Michael Burgess, MD
ASCO presented Representative Michael Burgess, MD (TX-26) with its first-ever ASCO Congressional Leadership Award on September 21 to recognize his steadfast work to support policies related to cancer research and treatment. This new, annual award honors a member of Congress who is a consistent champion for patients and survivors of cancer, their families, and health-care teams.
“Dr. Burgess is a tireless advocate for high-quality, high-value health care,” said ASCO President Daniel Hayes, MD, FACP, FASCO, in his presentation of the award. “We can think of no one else more worthy of this award and no one who we would be more proud to deliver this honor to for the very first time.”
Rep. Burgess was a leader in repealing the fundamentally flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) and ushering in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reimbursement Act (MACRA) to replace the SGR. This key accomplishment marked a big step forward in improving access and quality of care for older Americans and creating a more stable reimbursement environment for health-care providers.
“Thank you for this honorable recognition,” said Rep. Burgess. “More important, thank you for all you do as doctors on behalf of the millions of Americans living with cancer and their families. Your work, and having your voice heard on Capitol Hill, is critical to ensuring high-quality cancer care across our country.”
Dr. Burgess is a tireless advocate for high-quality, high-value health care.— Daniel Hayes, MD, FACP, FASCO
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In addition to his work to improve access and reimbursement, Rep. Burgess has also been an important advocate for the 21st Century Cures Act, legislation that would advance initiatives related to interoperability, big data, and precision medicine to spur development of promising new treatments for people living with cancer. Rep. Burgess also introduced legislation (H.R. 293) to protect continuing medical education by clarifying that peer-reviewed journals, medical textbooks, and other medical education texts should be excluded from reporting requirements under the Sunshine Act.
Dr. Hayes presented the award to Rep. Burgess during ASCO’s Advocacy Summit, where ASCO volunteers from across the United States joined together on Capitol Hill to educate lawmakers about critical issues affecting patients with cancer and their providers. ■
