Advocacy Successes
Physician Advocacy Successes
Good health policy is made with physicians in the discussion.
MSDC, working with its members, partners, and other organizations, has won major policy victories to help its members practice medicine. Below is a sampling of those victories. Do you want to be a vital part of the next policy victory helping improve the health of the District? Contact us today.
Opioid Policy
- MSDC was added to the opioid fund oversight panel by the Council in its legislation authorizing the oversight body
Scope of Practice
- MSDC supported legislation to ban the sale of flavored electronic smoking devices and restrict the sale of electronic smoking devices.
- Working with a coalition, MSDC added funding to the DC budget to support the hiring of more license specialists to help with the delay in processing medical licenses.
Women's Health
- B24-143, to regulate certified midwives, passed the Council with MSDC's support
Health Equity
- Mayor Muriel Bowser signs into law the Electronic Medical Order for Scope of Treatment Registry Amendment Act of 2019. The eMOST Registry Amendment Act permits the creation of an electronic database of advanced directive wishes for District residents that can be tied into the health information exchange.
- Mayor Bowser signs into law the School Sunscreen Safety Temporary Amendment Act of 2019. The bill permits students to bring and apply sunscreen during the 2019-2020 school year.
- MSDC comments on the importance of funding United Medical Center (UMC) and health facilities in Wards 7 and 8 in the mayor's budget. Those comments are used almost verbatim in CM Trayon White's comments advocating for funding of United Medical Center.
Scope of Practice
- DC Health publishes draft regulations removing the 3 mandatory CME hours for HIV/AIDS awareness and replaces them with a requirement to fulfill 10% of mandatory CME hours with a topic from a public health priority list. DC Health then waived the requirement for 2020.
- The Strengthening Reproductive Health Protections Act of 2020 is signed into law with MSDC support. The bill prohibits government interference in reproductive decisions between a patient and doctor, and prohibits employers from penalizing physicians for practicing reproductive medicine outside of their work hours.
- The Mayor's Commission on Healthcare Systems Transformation releases its final recommendations. One recommendation is for the District to explore options to make providing health care more affordable, including financial relief for higher malpractice insurance rates.
- The Council removes "telephone" from the list of prohibited types of telemedicine to allow physicians and other providers to be reimbursed for telephone telemedicine appointments after MSDC and health community advocacy.
- MSDC worked with the Council to modify onerous language in the Health Care Reporting Amendment Act that potentially would have penalized physicians from seeking help for substance abuse or addiction issues.
Opioid/Drug Policy
- The Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) waives prior authorization for key medication assisted treatments (MAT) treating substance use disorder patients in Medicaid.
- The Mayor signed into law The Access to Biosimilars Amendment Act of 2019, a top MSDC priority as it would help prescribers to prescribe more cost-effective drugs for patients.
Behavioral Health
- The Behavioral Health Parity Act of 2017, a major priority for MSDC and DCPA, officially becomes law. The legislation requires all health benefit plans offered by an insurance carrier to meet the federal requirements of the Wellstone/Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.
Health Equity
- The District Council passes B22-1001, The Health Insurance Marketplace Improvement Amendment Act of 2018. The bill prohibits the sale of Short Term, Limited Duration health plans and Association Health Plans (AHPs) in the DC Health Benefits Exchange.
Scope of Practice
- DC joins 28 other states in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact with B22-177 becoming law. The IMLC is designed to ease physician licensure in multiple states.
Women's Health
- The Maternal Mortality Review Committee is established by law. The Committee is responsible for finding solutions to maternal health crisis in the District. District physicians are an important part of this vital committee.
- B22-106, The Defending Access to Women's Health Care Services Amendment Act, becomes law. The act requires insurers to cover health care services like breast cancer screening and STI screenings without cost-sharing.
Opioid Policy
- Right before the Council adjourned for the session, it passed B21-32, the Specialty Drug Copayment Limitation Act. The bill limits cost shifting by payers for prescription drugs.
Behavioral Health
- B21-0007 passes the Council. The Behavioral Health Coordination of Care Amendment Act of 2016 permitted the disclosing of mental health information between a mental health facility and the health professional caring for the patient.
Women's Health
- MSDC was proud to have worked on B21-20. The law requires payers to cover up to 12 months of prescription contraception, advancing women's health and equality.
MSDC Leaders Testify Before Board of Medicine and Council
Yesterday, MSDC leaders spoke out on myriad topics before the District government as part of the Society's mission to make DC the best place to practice medicine.
MSDC President J. Desiree Pineda, MD, FACP, presented to the monthly DC Board of Medicine meeting briefly on the new Healthy Physician Program. The program, to launch next week, provides professional and peer support services for physicians who are experiencing moral injury or need a colleague to speak with during these uncertain times. Dr. Pineda gave the Board an update and reinforced the need for the Board to collect and share good data as part of the license renewal process. MSDC seeks to work with DC Health to study workforce survey data to see how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting physician wellbeing.
Also yesterday, two MSDC leaders testified before the Committee on Health on five separate bills. MSDC Board member and psychiatrist Yavar Moghimi, MD testified on B23-543, the Suicide Prevention Continuing Education Amendment Act of 2019. Dr. Moghimi testified that MSDC is concerned with the high rate of suicide in America, and referenced the higher-than-average suicide rate among medical professionals versus the entire population. However, Dr. Moghimi shared that the medical licensure process is a process designed to indicate who is qualified to practice medicine in the District, not who is most knowledgeable, and mandatory content matter across all specialties (even those who do not interact with patients) is counterproductive. Instead, on behalf of MSDC, Dr. Moghimi offered to work with DC Health and the private sector to educate the physician community on signs of suicide risk.
Samuel Kareff, MD, the Chair of MSDC's advocacy committee, testified on four other bills before the Committee: the Certificate of Stillbirth Amendment Act, the Lyme Disease Testing Information Disclosure Act, the Opioid Labeling Amendment Act, and the SMA Screening Act. Dr. Kareff provided a medical perspective on all four bills. He expressed MSDC's support for the Certificate of Sillbirth Act and the Opioid Labeling bill. He shared some concerns on the Lyme disease bill, as it would mandate a scripted message providers and health facilities must give a patient after a Lyme disease test. He also expressed support for the SMA Screening Act but shared the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) guidance on screening for SMA.
MSDC is constantly testifying before government entities on health policy. If you would like to learn how you can be involved in MSDC's advocacy efforts, contact our office.
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