Standing Up for Clinical Pharmacy on Capitol Hill: ACCP DC-Area Chapter Annual Advocacy Day

On March 26, 2026, ACCP’s Government Affairs office welcomed clinical pharmacists from the DC-Area College of Clinical Pharmacy for its Annual Capitol Hill Lobby Day. We thank our volunteer leaders from DC, Maryland, and Virginia for making this exciting event possible! Building on our experience holding virtual lobby days during the pandemic, this event was made available to members as an in-person and virtual hybrid effort.

Our group was led by Lisa Peters, Pharm.D., clinical specialist pharmacist in advanced heart failure and heart transplant at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Peters received her Pharm.D. degree from the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy and completed her pharmacy practice residency at the Richmond Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Peters is a former president of the DC College of Clinical Pharmacy and has organized the DCCCP Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill for more than 10 years.

The DCCCP represents members from across the Washington metropolitan area, including the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. This year, our group included student pharmacists from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. On Wednesday evening before the event, the group convened an online training and preparatory session to ensure all attendees were fully briefed.

The group met in person on Thursday morning at ACCP’s Washington, DC offices for an overview of ACCP’s advocacy platform, the current legislative environment, and the congressional lobbying process.

From there, we made our way up Pennsylvania Avenue NW to enjoy lunch at the cafeteria in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill before meetings with Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Although staff in these offices are already familiar with ACCP’s advocacy priorities, the importance of direct engagement of these active ACCP members in the political process cannot be replicated, whether in Washington, DC, or back home when Congress is in recess.

Consistent with ACCP’s advocacy priorities, our lobbying visits focused on ACCP’s efforts to establish Medicare coverage for comprehensive clinical pharmacy services as part of a broader reform of Medicare payment policy. In addition, we urged elected officials to cosponsor legislation to protect critical federal funding for pharmacy and nursing residency programs. The Rebuild America’s Health Care Schools Act of 2025 (S. 1087, H.R. 1708) would clarify the requirements that hospitals and health systems must meet to receive Medicare reimbursement for operating health care residency programs and require CMS to cover ALL direct and indirect costs associated with the training of a nursing and allied health education participant—including pharmacy residents—incurred by a participating hospital.

ACCP would like to thank the leadership of the DC chapter for their hard work and commitment to ACCP’s advocacy agenda. Any ACCP chapter or individual member interested in visiting Washington to lobby on Capitol Hill should contact the College’s Washington office, where your advocacy efforts can be facilitated and supported.

Call to Action

Even if you can’t travel to Washington, DC, to lobby on Capitol Hill, you can quickly write to Congress to urge support for ACCP’s legislation to protect residency funding. ACCP has created a preformatted email template that allows you to automatically send a letter to your US senators and representative, based on your home address. This streamlined process ensures that it takes less than 2 minutes for you to make a meaningful impact by expressing your views on this important issue. Click here to take action now!