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.
Learn About Our New Strategic Vision
At our June Board of Directors meeting, the MSDC Board approved a new strategic vision for the Society. I am writing to share why this matters to you and your practice, and show some highlights of this plan.
First, let's talk about the process. This plan came through serious thought and consideration of the direction of the Society. To help focus the conversation, MSDC hired Global Navigators to facilitate conversations and provide an outside perspective. Global Navigators interviewed the Board and Executive Vice President, and held a half-day retreat one weekend to have some honest discussion. Two Board meetings included long conversations about the strategic plan and various drafts.
Second, let's discuss what is in our strategic plan. The plan includes (a) a mission statement, (b) a vision statement, (c) our core values, (d) a new diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging statement, and (e) our objectives and goals to implement them.
Mission Statement
To ensure physician and patient well-being in the District of Columbia through the promotion of high-quality accessible care in a changing healthcare environment.
Our mission is clear: your Society will work every day for you and your patients. We want the District to be a model of high-quality and accessible care even while recognizing that we face a rapidly changing world.
Vision Statement
To make the District of Columbia the nation’s model for patient care and physician practice.
The vision statement is the brief summary of our strategic vision, and we include it on every letter and written testimony we create. As you can see, we want to make DC a model across the country for how we care for patients and protect physicians practice, regardless of the type.
Core Values
Quality
Equity
Compassion
Our values go beyond scientific knowledge. The Society values and promotes sound medicine (like we have since 1817), but also medicine that treats people with equity and compassion. As we will see in the DEIB statement, we recognize that past medical
and Society practices may have downplayed these elements, but we now recognize that quality, equity, and compassion are essential to the practice of medicine and the mission of the Society.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
MSDC respects, welcomes, and celebrates all people and their diverse identities. We recognize the negative impact of health inequity across all facets of society. We are committed to working toward elimination of bias and healthcare disparities wherever they exist with the goal of ensuring that everyone belongs.
Our communities will flourish when we mutually celebrate and champion our unique strengths and diverse backgrounds.
This is MSDC's first equity statement, and we wanted to incorporate "belonging" to our DEI statement. We recognize that inequality has negatively impacted society and patient care, and your Society will work to eliminate bias and disparities. Not recognize or highlight, but eliminate. Our statement acknowledges that differences and diversity are a strength and we celebrate them in your Society's work.
Objectives and Goals
Objective 1: Become the Best Resource for Physicians Practicing in DC
- Build greater awareness of MSDC among individual physicians and physician groups
- Introduce MSDC to physicians new to the District of Columbia
- Engage medical students, residents, fellows, and early-career physicians with mentorship and support
- Engage licensed allied health professionals
Objective 2: Strengthen advocacy and outreach
- Ensure MSDC provides a home where physicians in DC belong
- Advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging within medicine in DC
- Build on existing relationships that further expand MSDC’s voice for physicians and patients
- Extend outreach efforts by building new partnerships with key stakeholders
Objective 3: Ensure MSDC’s long-term Growth
- Build member and partner value to ensure long-term commitment to MSDC
- Increase the number of engaged members
- Introduce a sound business plan that reflects MSDC’s long-term strategy
- Optimize existing and explore new revenue streams
These are the three pillars on which our work and implementation of our plan will rest. The Society will execute our vision in three areas. First, your Society will provide resources to support physicians practicing in DC, no matter what type of practice, including engaging with all parts of your practice. Second, MSDC will grow what has consistently been our highest-rated member benefit, advocacy on behalf of the profession. Finally, we will continue to position the Society for sustained growth in the future despite uncertainty in the world around us.
That's our plan. How can you help or get involved? Sign-up to join one of our member groups or reach out to me via hay@msdc.org. We plan on this being a living document, guiding our work for the years to come.