In 2004, Americans will elect the members of the entire U.S. House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate. Those elected members will have the opportunity to shape not only the future of our country but also the future of medicine. They will inevitably consider bills concerning professional liability, reimbursement, patient safety and other issues impacting the practice of anesthesiologists. To ensure that the decisions of these elected officials reflect an understanding of the needs and problems of medicine and anesthesiologists, the ASA Political Action Committee (ASAPAC) went to work in 2003 in an effort to prepare for the November 2004 elections.

Members of the 2004 ASAPAC Executive Board

Chair Danial O. Laird, M.D. Las Vegas, Nevada

Secretary Scott B. Groudine, M.D. Latham, New York

Board Members James L. Becker, M.D. — Waukee, Iowa Arthur M. Boudreaux, M.D. — Birmingham, Alabama Patricia J. Davidson, M.D. — Gahanna, Ohio Bracken J. DeWitt, M.D., Ph.D. — Fishers, Indiana Steven D. Goldfien, M.D. — San Francisco, California Charles D. Gregorius, M.D. — Lincoln, Nebraska Steven J. Hattamer, M.D. — Nashua, New Hampshire Randall P. Maydew, M.D. — Albuquerque, New Mexico Hector Vila, Jr., M.D. — Tampa, Florida John M. Zerwas, M.D. — Houston, Texas

ASAPAC, the political arm of ASA, is committed to helping to elect lawmakers who understand and are supportive of the interests of anesthesiology and the patients served by the specialty. The ASAPAC is a voluntary, nonpartisan political fund organized to provide financial assistance to campaigns of candidates for federal elected office and, when state law permits, for state offices. One of the 100 largest PACs overall (and the largest medical specialty PAC in the United States), ASAPAC funds are provided to candidates for election and re-election to the House of Representatives and Senate, gubernatorial candidates and candidates for state legislative seats.

In preparation for the important 2004 elections, ASAPAC was active in 2003 in working with key pro-physician, pro-anesthesiology candidates for office. In the House of Representatives, ASAPAC provided early support to nearly 80 top-tier candidates. Incumbents receiving ASAPAC support included a number of physician-legislators, such as Congressman Dave Weldon, M.D. (R-FL), one of anesthesiology’s strongest supporters on patient safety issues, and Congressmen Phil Gingrey, M.D. (R-GA) and Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), two freshmen pro-physician lawmakers, both of whom are obstetrician-gynecologists. ASAPAC also provided support to Congressman William M. Thomas (R-CA), Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and a key advocate for increasing Medicare reimbursements to physicians; Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), the spouse of a physician and a rare Democratic supporter of professional liability reform; and Congressman David Scott (D-GA), a longtime friend of anesthesiology from the Georgia legislature elected to the U.S. Congress in 2002.

ASAPAC financial support also was provided to three noteworthy top-tier, pro-anesthesiology candidates seeking federal office for the first time: Georgia State Senate Majority Leader Thomas Price, M.D. (R), an orthopedic surgeon and spouse of an anesthesiologist running for the U.S. Congress in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District; Pennsylvania State Senator Charlie Dent (R) running for the U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional District; and Lyle Thorstensen, M.D. (R), an ophthalmologist challenging a Democrat in the recently reapportioned First Congressional District of Texas.

On July 9, 2003, liability reform advocates in the Senate attempted to break a Democratic filibuster of a medical liability reform bill with similarities to California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act. The vote to break the filibuster failed because of the votes of a handful of trial-lawyer-friendly Senators. The 2004 elections offer medicine the unique opportunity to replace a number of those pro-plaintiff’s bar Senators with pro-medicine, pro-anesthesiology candidates. Toward this end, ASA has begun work with the campaign of a number of noteworthy Senate candidates. In North Carolina, the decision of trial lawyer Senator John R. Edwards (D) to retire from the U.S. Senate to focus on his Presidential aspirations has created an excellent opportunity for the state to elect Congressman Richard Burr (R), a long-time friend of North Carolina anesthesiologists. Similarly, in South Carolina, the retirement of long-time friend of trial lawyers, Senator Ernest F. Hollings (D), has opened the door to a Senate seat for Congressman Jim DeMint (R), a friend of South Carolina anesthesiologists. In Georgia and Washington state, two candidates with strong ties to their states’ anesthesiologists, Congressmen Johnny Isakson (R) and George Nethercutt (R), are also very well-positioned to add additional pro-medicine votes to the Senate. The retirement of Senator Bob Graham (D) in Florida and the possible retirement of Senator John B. Breaux (D) in Louisiana could offer even more opportunities for pro-anesthesiology candidates in those states.

Mindful of the importance of many state issues, ASAPAC provided support to key candidates for state office in 2003. PAC funds were provided in support of successful Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Ernest Lee Fletcher, M.D. (R). ASAPAC also was especially pleased to provide support to Senator Andrew P. Harris, M.D. (R), an ASA member, Whip of the Maryland Senate and leader in health care policy in the Maryland legislature. These candidates will serve as important supporters of the specialty in their respective state governments.

It is important to note that the resources utilized by ASAPAC to provide support to the various candidates are provided by anesthesiologists who voluntarily make contributions to the PAC above and beyond their ASA membership dues. During the 2003 ASAPAC fiscal year, 3,360 contributions were received from ASA members representing all 50 states. While all of the state components played a significant role in building the PAC during 2003, some component memberships were particularly supportive in assuring a successful year for ASAPAC. Specifically, special acknowledgement is due for the top-performing components from South Dakota, Alabama and Iowa with participation levels representing a remarkable 57 percent, 35 percent and 23 percent of their state memberships, respectively. Thanks to the work of the leadership of these components and the component membership, these states successfully earned participation rates at least double the ASA national average. Such participation rates reflect a strong commitment and understanding of the important role ASAPAC plays in electing candidates supportive of the specialty of anesthesiology.

Recognition is also due to the top three donor states as measured by total financial support for ASAPAC. The remarkable Alabama Society of Anesthesiologists ranks above all other states with contributions of nearly $55,000. The California and Texas societies follow with contributions of $46,987 and $45,190, respectively. The efforts of these states were critical in assuring ASAPAC the resources necessary to support key candidates in 2003 and prepare the PAC for the 2004 elections.

ASAPAC is committed to building upon its activities in 2003 and continuing to work through 2004 to ensure the election of pro-medicine, pro-anesthesiology candidates for the Senate and House of Representatives, governorships and state legislative seats. With the support of individual anesthesiologists and state components, success in this effort will strengthen anesthesiology’s hand in the state and federal legislatures and aid the work of ASA in its efforts to advance the specialty’s positions on liability reform, reimbursement reform, patient safety, regulatory reform and other issues of interest to anesthesiologists.

Additional information about ASAPAC is available in the “Members Only” section of the ASA Web site at <www.ASAhq.org>.

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Manuel E. Bonilla works on federal legislative issues important to the membership. He also assists the ASAPAC Executive Board.