Grassroots Update


Radiologists have a very important choice to make. Are they going to sit idly by and let other physician specialty groups define the issue of overutilization or will they take the proactive step of meeting with their legislators in their home states to educate them on what is really happening with imaging?

We need YOU to join our ACR Grassroots Advocate team today! As an ACR Grassroots Advocate, you will be asked to contact your members of Congress and educate them about legislative issues important to the profession of radiology. You will be asked to write your legislators and to call and meet with them in their district offices.

Our goal is to get 100% coverage among the 3 congressional committees with jurisdiction over medical issues in Congress. These 3 congressional committees are the Senate Finance Committee, the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, and the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee.

As Figure 1 illustrates, the ACR Grassroots Program has 17 of the 19 states (89%) covered on the Senate Finance Committee.

Montana and West Virginia are the 2 states represented on the Senate Finance Committee where the ACR does NOT have grassroots advocates. If you live in either of these states, we need you to sign up today to become an ACR grassroots advocate.

If you live in California or Texas, please check your ZIP code with the ZIP codes listed below to see if you live in the congressional district for Stark or Doggett. Some of the ZIP codes listed overlap congressional districts, so to be sure you live in the congressmen's district, call the district office.

Rep Pete Stark
District office: (510) 494-1388

Rep Lloyd Doggett
District office: (512) 916-5921

ZIP Codes in the 13th Congressional District of California – Rep Pete Stark ZIP Codes in the 25th Congressional District of Texas – Rep Lloyd Doggett
94083
94536-94539
94540-94546
94552, 94555, 94557, 94560
94577-94579
94580, 94587
94603, 94605, 94614, 94621
95002
95035
95132, 95134, 95152		 77004-77005, 77015, 77017
77019, 77021, 77025, 77027
77030-77031, 77034-77036
77045-77049, 77053-77054
77056-77057, 77061
77071-77072, 77074-77075
77081, 77085, 77087, 77089
77096, 77098-77099
77207, 77216, 77225
77227, 77231, 77234-77235
77245, 77254, 77256
77263, 77265, 77271
77274-77275, 77401-77402
77477, 77489, 77502-77506
77508, 77520-77521
77530, 77532, 77536
77562, 77571-77572, 77598

Figure 2 shows that the ACR Grassroots Program has 11 of the 13 congressional districts (85%) covered on the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee.

We need ACR grassroots advocates in the 13th congressional district of California for Rep Pete Stark (D) and in the 25th congressional district of Texas for Rep Lloyd Doggett (D).

Figure 3 shows that the ACR Grassroots Program has only 12 of the 33 congressional districts (36%) covered on the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee.

Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee congressional districts where we do NOT have an ACR grassroots advocate are:
Rep Nathan Deal (R, Ga 10th)
Rep Fred Upton (R, Mich 6th)
Rep Charlie Norwood (R, Ga 9th)
Rep John Shimkus (R, Ill 19th)
Rep Joe Pitts (R, Pa 16th)
Rep Mary Bono (R, Calif 45th)
Rep Mike Rogers (R, Mich 8th)
Rep Michael Burgess (R, Tex 26th)
Rep Joe Barton (R, Tex 6th)
Rep Henry Waxman (D, Calif 30th)
Rep Edolphus Towns (D, NY 10th)
Rep Frank Pallone (D, NJ 6th)
Rep Bart Gordon (D, Tenn 6th)
Rep Bobby Rush (D, Ill 1st)
Rep Anna Eshoo (D, Calif 14th)
Rep Gene Green (D, Tex 29th)
Rep Ted Strickland (D, Ohio 6th)
Rep Lois Capps (D, Calif 23rd)
Rep (D, Fla 11th)
Rep John Dingell (D, Mich 15th)

Because these legislators sit on an important congressional committee in the House that has jurisdiction over medical issues such as physician reimbursement and controlling the overutilization of imaging, we need you to help us get to 100% coverage.

If your congressman is listed above, we need you to sign up to become an ACR grassroots advocate today.

Currently, the ACR Grassroots Program has 300 advocates. Our goal is to double this number before the end of 2005.