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 Annual Meeting Sees New President and Special Guests
The Medical Society of DC held its annual membership meeting on Friday and welcomed the Society's new president, Dr. EW Emanuel.
MSDC is the only state medical society chartered by Congress and its members have been meeting since 1817. For the first time, due to the District's COVID-19 restrictions, the meeting was held on a video conference platform.
Members gathered in a virtual reception and had the opportunity to chat among themselves. They had the opportunity to hear music from MSDC member Dr. Jerry Perman and his band, who played some classic hits.
The meeting began with a welcome from the Chair of the Board of Directors Dr. Susanne Bathgate. She introduced a special video "year in review" highlighting the work of the Medical Society. The video focused on the contributions of MSDC members to the response to the pandemic, the Society's work on health equity issues, its continued advocacy efforts, and programs/networking opportunities held throughout the year by groups like the Women in Medicine section.
The meeting then transitioned into a speech by current president Dr. Desiree Pineda. Dr. Pineda focused her remarks praising physicians for their response to the pandemic. She also highlighted MSDC's Healthy Physician Program, an initiative to combat moral injury in the physician community. Finally, as teased in her promo video for the meeting, Dr. Pineda had a special toast she asked all members to join which highlighted everyone who helped make physicians successful.
Next on the agenda was a special greeting from AMA President Dr. Susan Bailey. Dr. Bailey congratulated MSDC's leadership and noted that she understood the challenges of being a leader during a pandemic. President Bailey thanked the Society for its leadership and highlighted areas where the AMA and MSDC have worked in tandem during the pandemic.
MSDC then had a second special guest speaker - DC Interim Deputy Mayor, DC Chief Medical Examiner, and National Medical Association Board member Roger Mitchell, MD. The Interim Deputy Mayor gave extended remarks on "medicine outside the exam room" and how physicians can use their experiences and education to make a difference in society. He noted that physicians need to move beyond their comfort zones to engage society on the major debates. Dr. Mitchell then engaged in a robust Q&A with members who, not surprisingly, asked in-depth and probing questions.
The meeting then moved on the business portion - the swearing in of the new MSDC President. Dr. Pineda read the oath of office and Dr. Emanuel repeated it, and thus completed the MSDC presidential transition. He then presented Dr. Pineda with the gavel award given to an outgoing president.
The meeting concluded with Dr. Emanuel's address and a closing montage. Dr. Emanuel's comments focused on the needs and engagement of the membership. He reiterated that the pandemic has challenged the profession in ways not seen in decades, but emphasized that MSDC had the resources and community to help. He outlined his priorities as president, focused on helping physicians in the District to practice medicine in the manner they wish. He issued a call to members to be engaged and provide feedback, energy, and comments to the Society.
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