CEP America has begun to grow outside the state of California, which has meant supporting efforts at the federal level, Dr. Fields noted.

“Nearly 1,000 of my partners in Arizona, Illinois, Georgia, Oregon, and Texas, as well as California, are proud to be providing leadership in their specialty’s advocacy at the federal level via NEMPAC,” he said.

Emergency Medicine Physicians (EMP) also developed a NEMPAC donation campaign this year. During the Council meeting, the group presented NEMPAC with a total of $102,420 from their partners.

“As leaders in emergency medicine, none of us should be looking over our shoulders to see who will step up first. What’s right is right. Plainly and simply, giving to NEMPAC is just the right thing to do,” said Dr. Dominic Bagnoli, chief executive officer of EMP.

“ ‘Giving a Shift’ for us, while making an investment in our future and that of our specialty, was merely giving a small token of appreciation back to NEMPAC for the tens of thousands of dollars NEMPAC has put back into each and every one of our pockets through countless successful initiatives,” Dr. Bagnoli said.

Other EM groups chose a different way to participate. In 2008, Florida Emergency Physicians had 30 members who donated $1,000 each to NEMPAC.

“It took a couple years of trying, but basically, I convinced my fellow group members that NEMPAC is an investment in our business, and that the return on investment was pretty obvious,” said Dr. Vidor Friedman, a member of Florida Emergency Physicians. “Especially given what’s going on with Medicare reimbursement, I thought we would see results. I was able to show that NEMPAC was helpful in protecting physician pay from Medicare reductions,” he added.

Dr. Friedman found success with the argument that a physician might invest about $2,500 a year in continuing education after residency, but that if every ACEP member invested even just $250 in NEMPAC, emergency medicine could have the largest medical PAC—resulting in a greater presence and strength in the political and legislative process for members’ practices and patients.

“An important way to ensure that we have a seat at the table when decisions are made about our profession and our patients is if we have access to policymakers,” Dr. Friedman said. “NEMPAC provides us with a means to educate lawmakers through the political process.”