ACPNJ Advocacy Center
As physicians caring directly for patients, our mission must include advocacy and social justice.
The voices of physicians, individually and even more so collectively, have enormous power to affect change as we are trusted, informed, and dedicated to the needs and rights of others who are often lack that voice.
Advocacy also can directly and positively impact your practice of medicine as ACPNJ supports issues with direct relevancy to patient care and physician careers.
Becoming an advocate for subjects about which you are passionate has the added benefit of shifting your locus of control from the passive recipient of change to an active driver of that change.
Such a perspective can minimize burnout and reinvigorate careers. ACP NJ has been effectively interacting with legislators to affect needed policy change and help our patients. We are passionately committed to advocacy and welcome you to join our efforts.
For more information on our advocacy initiatives or to join the Health and Public Policy Committee, please contact Committee Chair Lisa Cerceo, MD.
Advocacy in Action
We in New Jersey have an outstanding opportunity to take part in ACP's annual advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., as well as here at home all year long.

ACPNJ Delegation visiting Rep. Frank Pallone during the 2019 Leadership Day.
Please stand with us and advocate for our patients, our practices and our profession!
Important advocacy events include Leadership Day - ACP Services Inc.'s annual advocacy day on Capitol Hill, and ACP's annual State of the Nation's Healthcare briefing.
2022 Virtual Advocacy Day
Thank you for participating in the 2022 Virtual Advocacy Day!
Agenda:
- 8:30 AM – From idea to Action: The Logistics of Physician Advocacy - Claudine Leone, JD
9:00 AM – Setting Our SIGHTS - Elizabeth Cerceo, MD
9:45 AM – Break
10:00 AM – Legislator(s) Address - Speakers TBD
11:00 AM – Q&A
Advocacy News
ACPNJ Needs Your Help NOW!
ACP-NJ needs your help NOW to support the reform of prior authorization in New Jersey
The New Jersey Legislature has until the first week in January 2024 to pass legislation (A-1255/S1794) to address many of the aspects of the prior authorization process that come between a physician and their patients which can ultimately delay patient care.
ACPNJ Expresses Deep Concern for Health and Wellbeing of the People of Ukraine
ACPNJ expresses our deep concern for the health and wellbeing of the people of Ukraine in the escalating crisis. Attacks on civilians and on hospitals are unconscionable. It has been more than 150 years since international law prohibited attacks against hospitals, ambulances, the wounded and sick, and health workers.
Sustainable hospitals: We know impact of climate change on health — we also know health care facilities are contributing to it
Dr. Lisa Cerceo has long counseled her patients about the impacts of climate change, its effect on their health and ways they can work to mitigate those issues.
Last week, an ACP-NJ task force released its “Sustainable Initiatives to Guide Healthcare Transformation” report — providing recommendations to incorporate environmental sustainability into New Jersey’s health systems and facilities.
SIGHT: Sustainable Initiatives to Guide Healthcare Transformation
ACPNJ is proud to announce the Sustainable Initiatives to Guide Healthcare Transformation (SIGHT): Recommendations on Sustainable Healthcare in New Jersey . SIGHT recognizes the intersection of climate and health and…
2021 Leadership Day Report
Representatives from ACPNJ participated in the May 26th ACP Leadership Day, which was conducted virtually for the first time. Jonathan Shammash, MD, FACP, ACPNJ Northern Governor; Elizabeth Cerceo, MD, FACP,…
The People of India Need Our Help NOW!
COVID 19 has created an unprecedented crisis for India and the Indian people. India needs oxygen concentrators, ventilators, and medicine. Many of our internists in New Jersey have family in…
Earth Day is April 22!
As physicians’ vow to first do no harm, we must recognize the link between environmental health and wellbeing and our patients’ health and wellbeing. We all impact our environment in…
Proposed Visa Rule Change Would Affect Those With J-1 Classification
There is a proposal for a visa rule change September 25 by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would affect those with visa classifications targeted as J-1. This rule…
Payment for Telehealth and Telephone Consultations During COVID-19 – ACP Chapter Toolkit
Summary To help ensure access to care, during the COVID-19 health emergency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has lifted many of the Medicare barriers to telehealth by expanding coverage…
NJ Internist George Wang, MD, FACP published in National Library of Medicine
Paper on food systems and environmental sustainability was co-authored by George Wang, MD, FACP https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30243951