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WHAT SURGEONS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT...
Surgeons began receiving
this incentive payment after
January 1, 2011, but it is set to
expire at the end of this year.
The College will advocate
to preserve and extend this
program so rural patients will
continue to have access to
surgical care in shortage areas.
What do expiring ACA
provisions mean for
trauma care?
The ACA reauthorized and
expanded several trauma
programs. Unfortunately, despite
the efforts of the ACS and a
number of other stakeholder
organizations, the four trauma
programs included in the bill have
not received funding and are now
expired or expiring. Of the four
programs authorized in the bill,
two expired on September 30,
2014—the end of the last fiscal
year. These programs would
have provided grants to states
for planning, implementing,
and developing trauma care
systems, and pilot projects to
design, implement, and evaluate
innovative models of emergency
care systems. The other two
provisions were the Trauma
Care Center Grants designed to
maintain the core missions of
trauma centers, compensate them
for losses from uncompensated
care, and provide emergency
support to centers at risk of
closure; and the Trauma Service
Availability Grants used by states
to address shortfalls in trauma
services and improve access to
essential lifesaving care, which
will expire on September 30.
The College has long
advocated for funding to support
trauma care, and the ACS
Division of Advocacy and Health
Policy is working with champions
in Congress to reauthorize
these programs so that efforts to
secure funding can continue. For
example, in the 113th Congress,
the House of Representatives
passed ACS-supported legislation,
the Trauma Systems and
Regionalization of Emergency
Care Reauthorization Act, but
the bill stalled in the Senate.
The legislation has been
reintroduced in the 114th
Congress as H.R. 648, along with
companion legislation, the Access
to Life-Saving Trauma Care for
All Americans Act, H.R. 647. The
House Committee on Energy
and Commerce has reviewed and
approved both bills. At press time,
they were headed to the House
floor, where they were likely to be
passed with little opposition. The
College is working diligently to
inform senators of the importance
of these programs in order to
facilitate their passage. Enactment
of this legislation is only the
first step. If these bills achieve
passage and are signed by the
president, ACS advocacy efforts
will shift to the appropriations
process to try to secure funding
for these important programs.‡
How can surgeons help
advocate for extending these
important programs?
Surgeons can help by letting
their representatives and senators
know that these programs are
important to them and their
patients. The College provides
many educational programs and
resources to facilitate this type of
activity, including the following:
• The annual Leadership &
Advocacy Summit, which will
take place April 18–24 this year
(more information can be found at
www.facs.org/advocacy/participate/
summit)
• The SurgeonsVoice website (www.
surgeonsvoice.org), which contains
issue briefs and draft e-mail
communications to send to your
congressional delegation
•Occasional e-mail alerts regarding
time-sensitive votes
Consider taking advantage
of these opportunities to let
Congress know which ACA
and other health care programs
are important to you and
the patients you serve. ♦ ‡American College of Surgeons website.
Trauma and EMS: Trauma bills reintroduced
in the House. Available at: www.facs.
org/advocacy/federal/trauma-and-ems. Accessed February 19, 2015.