The 2013 Legislative Session began on Monday, April 8, 2013 and will end on June 6, 2013.
Click to see the committee assignments and bills LA AAP is tracking.

Take the Survey Now!

The Pediatrics and Psychology departments at the University of Utah are conducting an 10-15 minute online survey of pediatricians regarding the sexual development and behavior of children with autism. You are invited to participate in this survey if you provide care for any families managing autism. There is currently little research on this topic, and your perspective would be invaluable! We are very close to meeting our recruitment goals, and just need a few more responses from your area to get there. As a token of thanks, we are happy to provide you with resources for pediatricians and parents upon completion of the study.
 
Please click on the following link if you wish to participate:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Pediatricians. Questions can be addressed to Laura Graham, Research Coordinator - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Children's Defense Fund Be Careful What You Cut Campaign

CDF recently launched the “Be Careful What You Cut” campaign to bring the real dangers of cutting child investments into sharp focus and to build the public will and make the economic case to protect children from budget cuts.  The campaign is grounded in three provocative print ads, which lay out the economic argument against cutting investments in children and serve as a springboard for a social media campaign. The key message:  Cutting children from the budget now costs all of us later.  It’s a simple calculation, really.  Protect now or pay later.

Contact: Scott Jacobsen at (202)662-3641

Defending the Medicaid Payment Increase: The Affordable Care Act includes section 1202, which finances an increase in Medicaid payment rates for primary care services to certain physicians, including pediatricians and  certain pediatric subspecialists, in 2013-14.  This provision was scored by the federal government's Congressional Budget Office at $8 billion, but has since grown through the regulatory process to $13 billion.  Rescinding this provision has been offered up by House Republicans as a way to offset the cost of delaying the impact of Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate (the "SGR") formula for another year.  As you may know, Medicare payments are slated to be cut by around 27% on the first of the year, and an offset to this cut costs in the range of $25 billion.  
 
AAP staff have worked in coalition with the American Medical Association (AMA), the American College of Physicians (ACP), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and sent a joint letter. Click here to read it.