1. Hire a professional lobbyist. If doesn’t make a difference if your state is big or small, rural or urban, densely or sparsely populated: Ms. Ertel and Mr. Milliron agree that a professional lobbyist is essential to make a difference to state legislation. “You must have a lobbyist who knows the process and the individual players and has credibility in the system,” says Mr. Milliron. “Too many [ASC association] groups in too many states try to do it on their own. I can’t run an ASC and they can’t be professional lobbyists.”
Ms. Ertel credits the Pennsylvania Ambulatory Surgery Association’s lobbying success to the know-how of its lobbyists. “Fortunately for us, we have John, and his relationship with the different state legislators has been a huge benefit for us,” she says. “We raised our dues because we needed a lobbyist.”
2. Build credibility by connecting legislators with trusted physicians. Your state legislators will be more easily convinced by physicians they know and trust. That doesn’t mean bringing in a cadre of their friends to convince them; rather, visit the legislator’s home district and seek out the medical professionals who are known for their wise, impartial judgment. “If I bring a physician from Philadelphia to explain an issue to a legislator from Erie (Penn.), the physician could be the most honest man or woman in the world, but if there’s no basis for trust, it’s not going to happen,” Mr. Milliron says. “If we don’t have people from the [appropriate district] willing to meet with legislators, it is very, very difficult for the lobbyist to convince anyone.”
3. Call on respected ASC industry members to back you up. Ms. Ertel gives an example of a time an inspector alleged that laparoscopic cholecystectomies were in violation of the Pennsylvania Department of Health regulations. The Pennsylvania Ambulatory Surgery Association — then not as strong as it is today — called the association formerly known as FASA (now the ASC Association) and asked its president, Kathy Bryant, to offer her input on the situation. “They met with the department of health and said, ‘This is the reason we should do it,'” she says.
“Initially they refused, but we got a lawyer and challenged the decision, and they backed off,” she said. “They made us jump through some hoops to prove the surgeon was qualified, but once we did those things, they gave an exception.” She says the Association could have simply relied on their lawyers to represent their interests, but bringing in Ms. Bryant and FASA to represent Pennsylvania ASCs “made the department of health perk up their ears and listen.”
