Joshua Mammen, MD, PhD, chief of surgical oncology at UNMC and physician-in-chief of the National Cancer Institute-designated Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, is nearing the end of his first year as chair of the American College of Surgeons Professional Association’s SurgeonsPAC Board.
The American College of Surgeons plays a vital role in today’s health care landscape, improving surgical care and safeguarding ethical standards. Its political action committee, ACSPA-SurgeonsPAC, serves as the advocacy arm, advancing policies that promote safe surgical practice and equitable access to high-quality care for all patients. These efforts strengthen trust in the profession and improve patient outcomes nationwide.
In his three-year leadership role, Dr. Mammen champions issues critical to surgical care, ensuring they remain at the forefront of health care policy discussions as federal laws are developed. He works directly with legislators, their staff and other medical political action committees to advocate for patients who depend on surgical treatment.
“There is a tendency to think of advocacy as someone else’s job,” Dr. Mammen said. “I want to emphasize that advocating for our patients is every physicians’ role.”
Dr. Mammen is reshaping the SurgeonsPAC leadership by bringing advocacy conversations to the state and local levels. With only about 1% of surgeons currently engaged in advocacy nationwide, he is determined to expand participation and empower more surgeons to have a voice in health care policy.
“We are going down to the grassroots,” he said, describing his plan to attend more state and regional meetings to educate surgeons about why their voices matter in the legislative process. “We want to help surgeons share the stories of the challenges that their patients face.”
Dr. Mammen said that meaningful progress in medicine requires sustained advocacy and long-term investment. Pointing to colorectal cancer screening as an example, he noted that advocacy efforts over the past decade helped eliminate out-of-pocket costs that once prevented Nebraskans from being screened—a policy change that has led to earlier cancer detection and treatment for countless individuals.
“The breakthroughs we are seeing today are the result of investments made years or even decades ago,” he said.
Dr. Mammen’s commitment to advocacy extends beyond national policy to consistent local engagement. He serves on the boards of several state and regional organizations, including the Metropolitan Omaha Medical Society and the Nebraska Cancer Coalition, where he advances policy changes that expand patient access to care, clinical trials and leading-edge cancer treatments.
Looking ahead, Dr. Mammen said he will continue to focus on adequate access for all patients to necessary surgical and medical care, particularly cancer surgeries, and on sustained funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute for ground breaking research that leads to dramatic improvements in cancer mortality.
“These collaborative efforts help ensure patients in Nebraska and across the country can access the surgical care they need,” Dr. Mammen said, “regardless of where they live.”