I attended the Emergency Medicine Foundation dinner, where I interacted with donors and board members who were funding research priorities in emergency medicine.

The Capitol Hill Day was the culmination of the conference, providing the opportunity to meet with lawmakers and staffers, discussing and advocating for legislation that advanced the priorities of patients and our emergency physician colleagues. These visits seemed daunting at first, but being paired with LAC veterans made it an engaging and meaningful process for newbies such as myself.

As I reflected on the experiences on the flight back home, I remained grateful for the opportunity to interact with leaders, colleagues, and fellow physicians. I left LAC feeling inspired! I recognize that there is still a lot of work to be done, but in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “The arc of the moral universe bends towards justice.” I am filled with hope and optimism. I will be in D.C. again next year.

Dr. Azubuike is an EM resident at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas.[/sidebar]

It is certainly not an understatement to say the results of the 2024 elections have created unprecedented political dynamics and great uncertainty in Washington, D.C. Although all presidents entering the White House utilize executive orders to establish their priorities, President Trump has used this tool to definitively lay out his vision for the next four years in many realms, including health care. In addition, the Republican sweep in winning the White House together with the U.S. House and Senate has given the Republican party the opportunity to make significant changes in how the federal government directs, funds, and manages the delivery of health care in this country. New leadership in the executive branch, especially within the Department of Health & Human Services, has brought significant restructuring of the agency and a new focus on the health of the nation.

With this political reality, ACEP members rallied in Washington for ACEP LAC25 to ensure the voice of all emergency physicians, and the needs of our members and our patients, were heard by legislators on Capitol Hill. This year, ACEP members went to the Hill to advocate on three critical issues:

1. Supporting the Addressing Boarding and Crowding in the Emergency Department (ABC-ED) Act (H.R. 2936), which would dedicate public health funding to creating bed-tracking systems and investigate innovative models to improve patient transfers.
2. Supporting the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act (H.R. 929 / S. 266), which would continue the federal financial support of programs designed to address mental health issues for health care workers.
3. Protecting federal support of emergency care, specifically by lobbying Congress to maintain eligibility for Medicaid beneficiaries and fair reimbursement to emergency physicians through the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.

The attendee numbers tell the story that ACEP members did indeed show up to advocate on Capitol Hill and network with peers and ACEP leaders. A total of 492 members attended the conference and went to the Hill to advocate for EM, including 202 attending for the first time, 88 emergency residents, and 14 medical students. Always the conference’s highlight, ACEP members participated in 297 Capitol Hill visits to offices representing 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. There were 216 House visits and 81 Senate meetings with a balanced split of 157 meetings with Democratic offices and 137 meetings with Republican offices.