Letter from the President
Mark S. Austenfeld, MD
Dear colleagues,
This has been an exceptionally busy and important year so far for
the AACU. As you are aware, on May 3, 2013, during the AUA
meeting, updated guidelines were released regarding PSA screening
for prostate cancer. The AACU responded quickly, issuing the
following press release. It has been well received by the AACU
membership and other organizations who advocate for continued
efforts to detect prostate cancer early. In follow up, the AACU established a media campaign for Men’s Health Month that enables
AACU members to write and distribute letters to the editors of their
local and regional newspapers reminding the public of the importance of early detection of prostate cancer.
Dramatic changes are occurring to our nation’s health care system. Now
more than ever, physicians need to be engaged in health care policy
and legislation both nationally and at the state level. For over 40
years, the ACCU has been advocating for urologists and their patients,
and I thank you for being a member. I also urge you to reach out to any
colleagues who may not be members of the AACU and invite them
to join. UROPAC, co-sponsored by the AACU and AUA, is another
important component to urology advocacy as it is the only political
action committee for urologists. UROPAC is doing great work at the
federal level, and if you have not already donated to UROPAC this
year, I encourage you to do so.
Legislatively, in Connecticut, the AACU joined numerous state
and national professional associations, and others, in submitting
testimony in opposition to two medical liability bills supported by
the state’s plaintiffs’ bar, Senate Bill 1154 and House Bill 6687,
which sought to roll back some of the state’s medical liability
reform measures that had been in place for a number of years.
Ultimately, neither bill became law. In the state of Washington,
Senate Bill 5215, sponsored by 2011 AACU Distinguished Leadership Award honoree Senator Randi Becker, became law upon the
signature of Governor Jay Inslee (D). Among other things, this
new law will prohibit tying physician licensure to participation in
Medicaid or any other public or private payor arrangements. Senator
Becker was inspired by the AACU’s Medical Practice Freedom
campaign that she learned about at a past AACU State Society Network
Advocacy Conference. You can read more about this success on
page six.
The AACU will continue to stay active at both the federal and state
levels, monitoring legislation and advocating on behalf of urologists
and their patients, especially as our country prepares for the continued
implementation Affordable Care Act.
Thank you again for the privilege of serving as your president. I hope
to see many of you soon at the State Society Network Advocacy
Conference meeting in October.
Mark S. Austenfeld, MD
President, AACU
The 6th Annual State Society Network Advocacy Conference will
be held on October 5 – 6, 2013, at the InterContinental ChicagoO’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois, just outside Chicago. This year’s
conference is shaping up to be one of the best. The conference
includes panel discussions by urology society presidents and leaders
of other urology organizations on the importance of state societies
and urology engagement and advocacy. Attendees will also hear the
latest about health insurance exchanges, the evolution of health care
delivery, and the role of specialists and professional associations in
developing alternate pay models. On Sunday, attendees will hear
from leading experts, Chris Coburn, on techno