Advocacy at the National, State, and International Levels

For current information about osteopathic advocacy from the AOA click here.

SAVE THE DATE FOR DO DAY 2025

MARCH 22 - 23, 2025 | Virtual Conference
MARCH 26 - 27, 2025 | In-Person Congressional Meetings

Join us for the osteopathic profession’s largest public policy and advocacy event of the year, hosted in conjunction with National Osteopathic Medicine (NOM) Week. DO Day offers unmatched opportunities to hone your leadership skills and raise your voice to educate members of Congress on the issues that matter most to you and your patients. Participate in-person alongside your osteopathic colleagues in Washington, D.C., or join the virtual leadership and professional development conference from the comfort of your home or office! Participants may earn dually-accredited CME.

How to Read a Bill

Legislation does one of three things: creates a new act, adds to existing statutes, or deletes a portion of existing statutes. If the bill creates a new act, it will state this in the first line of the bill: “This is an Act to create…”. It is important to know this because as you read the bill all of the language in the bill is new language. If the bill is adding new language, the new language is underlined. If the bill is deleting language, the language to be deleted has hash marks through it. Let me know if you have questions about this.

New Legislation

For the next several weeks, legislators will be busy introducing legislation. As bill are introduced, we will review them to determine if they could have an impact on the IOMS membership. We will send bill updates to the IOMS Legislative Committee to review. Please contact the IOMS if you have any concerns or questions about pending bills or legislation in which you have concerns. We want to hear from you! Call or email us here.

Meeting with Your Public Officials

A face-to-face meeting with an elected or appointed official, or with the official’s aide who handles the issues of importance to you, is often the best way to voice your concerns. Meetings with your member of Congress can take place in the member’s state or district office or in Washington, D.C. Meetings with state legislators can take place at the state capitol or in their districts. Meeting with local officials can be more informal, taking place at a neighborhood function or county courthouse. Here are some tips for meeting with your public officials:

Make an appointment and arrive on time.
Arrive prepared with the facts about the issue you wish to discuss. Contact IOMS for talking points on issues related to Osteopathic Medicine in Illinois.
Be brief and specific about the purpose of your meeting.
Whenever possible, provide an alternative to the issue you’re address. It’s much more powerful than just saying ‘this won’t work’.
Have support materials (e.g., articles) available to leave with your representative.
Follow up your meeting with a short thank you note. It provides another opportunity for you to state your message.