American College of Surgeons: Division of Advocacy and Health Policy

State Legislation

Over the past few years, state legislative and regulatory issues have received greater attention at the College, with more resources being focused to assist ACS Chapters and Fellows with state advocacy programs and activities. State legislatures are often seen as local laboratories of change, coming up with unique solutions to unique problems – and meeting the needs of citizens in a way that Congress cannot. It is certainly true that the actions of state legislatures have a direct impact on surgeons and the practice of surgery, making it even more important that surgeons be involved grassroots advocacy.

Even though each state is unique, there are often common trends (40K PDF) in state legislation. Medical liability reform, scope of practice, Medicaid reform and reimbursement issues are just a few, with provider taxes joining the list as a more recent trend. The State Affairs staff at the College monitors all 50 states' legislative activity in order to not only defend Fellows from unwelcome legislation, but to proactively identify issues and develop strategies that Chapters can use to make the best use of their resources. Questions regarding the College's state legislative activities should be directed to State_Affairs@facs.org.

Chapter Advocacy Grant Program “A Day At The Capitol”

Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act

Tracking State Legislation
(ACS Web Portal, password required)

The College tracks state legislation in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each year, more than 500 pieces of legislation are identified through CQ StateTrack, and Fellows may access up-to-date information on their respective states through this online activity.

State Legislative Priorities (50K PDF)

Surgery State Legislative Action Center

The Surgery State Legislative Action Center is a collaborative effort of the surgical specialty societies. The purpose of the Center is to engage surgeons to become involved in the legislative process at the state level—promoting initiatives that will enhance both quality of care and access to care for the surgical patient.

State Advocacy Resources

Participating in advocacy activities can seem a bit confusing, especially if surgeons have never done so. Questions arise as to how to do it, what to say, and where further information may be obtained on numerous state legislative and regulatory issues of interest. To learn about the many facets of grassroots advocacy, and to utilize the plethora of web-based information on state-related issues, check out the following.

Website Resources and Lobbying Issues

Surgeons are interested in many different issues at the state level, including trauma system funding and development, medical liability reform, regulation of bariatric surgery, Medicaid reimbursement and so on. In addition, it can be difficult to find sites with information on state health care facts as well as lobbying and ethics requirements. The following links provide a good cross-section of websites focused on many state health care issues, and provide a convenient place to access individual state websites.

State Testimony

These files are in Adobe Acrobat format. To view Portable Document Files (PDF) download the free Adobe Reader.

Revised December 19, 2011