I have never attended an AUA Advocacy summit in my experience as a practicing urologist. Despite my attending our section meetings and the AUA conference, this was a new and different experience from conferences focusing on the practice of urology. I am in academic practice at the University of New Mexico and I recently obtained a Masters of Healthcare Administration. Based on this educational experience, I wanted to become more involved in health care policy and how legislation is created, an interest I had not had in prior years. The industry of health care is unique compared to other industries in the United States, in that our Federal Government funds a large portion of health care. Therefore, the more involvement physicians have in federal policy and legislation regarding health care, the better the outcome for our patients, our colleagues, and our specialty.

I was fortunate enough to be one of 2 urologists from New Mexico, the other being Dr Damara Kaplan. Dr Kaplan is a strong presence in our urological community and has been very active in these meetings in the past. She was kind enough to let me know what to expect and help lead our discussions in our meetings with legislators. In addition to Dr Kaplan, our guides from the American Urological Association, Jennifer Regala and Megan Coyle, were such a great pleasure to spend time with during our day on the Hill (see Figure). I also learned a great deal about the workings of AUA Publications during the time I spent with them. It was more fun than I expected and I had the pleasure of meeting great people who I will keep in contact with and see at future meetings.

Figure. AUA Advocacy Summit 2023. Left to right: Dr Michael Davis, Jennifer Regala, Dr Damara Kaplan.

Dr Kaplan and I were able to meet with the staff of 3 legislators from New Mexico, Senator Martin Heinrich, Senator Ben Ray Lujan, and Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury. We were able to discuss the topics important to the AUAPAC. The topics we discussed were “Support Equitable Reforms to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule,” “Support the Permanent Expansion of Telehealth Benefits Following the Expiration of the Public Health Emergency,” “Support the PSA Screening for Him Act,” and “Support the Specialty Physicians Advancing Rural Care (SPARC) Act.” The state of New Mexico, where I practice, is mostly rural and frontier, and, therefore, there is a shortage of health care providers overall, especially in underserved areas of the state. As a result, all the topics discussed during the AUA Advocacy Summit were especially relevant to the health care needs of New Mexico residents. Obviously, also important to practicing urologists.

The discussions during the meetings were informative, and 2 that were especially relevant were gender affirmation in pediatrics and prior authorization. Both topics had great speakers and had lively discussion from the attendees. Discussion of gender affirmation in pediatric patients highlighted the importance of access to safe and effective health care for transgender and gender nonconforming youth. The speakers emphasized the importance of gender affirming care being accessible to all individuals. Prior authorization was another topic that emphasized the time-consuming and often frustrating process for providers and patients, a process that can delay or cause abandonment of care. Attendees discussed the need to streamline the process and reduce the time, cost, and administrative burden of this process on patients and providers. One of the highlights for me was the keynote speaker, James Carville. Listening to his comments on government regulation and policy formation was interesting and his spin on things made it humorous.

The AUA Advocacy summit is something I would encourage urologists to attend. I waited until late in my career to become involved in advocacy. I have just realized how important it is for the future of health care. We, as urologists, are the best to speak to the needs of the patients we care for, and our specialty. The administrative burden of health care is not remunerated. Not to mention the economic stress that health care has endured during and post pandemic. Inflation, labor shortages with increased costs, and slim to negative hospital margins are becoming the new reality. Health care provider burnout is high. The voice of urology needs to be heard on the Hill, now more than ever. I am grateful for the opportunity to participate.