Mike Bishop, MD, NEMPAC’s first Chairman and one of its founders, testifying before the U.S. House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee on June 10, 1986.
As chairman of the National Emergency Medicine Political Action Committee (NEMPAC), I am proud of the work that the NEMPAC Board is doing to engage more and more ACEP members in the political process. Since only ACEP members can financially support NEMPAC our success is dependent upon the engagement and generosity of emergency physicians around the country who are committed to the future of the specialty and our patients.
A small, forward-thinking group of ACEP members founded NEMPAC in 1980 to help ACEP promote our legislative goals and express the concerns of emergency medicine to members of Congress. Back then, the founders determined they would need to raise $10,000 to make a difference on the issue of independent contractor status for emergency physicians. Today, due to the increased costs of running for office and the many issues that ACEP can influence in Congress, our goal is to raise more than $1 million annually. Even with this lofty goal, we are still only the fourth largest physician PAC!
Just like our Board today, NEMPAC’s founders were from all parts of the country and were “party” blind when it came to selecting candidates worthy of NEMPAC support. NEMPAC is the only national PAC solely dedicated to representing our bipartisan interests in the nation’s capital.
Over the years, NEMPAC has opened doors, educated new and veteran lawmakers, and helped emergency medicine identify friends and champions in the U.S. Congress. This access created opportunities to express our well-reasoned viewpoints on the issues of the day for nearly 40 years. Important issues have included physician payment reform, medical liability reform, solutions to the opioid and mental health crises, protecting the prudent layperson standard, and funding for research and graduate medical education.
Today, by combining and carefully allocating donations from thousands of individual emergency physicians, NEMPAC has grown to be one of most recognized and credible health care PACs in the nation and is the voice of emergency medicine in the political process.
Here is a brief history of NEMPAC’s inception, growth, and successes throughout our history.
1980: NEMPAC was formed by a few visionary ACEP members contributing $775 each.
1980s: ACEP Councillors urged during Annual Meeting to “help carry the water.”
1983: ACEP Washington, D.C., office opened.
1987: Articles of Association of NEMPAC initially approved by a vote of the ACEP Board of Directors.
A $25 “suggested amount” for NEMPAC was added to the ACEP dues statement. The amount has been raised three times since then, and is currently $200.
1990s: Inception of the Annual ACEP Council Challenge at the ACEP Annual Meeting with a goal of 100 percent participation by all ACEP Councillors present. The first challenge raised $15,000.
1999: NEMPAC conducted the first independent expenditure campaign by commissioning a poll for a member of congress in Pennsylvania.
2000: ACEP Board approved first telemarketing campaign for NEMPAC, which raised $134,200, nearly one-third of NEMPAC receipts in that year.
2004: NEMPAC raised more than $500,000 for the first time.
2005: “Give-a-Shift” campaign began, and 146 ACEP members gave at that level in 2005. Currently, more than 600 ACEP members donate at this level.
ACEP Board member Angela Gardner, MD, set an example for others during the 2005 Annual Meeting, writing a check to NEMPAC that equaled her compensation for one shift. She challenged other ACEP members to do the same, and the “Give-a-Shift” campaign was launched.
2008: EM Groups began to organize campaigns to support NEMPAC. CEP and EMP set the bar, with both groups collecting more than $100,000 from their ACEP member physicians. Eastside Emergency Physicians and FEP begin the tradition of 100 percent participation in NEMPAC at the Give-a-Shift level by all of their ACEP member physicians.
The ACEP Board of Directors voted in April 2008 to restructure the NEMPAC Board of Trustees, adding members, developing governance structure, and adding more trustee responsibilities.
NEMPAC exceeded $1 million in receipts for the first time, a goal set by ACEP Board of Directors), raising $1,045,136.
NEMPAC published its first comprehensive election report for distribution to all ACEP members.
NEMPAC jumped to fourth among specialty physician PAC receipts and remains there today.
In the 1988 elections, NEMPAC contributed just under $100,000 to 13 Senate and 73 congressional candidates. Thirty years later, NEMPAC is tracking to contribute more than $2.2 million to 27 Senate candidates, 150 House candidates, and other national party committees.
2010: NEMPAC raised and spent more than $2 million for federal candidates and party committees, an all-time high. NEMPAC has consistently reached and exceeded this $2 million mark in every election cycle since.
NEMPAC began to recognize ACEP members who donated at the Give-a-Shift level consecutively for five years.
Through campaign support and independent expenditures, NEMPAC took the lead in supporting the campaign of Joe Heck, DO, FACEP (R-NV), the first board certified emergency physician and ACEP member elected to serve in Congress. Dr. Heck served as the U.S. Representative for Nevada’s 3rd congressional district from 2011 to 2017.
2012: NEMPAC support helped elect a second board-certified emergency physician and ACEP member to Congress, Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA). He has been a member of the United States House of Representatives representing CA-36 since winning election in 2012 in what was considered a major upset. He was re-elected in 2014 and 2016 and continues to serve today.
2014: The NEMPAC Board authorized a record amount of $250,000 in independent expenditures for five physician candidates, all of whom were elected.
2015: NEMPAC began to recognize ACEP members who donated at the Give-a-Shift level for 10 years or more.
The NEMPAC Board of Trustees developed new donor levels for ACEP members, recognizing the need to continue to grow and strengthen the PAC while providing more options for ACEP members transitioning from residency to attending status and members who may be retiring from active practice.
NEMPAC began to host candidate “dine-arounds” at the Leadership & Advocacy Conference to offer unique opportunities for NEMPAC donors to interact with ACEP friends and champions in Congress in small group settings.
2016: NEMPAC added a resident member to the Board of Trustees.
NEMPAC Board approved $195,000 for independent expenditure campaign for five candidates, including co-founding the Silver State “Super” PAC to drive a positive message about ACEP Member Dr. Heck who was running for the U.S. Senate in Nevada.
2017: Give-a-Shift membership exceeded 600 for the first time.
2018: More than 25 years of the NEMPAC Council Challenge. Councillors now contribute more than $300,000 annually to NEMPAC, more than a quarter of all annual donations.
Vituity (formerly CEP), USACS, TeamHealth, Eastside Emergency Physicians, Northeast Emergency Medicine Specialists, WEPPA, and NEA continue to lead the way in group participation in NEMPAC.
In the 1988 elections, NEMPAC contributed just under $100,000 to 13 Senate and 73 congressional candidates. Thirty years later, NEMPAC is tracking to contribute more than $2.2 million to 27 Senate candidates, 150 House candidates, and other national party committees.
Dr. Jacoby is the chairman of the NEMPAC Board of Trustees.
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