WASHINGTON — Dr. Timothy McAvoy, an internist from Waukesha, Wisconsin, held his infant granddaughter last Tuesday while standing in the Longworth House Office Building, waiting to talk to a congressional aide about increasing Medicare pay for doctors.
Facing a highly partisan Congress where Republicans have vowed to cut federal spending, McAvoy hoped his Midwestern charm, along with a dose of supporting data, would sway members to remember physicians’ cause.
“’Wisconsin nice’ is a real thing,” said McAvoy, who graduated from medical school in 1973. “Whether it will translate to the votes we need, we will have to see.”
