When AASLD Speaks…
by Scott L. Friedman
I want to share with you one of the most exciting experiences of my professional life. Was it a great ‘Eureka’ moment in the lab? A paper accepted for publication or a grant funded? The successful defense of a student’s thesis? While these are surely highlights of my career in academic medicine, they were equaled on March 19 by the opportunity to advocate on Capitol Hill for the first time for research and training to improve the lives of patients with liver disease. In his column in the last enews, our Washington liaison Lyle Dennis thoughtfully detailed the elements of the inaugural Liver Capitol Hill Day, so I will instead focus on more personal impressions.
The activities began with a dinner in which we were joined by Dr. Bill Cassidy, a newly elected representative from Louisiana and the first practicing hepatologist and AASLD member elected to Congress. We applauded Congressman Cassidy's strong advocacy for medical research, which is a testament to his passion as a hepatologist, and the life lessons he learned from his mentor, Dr. Telfer Reynolds.
The following morning, approximately 40 individuals, comprised of AASLD and ALF members, as well as key patient advocates, assembled in the Russell Office Building to hear the inspiring words of Rep. Mike Honda (CA), a veteran Democrat and longstanding supporter of hepatitis research and screening.
Then the fun really began. We fanned out across the three Senate and three House office buildings, spending the day meeting staffers of congressmen and senators from our home states and districts, as well as leading congressional advocates for NIH support and health care reform, including legislative aides of such major players in the health care debate as Reps. Henry Waxman and Pete Stark of California, and Senators Charles Grassley and Tom Harkin of Iowa. The logistics of arranging the meetings for so many participants were daunting and adroitly handled by Erika Miller of Cavarocchi-Ruscio-Dennis Associates.
The venues ranged from comfortable meeting rooms adorned with posters from the legislators’ states to noisy hallways stacked with old furniture. Little do most Americans realize the extent to which our country is being run by staffers in their twenties! Yet, we were all struck by two things: 1) These young people are really smart and deeply committed; 2) Almost no one had ever heard about the enormous public health impact of liver disease or the disparately low funding for liver wellness, disease, research, and screening. Some of the facts we cited clearly surprised our audiences:
• funding through CDC is 60 times greater for HIV than HCV (the latter is only around $75,000 per state!), even though HCV is at least 5 times more prevalent
• HCC is the fastest rising malignancy in the US and third leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide; and
• there are excellent treatments for HBV and HCV, which can spare patients the progression to cirrhosis and HCC, thereby tremendously reducing health care costs.
What became clear was that AASLD can no longer focus solely on research. Our discoveries have been translated into life-saving treatments, and now we must advocate vigorously for liver health, screening, and outreach to bring these treatments to individuals whose suffering is avoidable. I am not naïve enough to think that a single visit to Capitol Hill will transform the fate of patients with liver disease. We must have a presence in Washington each year, and in the minds of our representatives, whenever health care reform, research, and funding are discussed. And since there is strength in numbers, next year we will strongly encourage participation by as many AASLD members as possible, hoping to enlist constituents from many key states including Ohio, Florida, and Texas, whose congressional offices were not among our visits this year. Over time we will make a difference, because when AASLD spoke, people listened.
AASLD would like to thank the following members for attending:
Jacquelyn J. Maher, MD
Hal Yee, MD
Paul Kwo, MD
Douglas LaBrecque, MD
Douglas W. Hanto, MD
Jeffrey Schwimmer, MD
Tram Tran, MD (representing the Asian Health Foundation)
David Bernstein, MD
Douglas Dietrich, MD
Scott L. Friedman, MD
Allan W. Wolkoff, MD (representing the ALF)
Steven Herrine, MD
Arun J. Sanyal, MD
Michelle Lai, MD
Devron Averett, MD
Sherrie Cathcart
Gregory Bologna
This electronic newsletter is a bi-weekly publication of AASLD and replaces the former bi-monthly print newsletter and weekly e-news. Members are welcome to submit articles and may send suggestions to atracy@aasld.org