This article is brought you by AGA PAC, a voluntary, non-partisan political organization affiliated with and supported by AGA and the only political action committee supported by a national gastroenterology society. Its mission is to give gastroenterologists a greater presence on Capitol Hill and a more effective voice in policy discussions.
The 116th Congress is well represented by the physician community, featuring a total of 17 physicians: 3 in the U.S. Senate and 14 in the House of Representatives. One of the physicians in the House, Rep. Roger Marshall, MD, R-KS, is an OBGYN by trade who is currently serving his second term in Congress. First elected in 2016, he arrived in Washington as one of only two physicians in his freshman class. He actively engaged in health care policy from the very beginning, working across party lines on a range of health care issues facing Capitol Hill. Upon entering Congress, he proactively reached out to AGA as well as other specialty physician organizations to learn our priority issues and expressed his desire to serve as a champion of the physician community.
In addition to the two committees he sits on, Dr. Marshall also serves as the chairman of the health task force for the Republican Study Committee. Additionally, Dr. Marshall is a member of the GOP Doctors Caucus, a coalition of 21 Republican medical providers with a mission statement “to utilize medical expertise to develop patient-centered health care reforms focused on quality, access, affordability, portability, and choice.” The GOP Doctors Caucus was instrumental in pushing for a permanent repeal of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) and helped to coalesce bipartisan, bicameral support for repeal legislation in the 113th Congress. The GOP Doctors Caucus continues to be active in the current Congress, advocating for policies that strengthen both the patient and provider communities.
As a member of the GOP Doctors Caucus and as a physician held in high regard by his House colleagues, Dr. Marshall is uniquely situated to advance agendas and legislative priorities that promote sound health care policy. He willingly works across the aisle with his Democratic counterparts on legislation of importance to the physician and patient community. Dr. Marshall recently worked with one of his Democratic, physician colleagues, Rep. Ami Bera, MD, D-CA, on the Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act, legislation addressing prior authorization burdens in Medicare Advantage plans. Dr. Marshall has vocalized the importance of physicians getting involved in the political process and to that effect, spoke to AGA members at AGA’s annual Advocacy Day about his experience as a physician running for Congress and the importance of physician advocacy.
Dr. Marshall is running for the open Senate seat in Kansas. Given that Dr. Marshall has reiterated his desire to continue to work with the physician community to ensure access to care for our patients, AGA looks forward to supporting Dr. Marshall’s Senate candidacy and continuing to work with him and his office on issues and initiatives to advance the science and practice of gastroenterology.
