The Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act

AAPA’s Federal Advocacy staff is working with their Congressional partners to increase support for H.R. 618, The Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act, introduced by Representatives Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Joe Courtney (D-CT), and Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Susan Collins (R-ME).

Currently, federal employees who are injured while working and qualify for federal workers compensation coverage cannot receive treatment overseen by a PA. We all know how this unnecessary restriction on PAs harms federal workers, limits their access to care, and disrupts continuity of high-quality care.

H.R. 618 was previously passed by the House of Representatives by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in 2022, but ultimately the clock ran out on the 117th Congress before it could pass the Senate. We now have another chance to pass this, and it should do so easily, but any help is appreciated. To contact your Representative or Senators, you can reach out to them through their official website; if you do not know who your Representative is, you can click here to look this up by your zip code. When sending them a correspondence, it is important to not use an overt form letter, but something along the lines of the following is a good place to start with bracketed areas that must be customized by you:

Good [morning/afternoon] [title/name], my name is [name, address and town/city], one of your constituents. I am reaching out to ask for your support for H.R. 618, The Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act. Currently, federal employees who are injured while working and qualify for federal workers compensation coverage cannot receive treatment overseen by a PA. This undue and burdensome restriction on PAs harms federal workers, limits access to care, and disrupts the continuity of high-quality care that PAs routinely provide. [If you have a personal anecdote where you have been affected by this, include this here.]

I understand that this was previously passed by the House in 2022, but that the clock ran out on Congress before it could pass the Senate, and this is currently reintroduced by Congressmen Walberg and Courtney, and Senators Brown and Collins. As your constituent and a federal employee, I hope that you will support this bill to allow us high-quality care in the event of an injury. I thank you for your support in this, and please reach out with any questions or feedback about this important matter.

Please make sure you reach out to your Representative and Senators this week, since time is running short on the Congressional calendar (they are in session for the next three weeks before holiday recess). Finally, if you use the above-noted template, it is imperative that you customize the email according to your specific situation (if you have one) and locale, and according to whom you are sending the message.