AAPI Legislative Day Planned For May 8th on Capitol Hill

(Washington, DC: April 16, 2025) Healthcare continues to be the center of the nation’s focus, especially with changes in policies on immigration, Medicare/Medicaid, and Medical Education. AAPI’s annual Legislative Day comes to be a vital part of AAPI’s growing influence and having its united voice heard in the corridors of power. “We are excited to announce that our next Legislative Day is on Thursday, May 8th, in Washington, DC,” said Dr. Satheesh Kathula, President of AAPI. “We expect to have the participation from dozens of key Congressmen and Senators. The annual Legislative Day will be a unique opportunity for AAPI to be part of the decision making process on matters related to healthcare.”

The day-long event will begin at 10:00 am and will conclude in the afternoon at 3 pm, giving participants the opportunity to meet with their own Congressman/Senators on their own time.

AAPI represents the interests of over 100,000 physicians and 40,000 medical students and residents of Indian heritage in the United States. Dr. Sunil Kaza, Chair of AAPI BOT said, “The mission AAPI, the largest ethnic organization of physicians, is to provide a forum to facilitate and enable Indian American physicians to excel at inpatient care, teaching and research, and to pursue their aspirations in professional and community affairs.  The Executive Committee is working hard, enabling AAPI’s voice to be heard in the corridors of power, and thus taking AAPI to new heights.”

During the annual Legislative Conference, among others, AAPI will discuss Medicare and Medicaid Reimbursements, Prior Authorization, Immigration Reform, Increased Residency Slots, Addressing Physician Shortage, and Scope of Medical Practice Issues.

 “AAPI Legislative Day is a flagship annual event that is eagerly awaited to rekindle and renew our energy in bringing up the issues that we need to bring to the attention of national policy makers and leaders of the US Congress on Capitol Hill,” said Dr. Amit Chakrabarty, president-elect of AAPI. “It is a tradition of nearly three decades, which has brought many important transformations in National Healthcare policies that have helped Physicians of Indian Origin. Now, it is the need of the day to renew our friendship with new leadership under President Donald Trump and Vice President J D Vance and brief the Congressional leadership on issues that are important to us.”

“AAPI is once again in the forefront in bringing many burning health care issues facing the community at large and bringing this to the Capitol and to the US Congress,” says Dr. Sudhir Parikh, Co-Chair of AAPI Legislative Affairs Committee. Dr. Parikh urged “AAPI colleagues and everyone interested in or connected with providing health care to attend this event and ensure that our concerns and needs are heard by our lawmakers and ensure that they act on them.”

AAPI has been seeking to collectively shape the best health care for the people of the US, with the physicians at the helm, caring for the medically underserved as it has done for several decades, when physicians of Indian origin came to the US in larger numbers.

US is currently experiencing a physician shortage, which will be exacerbated by retiring baby boomers, affecting thousands of patients’ access to a physician, and ultimately the health care they need, AAPI has strongly supported the much needed Immigration Reform, particularly with the focus on H-1 and J-1 visas are used by many South Asian American physicians, playing an important role in providing critical health care across the country.

“The conference will focus on Immigration Reform and ways for AAPI members to be part of the process in the implementation of the health care reform in this country,” Dr. Meher Medavaram, Vice President of AAPI said. “While medical school enrollment has climbed 2% annually over the past five years through new schools and expansion of existing schools, the number of residency slots funded by Medicare has been capped at about 100,000 since 1997,” he added.

“AAPI continues to discover her potential to be a player in shaping the healthcare of each patient with a focus on health maintenance than disease intervention. To be a player in crafting the delivery of health care most efficiently and to strive for equality in health globally, the annual Legislative Day is a perfect way to impact Healthcare policy and programs most effectively. Come and join us on Capitol Hill on May 8^th,” Dr. Kathula said.

For more information on AAPI and its several noble initiatives benefitting AAPI members and the larger society, please visit: www.aapiusa.org