Public Policy

Key Position Statements
Legislation and Regulatory Updates
Contact Your Congressional Offices

Why We Advocate

The AST has been instrumental in assisting federal and state public policy decision-makers in the crafting and formation of a variety of legislative and regulatory initiatives. Information is provided to Congress and key officials in the Executive Branch about the organization's views and positions as determined by the AST Board of Directors. Through these efforts, the AST represents the interests of physicians and scientists in all solid organ transplantation specialties.

We know transplant professionals like you are passionate about ensuring that patients have access to essential medicines, insurance coverage, and the best care possible. We know that advocating for patients is important, so important that AST devotes one of its four strategic goals towards advancing the AST's patient-focused advocacy program.

In the past, AST leaders have been called upon to provide testimony, as well as serve on advisory panels to Congress, State legislatures, the National Institutes of Health, Institutes of Medicine, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, the Office of the Secretary-Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control, etc.

Key Issues on Capitol Hill

The AST supports a wide variety of public policy issues including: insurance coverage for transplant drugs, equitable organ allocation, recognition and support of live donors, physician reimbursements, and research support. The AST fights inequitable laws and harmful regulations every day - for its members, the transplant community at large, and the patients we all serve. Raise your voice and join us.

  • AST recently worked closely with Federal and State decision-makers to ensure that access to organ transplantation remains a protected and essential benefit during the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA/ObamaCare).
  • AST works to ensure that new Federal healthcare rules do not inadvertently prevent patients access to immunosuppressive drugs.
  • AST lobbies for transplant initiatives within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to increase NIH funding for biomedical research and advance drug development in transplantation.
  • AST address specific transplant healthcare challenges in areas such as research, therapeutic innovation, and patient access to care by joining in partnerships with Federal healthcare agencies including the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as well as many State Departments of Health and Insurance Commissioners.

The AST  is a leading voice on Capitol Hill, within the Executive Branch, and in State Capitols on important issues impacting the field of solid organ transplantation. Members of the AST travel to Washington, D.C., to educate and deliver the organization's public policy agenda directly to key federal decision-makers and their staff. AST also maintains a full-time advocacy office in the nation's capitol.

In the past, AST leaders have been called upon to provide testimony, as well as serve on advisory panels to Congress, State Legislatures, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Institutes of Medicine, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Office of the Secretary-Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Controle, etc.

AST Government Relations Staff in Washington, DC

Bill Applegate
Phone: (202) 258-4989
Email: bapplegate@polsinelli.com

Chris Rorick
Email: crorick@polsinelli.com