Family Physicians Political Action Committee

What is the FP-PAC?

The Family Physicians Political Action Committee (FP-PAC) is a bipartisan group dedicated to helping pro-family medicine candidates win election to public office and educating current legislators on the importance of family medicine. FP-PAC is the ONLY political organization whose sole mission is to promote family physicians and family medicine. We are the voice of family medicine in California, and we need your support.

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FP-PAC In Action

Jasmeet Bains, MD, Assemblymember, 35th District

One of the most influential ways to create change for family medicine and primary care is to get a literal seat at the table and run for public office. In 2022, our very own Jasmeet Bains, MD was elected to the California State Assembly District 35. Winning her first campaign for public office by an overwhelmingly large margin, Dr. Bains is the first family physician and first Sikh American and woman of Indian American descent to be elected to the California Legislature. The November 21, 2022, results from the Kern County Registrar of Voters showed Dr. Bains led with 60.5 percent of the vote, while her challenger reported 39.5 percent. The FP-PAC was instrumental in supporting Dr. Bains’ campaign by maximizing contributions and working with her campaign to organize volunteers with in-district canvassing and phone banking. Dr. Bains’ victory is instrumental in our efforts in elevating the profile of family medicine and advancing primary care in California.

Propositions

In 2022, FP-PAC supported Proposition 1 and Proposition 31.

Proposition 1: SCA 10 (Resolution Chapter 97, Statutes of 2022) Atkins. Reproductive Freedom.
Proposition 1 amended the California Constitution to prohibit the state from denying or interfering with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions— including their fundamental right to access reproductive care when and how they choose to. Reproductive health, including choice in the use of contraception and abortion care, is a vital element to the full-spectrum of family medicine. This initiative is a reflection of the holistic, person-centered care Family Physicians value and embody.

Proposition 31: Referendum Challenging a 2020 Law Prohibiting Retail Sale of Certain Flavored Tobacco Products.
Proposition 31 challenged a 2020 law that prohibits the retail sale of certain flavored tobacco products and tobacco flavor enhancers. Family Physicians strongly oppose the sale of flavored tobacco products in our state because it directly and disproportionately impacts low income communities of color, who are already at higher risk of chronic health care conditions.

What Members are Saying...

"As family physicians, we have a unique and broad understanding of the human experience within the healthcare system here in California. We see the inefficiencies, the hurdles, the struggles, the near-misses, and the opportunities for change. Healthcare in California is in many ways not only our responsibility to enhance but that of the representatives we elect to move our system forward. And to truly make the best decisions, our representatives need to hear from us. And, so, I thank you, fellow CAFP members and FP-PAC donors. You’ve provided me with the opportunity to engage in conversation around who we are as family physicians and what our community’s needs are moving forward. I never believed I would have had the chance to speak intimately with such influential and inspiring leaders and candidates, such as Dave Jones, Candidate for CA State Senate, District 8, or Dr. Joaquin Arambula, Assemblymember, District 31. Thank you for helping promote Family Medicine and Family Medicine physicians. It is an honor to be considered and supported as part of our united vision for quality health care in California and beyond.”

Toussaint Mears-Clarke, MD, FAAFP

“It was great to meet with Eric Guerra. We had a chance to learn about his history and experience. We also had a chance to share the perspectives from the lives of Family Medicine doctors. We talked about the bonds we form with patients, our relationships with the populations we serve, and our desire to improve the health and wellness of our communities. It was a wonderful chance to share information and brainstorm about ways to improve clinical outcomes in Sacramento,"

Kimberly Buss, MD, MPH

“I am immensely grateful to FP-PAC for affording me the invaluable opportunity to actively engage in discussions that are important to family physicians and our patients during events with Assembly member Marc Berman and Senator Susan Eggman. Being at the table, sharing insights, and participating in meaningful dialogue has been an enriching experience, and I appreciate the trust and support extended by FP-PAC in facilitating this crucial exchange. These interactions have not only allowed me to contribute to share the importance of primary care access but have also underscored the significance of collaborative efforts in championing the interests of family physicians and the well-being of the communities we serve.”

Robert Assibey, MD, FAAFP

“I want to thank the FP PAC for bringing family doctors literally to the table with our local representatives. Having dinner with City Council member Guerra was an opportunity for us both to share our experiences growing up in Sacramento. As an engineer, Guerra uses the unique perspective of that field to really examine the problems of our city with a strategic, solutions approach. As a 5th generation Sacramentan and family physician I had the opportunity to bring the faces of my community and my patients to the discussion to advocate for the need for more sustainable, accessible and affordable primary care for our city and state.”

Brea Bondi-Boyd, MD

Supporting FP-PAC Is Crucial to Family Medicine’s Success

Elections Have Consequences; FP-PAC Protects and Promotes Family Medicine
In 2014, trial lawyers and others qualified an initiative, Proposition 46, which would have dramatically altered the Medical Injury Compensation and Reform Act (MICRA), making it easier to file lawsuits against health care providers, increasing health care costs, reducing access to care and generating more legal fees for lawyers. Without family physicians’ support of FP-PAC, we would not have had the resources to support the opposition campaign and work with family physicians throughout the state to spread the message of how harmful this measure would be to patient access to care if passed.

In 2016, FP-PAC was very active in the election cycle, not only in supporting candidates for the Legislature, but also in targeting contributions for key ballot initiatives. One of the most significant wins FP-PAC achieved was passage of Proposition 56, a measure to increase the tobacco tax and use a significant portion of the revenue generated to improve Medi-Cal provider payment and support primary care and emergency medicine residency programs. Although Big Tobacco spent more than $60 million to defeat the measure, the physician community rose up, gathered signatures, participated in get-out-the-vote efforts and won the battle.

FP-PAC Helps Elect Primary Care Champions – Including Physicians!
FP-PAC has only been around a handful of year, but we’ve seen two big successes in the elections of Emergency Medicine physician Joaquin Arambula, MD (top) and Pediatrician Richard Pan, MD (bottom) to the Assembly and to the Assembly and Senate. FP-PAC contributed to their campaigns for office well before anyone really knew who they were. In fact, Dr. Pan’s first election was a come-from-behind upset win. In his Senate race, he faced an extremely difficult primary. FP-PAC’s support contributed to both of his close elections. Had he not won, California would have lost a legislative leader with a deep understanding of what primary care physicians and patients face every day. FP-PAC’s ability to identify and support champions early leads to the election of legislators who make support of primary care a major centerpiece of their legislative work, from securing hundreds of millions of dollars in medical student loan repayment to ensuring historically large primary care residency program funding.

We remain in close contact with both legislators, holding special family medicine-only events where they can hear directly from family physician constituents about the challenges they face in their communities. None of this would be possible without FP-PAC.

FP-PAC Creates Access to Legislative Leaders
In the fall of 2015, nearly a dozen family physicians gathered in the home of FP-PAC Board member Steve Green, MD for an FP-PAC-sponsored event to support Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D – San Diego). The Speaker of the Assembly is one of the most powerful people in the state. Without your support of FP-PAC, it would be unheard for a group of family physicians to have the undivided attention of one of the most important decision-makers in the state. The next year, Speaker Atkins faced an opponent from her own party in a hard-fought election. FP-PAC was one of Speaker Atkins’ very first supporters of her campaign for the State Senate and she won her election. Two years later, the attendees of the meeting at Dr. Green’s continued to build their relationships with Speaker Atkins; many of the same family physicians joined her for an event celebrating her selection as the new Senate Leader. President Pro Tem Atkins is one of the only people in California to hold the highest leadership position in both legislative houses.

Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (center, in red), with San Diego family physicians supporting her campaign.