You really came through for the specialty. Your letters came flooding in and not only that, you asked what more you can do. You saw our joint stakeholder letter – we’ve made our case to USP. We’re hoping our combined voices help to turn the tide, but I’m not at all certain – or even optimistic. So what’s next and what can you do?
We are ready to DASH – to Defend Affordable SHots. DASH is the Advocacy Council of ACAAI’s initiative to fight for our patients and the future of our specialty. DASH will fight the battle beyond the USP, onto the FDA and Congress if needed, and into each of the 50 states. We’ll be in the trenches, duking it out on your behalf. But we can’t do it on our own. And that’s where you come in.
We need your help. This battle is going to be long, and it’s not going to be easy. The sort of efforts we need to defend affordable (allergy) shots, to defend our patients, and to defend our specialty, are outside the scope of the Advocacy Council’s funding. We need to counter the funds spent by other forces – close to a million dollars so far. We need to go in front of the FDA and Congress. We need a fifty state effort to continue to be on the lookout for harmful legislation. We need every single one of you to join us.
Here’s how it stands. We’ve been able to identify a group representing the large compounding pharmacies. They’ve spent close to a million dollars lobbying for laws that would help them take back their ability to compound drugs – often at our expense. Already, in Maryland and Ohio, laws prohibiting allergists from mixing extracts in their offices were passed. But, the Advocacy Council and ACAAI House of Delegates fought to include exceptions to these laws for allergists, and we won. Compounding laws have now emerged in nearly a dozen states which we were able to review, and in some cases modify when needed – this isn’t a coincidence.
We’ve got to act now. And we’ve got to act together.
Support the defense. We are asking for your $500 contribution, or as much as you are willing to contribute, to fund this fight. It is a small amount to contribute to finance our efforts. We will keep you updated in the coming weeks with details about our plan.
Help us fight for affordable shots.
Help us fight for our patients.
Help us fight for the future of our specialty.
J. Allen Meadows, MD, FACAAI
Chair, Advocacy Council of ACAAI
