September 10, 2022

Dear SCAI Member: 

We, the undersigned members of the SCAI Board of Trustees, are making a special appeal to you for your financial support of the SCAI Political Action Committee (SCAI PAC). To those members that have already contributed in 2022, THANK YOU! SCAI PAC is the only registered political organization that advocates solely for interventional cardiologists like us. SCAI is a non-partisan, scientific-oriented medical society organized as a 501(c)(3). We take great pains to avoid partisan politics in favor of reaching and educating elected officials about our issues.

Former Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) once said, “if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” As a result, SCAI created a separate 501(c)(6) organization that lobbies Congress and allows SCAI PAC to advocate for important public policy issues directly to federal political candidates that support our agenda. Effective lobbying is integral to improved patient care and protecting interventional cardiology and can’t be done without your contributions. In fact:

• Only a small percentage of SCAI dues goes toward lobbying (i.e., administrative costs)
• Absolutely zero SCAI dues support PAC contributions in compliance with the law
• Members of Congress spend about half their time raising campaign funds for their reelection, so our support is important
• Meetings with Members of Congress are valuable because they allow us to talk directly to them about our concerns

SCAI PAC’s goal this year is to educate Members of Congress, in a bipartisan fashion, by urging them to reject the portfolio of Medicare cuts totaling 4.5% for this year, on top of cuts totaling 4% from previous years.

Additional cuts that could potentially add to the burden include:

• 4% PAYGO
• Additional budget neutrality decreases from the reinstatement of the G2211 code in 2024.

SCAI PAC has had critical meetings with Rep. Mike Burgess, MD (R-TX), Rep. Ami Bera, MD (D-CA), Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL), Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA), and Rep. Raul Ruiz, MD, (D-CA). They get it! But there is more work to be done.

Help us reach our $70,000 goal. Help SCAI PAC to get our message out. With your help, we can stop the cuts! Contribute today!

To receive text messages about SCAI PAC and SCAI’s Government Relations activities (including grassroots messages to your Congressional Representatives) text SCAI PAC to 50457 now! Data rates may apply. Limited to U.S. citizens and legal residents only.

Sincerely,  

Trustees:
Ramesh Daggubati, MD, FSCAI
Thomas E. Fagan, MD, MSCAI
Daniel M. Kolansky, MD, FSCAI
Alexandra Lansky, MD, FSCAI
Binita Shah MD, FSCAI
Rajesh V. Swaminathan, MD, FSCAI
Molly Szerlip, MD, FSCAI
Frank J. Hilder, MD, FSCAI
William C. Sheldon, MD, FSCAI