Gerald Makoid, AIROS Medical president and CEO, and Darren Behuniak, vice president of operations and marketing, met with Pennsylvania state legislators in Harrisburg on Tuesday, April 30.
The meetings were scheduled as part of “Advocacy Day,” hosted by Life Sciences Pennsylvania (LSPA). LSPA is a trade association for the Pennsylvania’s life sciences community that works to drive business and public policy goals for the biotechnology, medical device, diagnostic, pharmaceutical, research, and investment industries. AIROS Medical joined the organization in 2018.
AIROS joined various companies, including Novartis, Eli Lilly & Company, Pfizer, Clinlogix, Onspira Therapeutics, and others for meetings in the Pennsylvania State Capitol complex. Representatives from each company were able to share with state senators and representatives how their respective devices, drug therapies, and services are helping patients with various illnesses and health conditions. Discussions also revolved around budget concerns, funding to spark business innovation and job growth, and tax credits.
“We thank all of the legislators who took time out of their busy schedules to meet with us,” says Makoid. “The team at Life Sciences PA facilitated an excellent day, and we were proud to represent the medical device industry and the small business community. We appreciated the opportunity to tell our growth story, look forward to further discussions with the representatives from our district, and will remain committed to growing jobs, helping patients, and positively impacting the economy in Pennsylvania.”
Additional state advocacy priorities examined in the various meetings throughout the day included:
- Patient access to healthcare
- Co-pay costs
- Insurance coverage and pre-authorization
- Innovation financing and tax credits, including Pennsylvania’s Life Sciences Greenhouses, the Research and Development Tax Credit Program, the Keystone Innovation Zones (KIZ), and Ben Franklin Technology Partners
- Economic support programs, including the Pennsylvania First (PA First) Program and the Department of Health’s CURE Program
- Addressing the opioid crisis
- Job creation and economy growth through the life sciences industry
Some of the assembly members and staff personnel AIROS had the honor of meeting included:
Rep. Jim Gregory (R-Blair)
Rep. Joseph Ciresi (D-Montgomery)
Rep. Wendi Thomas (R-Bucks)
Rep. John Hershey (R-Juniata)
Rep. Megan Schroeder (R-Bucks)
Rep. Jennifer O’Mara (D-Delaware)
Rep. Ben Sanchez (D-Montgomery)
Mr. Matt Azeles, Chief of Staff for Senator Dan Laughlin (R-Erie)
The next event on the schedule for AIROS Medical is the Symposium for Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) conference, which will be held from May 7-11 in San Antonio, Texas. AIROS will present its product line, including the AIROS 6 and AIROS 8 sequential compression devices, and collaborate with wound care professionals about compression therapy and its benefits to the lymphedema patients they see in their centers.
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