Dear Sleep Colleague,

As you know, 2016 is an election year in which we will not only elect a new U.S. President, but 34 United States Senate seats and all 435 House of Representative seats also will be decided by the voters. To help us get our voice heard in Congress, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has created the AASM Political Action Committee (AASM PAC), which is a bi–partisan political action committee that supports sleep medicine-friendly legislators in their elections.

This support opens doors to policy makers and allows us to demonstrate the crucial role sleep plays in preventative medicine and public health. We are better able to express our viewpoints on the need for sleep research and sleep care services for our patients. By contributing to the AASM PAC, you will help shape the future of sleep medicine.

Supporting the AASM PAC gives your specialty a greater voice on legislative and regulatory issues affecting your practice and your patients. The lawmakers we assist understand, take interest in, and support the AASM PAC’s mission to raise awareness of sleep medicine. With your donation, we can shape how sleep disorders are perceived at a government level, enhance sleep medicine practice models, and secure future government funding opportunities for sleep research.

Support of the AASM PAC is vital as the health care system changes. Health care continues to be a top agenda item for legislators and federal agencies. Policy changes made by legislators or federal agencies directly affect your practice. Decisions on reimbursement, EHRs and quality measures are a top priority in Washington, D.C., and we need to be at the table when these issues are debated. Unfortunately, sleep lags behind other specialties in PAC contributions. We need your help to make our voice heard so we can ensure sleep is included with the changes in health care.

We will continue to advocate on your behalf; however, we are most successful when you and your colleagues contribute to our AASM PAC with your time or financial contributions. Your support will help the AASM PAC advance current initiatives to:

  • Establish a Stark Law Exception and Competitive Bidding Program exception, which will enable sleep medicine physicians to provide durable medical equipment (DME) to Medicare patients with sleep apnea;
  • Support our additional initiatives such as:  drowsy driving, PTSD, and sleep disorder awareness; and
  • Promote the value of federal funding for sleep research.

In order to obtain the necessary support for our Stark Law Exception and other endeavors, we must maintain our relationships with legislators. Just over 300 lawmakers have direct jurisdiction over health legislation by way of eight related committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate. We must do our part to sustain these relationships with as many of these lawmakers as possible. The AASM PAC can only function through the generous contributions made by you and your fellow AASM members. With no outside solicitations allowed, every member of the sleep team must do our duty to promote healthy sleep policy both inside the clinic and on Capitol Hill.

Your donation can be made when you renew your AASM membership or by donating online. If you prefer to send a payment via credit card or check, please submit your payment to:

AASM PAC
2510 N Frontage Rd
Darien, IL 60561

Please note that the AASM PAC can only accept contributions from AASM members who reside in the United States, which includes the District of Columbia (D.C.) and territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands. Contributions to the AASM PAC must be made using the AASM member’s personal credit card or check. Funds from corporations cannot be used. Donations to the AASM PAC are voluntary and are not tax deductible.

A member of the AASM can donate up to $5,000 per calendar year to the AASM PAC. AASM PAC encourages each member to donate a minimum of $100. One hundred percent of your contributions will be used to educate and financially support lawmakers who will look favorably upon your specialty interests. All contributors will be recognized at the annual SLEEP meeting.

We appreciate your contributions to the AASM PAC.

Thank you,

David Kuhlmann, MD
Chair, AASM PAC

Mark Hickey, MD
Vice-Chair, AASM PAC