.
  2. Other Agencies Involved in Practicing Medicine Without a Medical Degree or in Obstructing the Practice of Medicine. Is DEA zealotry keeping pain patients from adequate relief by tarring reputations and disrupting practices without good cause? Are CDC "recommendations" being turned into vaccine mandates that override the judgments of physicians, patients, and parents, by methods that could not withstand the light of day? (Are there conflicts of interest? Failure to collect or reveal important evidence? Unseemly pressures on state agencies as by threats to withhold funds? Are agencies attempting to thwart the will of Congress to make research - as on vaccine safety - available for independent review under FOIA?)

The overall theme is to bring to light governmental abuse and malpractice. The object is to reform the process that now delegates enormous powers to unaccountable bureaucracies as the catchall solution to all of our problems. We need real life examples to spotlight in demanding investigations. Don't let your Congressman dodge responsibility for the consequences of the laws he passes!