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Frequently Asked Questions |
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- How
does ASAPAC select the recipients of its support? ASAPAC recipients are selected by the ASAPAC Executive Board and ASAPAC staff
based upon the candidate's support for anesthesiology, the candidate's
relationship with anesthesiologists and recommendations from ASAPAC
contributors and State Component Society leaders.
- How
can I suggest a candidate for ASAPAC support? Recommendations
from ASA members are welcomed and strongly encouraged. ASA members may
contact any member of the ASAPAC Executive Board including ASAPAC Board
Chair James Becker, M.D. or Manuel Bonilla in the ASA Washington office.
Anesthesiologists recommending candidates for support should be PAC
supporters and should be prepared to explain their candidates' views
on issues of importance to anesthesiology and any relationships the
candidate may have with anesthesiologists or the medical community.
- How
does the ASA compare with other organizations in term of support for
its PAC? ASAPAC is the largest, medical specialty political
action committee in the United States. By nature of the political challenges
faced by anesthesiologists, ASA members tend to be more politically
active than the members of other medical specialties. As a result, ASAPAC
tends to be more active than many other medical organizations.
- How
does ASAPAC evaluate recipients for repeated support? ASAPAC evaluates candidates for repeated support based upon the same
criteria as that is used to set initial support.
- I
have a problem contributing to ASAPAC because you support politicians
whose stand on an issue I can't support. ASAPAC
is a bi-partisan, non-ideological political organization. It supports
candidates based upon their positions on issues impacting our specialty.
Because the issues that ASA works to address -- patient safety, Medicare
fee reform, Medicare regulatory reform, professional liability reform
etc. -- are not party line issues or ideological issues, supporters
of anesthesiology can be found along the entire political spectrum with
widely differing views on issues outside of those impacting anesthesiologists.
If you have specific concerns about a particular candidate or candidates,
you are strongly encouraged to contact either the ASAPAC Executive Chair
or Manuel Bonilla in the ASA Washington office.
- How
are the members of the ASAPAC Board selected? The ASAPAC Executive Board consists of 12 anesthesiologists, including
a resident member, from various regions of the United States. Members
are named to the Board by the ASA President based primarily upon the
member's past support for ASAPAC, their involvement as "Key Contacts"
for the ASA, and their level of political involvement.
- How
should I allocate money between ASAPAC and my state PAC? ASAPAC advocates no rule in allocating money between ASAPAC and State
Component PACs. Both are important to protecting and advancing the interests
of anesthesiology and both are worthy of support.
- How
much money does ASAPAC need? Because all ASAPAC contributions are voluntary and the level of participation
changes from year to year, ASAPAC bases it budget upon the contributions
it receives. It is able to be more aggressive and participate in more
campaigns when contribution levels are high. It is less aggressive and
participates in fewer campaigns when contribution levels are low.
- Is
it better for me to contribute to ASAPAC or to contribute directly to
a candidate? There are many anesthesiologists who give both to their local candidate
and to ASAPAC. Ideally, an anesthesiologist who has a relationship with
a local candidate will support that candidate with an individual check
and, as a PAC donor, work with ASAPAC to deliver a PAC check to the
candidate as well.
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