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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.

24th Council Period (2021-2022)

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
23rd Council Period (2019-2020) [see update for entire Council period]

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.
22nd Council Period (2017-2018)

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.
21st Council Period (2015-2016)

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 Joins Groundbreaking Celebration for East End Hospital

Feb 17, 2022, 16:15 PM by MSDC Staff
MSDC celebrates the new hospital but cautions it is not a cure-all for health inequity in Wards 7 and 8.

Mayor Bowser at Cedar Hill 2.17.22

Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new hospital at the St. Elizabeth’s East Campus and announced the new name, Cedar Hill Regional Health Center, GW Health. MSDC attended the ceremony, as did officials from Universal Health Services, George Washington University, and Children’s National Hospital, as a long-time advocate for increased access to healthcare East of the River. Quality care for all, including equitable healthcare facilities across all eight wards, is a top priority in MSDC’s advocacy agenda. 

The new 136-bed full-service hospital will provide a range of inpatient services to all District residents, including newborn delivery, maternal health and women’s services, a verified trauma center, general surgery, behavioral health, and pediatric and adult emergency services. According to the Office of the Mayor, the facility is scheduled to open to patients in late December 2024 and will be operated by Universal Health Services under a 75-year lease. Physicians, practitioners, and academic medicine will be provided by George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Children’s National Hospital.

Although a modern hospital built with a local partner and reputable healthcare system is a best-case scenario for a new community hospital, it is not a cure-all for health care access East of the River.  As past MSDC president Dr. Julian Craig said when testifying before the DC Council in June 2020, "A comprehensive healthcare system requires not only a world class hospital, but also independent physician practices." Independent practice physicians, who are often engaged in their community, and are important to a healthy physician mix for Wards 7 and 8.  MSDC and its Private Practice Physicians Section are working to improve conditions for independent practice physicians East of the River, and across all eight wards.