1. Louisiana Academy of Family
Physicians
Legislative and Advocacy Award

2. Prologue
LAFP
• Past 3 sessions family physicians have
been threatened by scope of practice bills
• Bills from Nurse practitioners, pharmacists,
and optometrists
Your
• All but 1 of these bills was defeated

3. Timeline
The Beginning
June 6, 2012 6 pm:
August 2012
Applied for grants and looked for
funding
Total received: $10,500
Received a call from Rep. Scott Simon
LAFP
July 16, 2012
Rep. Simon drove from Abita Springs
to Baton Rouge for the first meeting at
the LAFP office.
Your
Idea for the Legislative Breakfasts are
brought up
Left with no firm plan, but knew
something proactive needed to be
done
September 26, 2012
Plan of action is determined
Drafts of legislation begin
Shared staff with other
organizations for expertise
October 2012
Budgeted for First Aid Station at
the Capitol
January 2013
LSMS House of Delegates
www.lafp.org

4. Legislative Breakfasts
Target audience: the ENTIRE membership
Your
LAFP
• March 1, 2013 - Monroe
5 legislators/ 7 physicians
• March 11, 2013 - Baton Rouge
8 legislators/ 4 physicians
• March 13, 2013 - Franklinton
2 legislators/ 6 physicians
• March 25, 2013- Lake Charles
4 legislators/ 7 physicians
• April 2, 2013- Shreveport
5 legislators/ 6 physicians
www.lafp.org

5. Your
LAFP
Legislative Breakfasts
All legislators were given a packet
including:
•
Who is the LAFP?
•
Supported LAFP Legislation
•
Scope of Practice
•
Patient Centered Medical Home
•
Primary Care Workforce
•
“Education Wheel”
If you want copies of these handouts, contact rleblanc@lafp.org

6. Your
LAFP
LAFP introduces SB 192 by
Senator Dale (R – Livingston)
Part 1
• Brings Nurse Practitioners under the
complete authority of the Louisiana State
Board of Medical Examiners
Part 2
• Strengthens the rules governing physicians
who are supervising nurse practitioners

7. Your
LAFP
Part 2 included:
• Number of agreements they can be in
• Requires MD and NP to be in the same
specialty
• Geographic restrictions
• Limit of 4 NP’s
• Signage indicating name of supervising
MD in any NP office
• Chart review
• Quarterly F2F reviews

8. Memorandum of Understanding
Your
LAFP
• Never done before in the legislature during a
legislative session
• Both parties agreed to negotiate in good faith
• First meeting July 24, 2013- mostly
housekeeping
• Second meeting (closed)- negotiating session
on October 28, 2013
• Third meeting scheduled for November 8,
2013

9. Legislative and Advocacy Training Seminar
May 8, 2013
• Provide members with better understanding of
legislative process
Your
LAFP
• Offered to all levels of membership
• Prepare younger members for future leadership
roles
• Presentations by Joe Mapes, LAFP Lobbyist and
Michelle Greenhalgh, State Legislative
Coordinator for the AAFP
• Pre and post tests given
www.lafp.org

10. Your
LAFP
Legislative & Advocacy Training
Seminar
Topics:
• State & National Legislative Landscapes,
• Fundaments of Lobbying and the Legislative
Process,
• Shaping Healthcare Policy,
• Practical, Strategic
• Tactful Grassroots Advocacy Tools
www.lafp.org

11. Legislative Health Fair and White Coat Day
May 8, 2013
• Reserve rotunda of the State Capitol
Your
LAFP
• Health screenings to legislators and the community
• Residency programs invited to provide free screenings
• Personal discussions with legislators
• Gives Family Medicine residents a chance to see legislative
process
• Encouraged to put skills learned during training seminar to good
use

12. Your
LAFP
Overall successes of Series
• Provided our members with the education, tools and
resources to successfully fight for the best interest
of their specialty within the political arena.
• Improved member understanding of the legislative
process;
• Increased member participation and involvement in
the legislative process;
• Educated members on how to effectively
communicate with legislators; and
• Provided members with the opportunity to discuss
with their legislators the issues affecting family
medicine, their practice and their patients.

13. Lessons for other chapters
Your
LAFP
• Don’t need huge media campaigns
• Done without a large amount of funding
• Physician key contacts are important
PHYSICIAN MEMBERSHIP
PARTICIPATION IS A MUST

14. Your
LAFP
Toujours L’audace
Jim Taylor, MD
Legislative Chair – LAFP
225.923.3313
www.lafp.org