Endocrine Insider
January 23, 2009

During its January meeting, the Society's Council approved the advocacy agenda for 2009, defining the legislative and regulatory priorities of the Society for the year.  This year the Society will focus on six main topics: biomedical research funding, diabetes, endocrinologist workforce issues, obesity, minority health disparities, and physician reimbursement.  The Society will also continue to be active and responsive in the areas of bioidentical hormones, conflict of interest in research, copyright protection, DXA payment cuts, endocrine disruptors, drug safety/shortage/reimportation, hormone abuse, stem cell research, and other emerging issues that become relevant throughout the year.

The coming year promises to be a challenging federal fiscal environment with a projected $1.2 trillion deficit for fiscal year 2010 and an economy in recession.  The Endocrine Society will be working hard to secure federal money for programs and agencies important to its scientific and clinical members and to patients with endocrine diseases and disorders. The Society faces an uphill battle to convince Congress of the importance of increasing appropriations for the growing biomedical research field, although the research community has strong champions in the House, Senate, and White House. Additional challenges lie in advocating for fair reimbursement under Medicare for physicians' services and ensuring that the needs of the endocrinologist are addressed in health reform legislation.

In 2009, the Society will continue to be an active leader in the national public policy debate surrounding obesity and diabetes. Congress and various federal agencies continue to craft policy hoping to curb America's obesity epidemic and the resulting increase in obesity's co-morbidities. The Society will continue to meet with congressional leaders and Administration officials to provide them with the most up-to-date science and reports from the field so that policy makers have the best available information with which to make decisions. In addition, the Society's Advocacy and Public Outreach Core Committee will build on the exposure received in 2008 for the Society's white paper on increasing minority participation in clinical research.