The Advocacy Committee would like all SAGES members to have the opportunity to make their voices heard regarding the changes and challenges in our health care system. Join us in room Show Manager B (just outside the Exhibit Hall) to make a short video about an advocacy topic you feel passionate about. We will use these clips on social media to raise awareness of the difficult issues currently facing medical professionals.
Hours will be posted outside of the Exhibit Hall daily, and anyone can drop in to create a message.
Topics can include, but are not limited to any of the following:
- Payment Reform
- Medicare
- Prior Authorizations
- Malpractice
- Employment Models
- Unfunded Mandates
- Arbitrary Denials
- Unstable Workforce
- Excessive Reporting Requirements
- Burnout
- Patient Stories or Harms
To make sure your Senators and Congressional Representatives understand your concerns, here are a few resources that can help you send advocacy messages to your congressional representatives.
Surgeons Voice Advocacy Center (ACS): https://facs.quorum.us/action_center/
American Medical Association: https://www.ama-assn.org/amaone/why-we-fight-reforming-medicare-payment
Interesting Advocacy Facts
- Medicare physician pay has declined 33% over the last 20 years.
- UnitedHealth Group reported revenues of $400 billion and profits of $14 billion in 2024
- HCA reported revenues of $79 billion and profits of $6 billion in 2024
- Medicare Advantage plans exaggerated or fabricated patient diagnoses to inflate profitability
- Over 1/3 of hospitals in the US lost money in 2024, and currently 432 rural hospitals are at risk of imminent closure.
- EPIC revenue in 2023 was $4.9 billion.
- Roughly 20,000 medical malpractice lawsuits are filed annually in the US
- Physician suicide rates are more than double that of the general population
- Nearly half of all physicians reported symptoms of burnout last year
- Less than half of the physicians in the US are in private practice, down from over 60% in 2012.
- -According to the AAMC, the nation will face a physician shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036
- The average age of a physician in the US is 54 years of age, and nearly 50% of physicians are within 10 years of retirement age.