Additional Policy Resources
ACFAS urges its members to become more informed about the
external environment affecting foot and ankle surgeons and their
practices. Learning to advocate for excellence in foot and ankle surgery
to policymakers, industry and private interests is paramount to
being effective for your patients and practice.
Federal Government Sites
- U.S. House of Representatives
Information on members of the House of Representatives, their committees and legislation.
- U.S. Senate
Information on members of the Senate, their committees, and legislation.
- THOMAS
Legislation summaries, status, and text of congressional bills and
public laws from the Library of Congress, developed in the spirit of
Thomas Jefferson who wanted the citizenry informed.
- The White House
Information on Executive Branch initiatives and policies.
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
This agency administers Medicare (available to Americans over 65-years-of-age) and Medicaid (available to economically challenged individuals and
administered in conjunction with states).
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The FDA is responsible for regulating the safety of food, drugs, medical
devices, vaccines, cosmetics, radiation-emitting products and tobacco
products.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Information on grants available, links to various NIH institutions and
the latest health information, with portions devoted to cancer and
related health issues.
Sites Specializing in Health Policy Issues and Funding
- AcademyHealth
AcademyHealth represents a broad community of people with an interest in
and commitment to using health services research to improve healthcare.
- National Academy of Medicine
A leading source of cutting-edge information and advice concerning health and science policy.
- Kaiser Family Foundation
The Kaiser Family Foundation website provides in-depth information on
key health policy issues including Medicaid, Medicare, prescription
drugs, health insurance, the uninsured and cancer.
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ)
Private funder of grants whose website contains valuable information about research grants to study healthcare issues.
Media, Journals and Related Sites
- Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-Span)
Provides
live and taped cable coverage of Congress, the Agencies, Executive and
Judicial Branch happenings and key state and local policy issues.
- Congressional Quarterly (CQ)
Provides key information and insight about the political process and players.
- MEDLINE
Sponsored by the National Library of Medicine, this site is one of the
most comprehensive bibliographic databases of biomedical journals
online.
- National Journal
Weekly magazine on politics and government, widely read by policymakers. - Politico
Daily coverage of healthcare news, analysis and opinion.
- Roll Call
News about Capitol Hill and politics in Washington since 1955. Focused
on the retirements, resignations and other movements in Congress.
- Washington Post
Daily newspaper with online subscriptions that focus on news about Washington, national politics and policy.
Additional State and Local Resources
- Council on State Governments
This nonpartisan organization brings state leaders together to share
capitol ideas, providing them the chance to learn valuable lessons from
each other.
- National Association for State Health Policy
An independent academy of state health policymakers working together to
identify emerging issues, develop policy solutions, and improve state
health policy and practice.
- National Conference of State Legislatures
The National Conference of State Legislatures is a bipartisan
organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the nation's 50
states, its commonwealths and territories.
- National Governors Association
The National Governors Association (NGA) is the bipartisan organization of the nation's governors.
- U.S. Conference of Mayors
The official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more.