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 Testifies in Favor of Certificate of Need Reform
On Wednesday, MSDC President Dr. Dock Winston testified in favor of B25-948. The bill would improve the certificate of need process by, among other things, exempting small practices and changes practices made that do not significantly expand their office. The legislation builds off of advocacy done by MSDC members after multiple small practices complained to MSDC that they received certificate of need process notifications for making changes as simple as staff hiring and office changes.
Below is the testimony from Dr. Winston and co-signed by MSDC President Dr. Ashesh Patel.
October 9, 2024
Councilmember Christina Henderson
Chair, Committee on Health
1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Chair Henderson,
The Medical Society of the District of Columbia (MSDC) is the largest medical organization representing metropolitan Washington physicians in the District. We advocate on behalf of all 11,000 plus licensed physicians in the District and seek to make the District the nation’s model for patient care and physician practice.
We appreciate the opportunity to testify today on behalf of the Society in favor of B25-948, the Certificate of Need Improvement Amendment Act. First, we want to thank the Committee for holding a hearing on this issue and for Councilmembers Henderson, Lewis George, Bonds, Allen, and Parker for introducing the bill. We also want to commend DC Health and Director Terri Thompson’s office for engaging with the Medical Society on this issue even in areas where we have disagreed.
The Society has been concerned with the interpretation of the statute governing certificate of need and its impact on DC medical practices. MSDC has heard instances of independent practices receiving certificate of need inquiries for basic changes such as replacing a physician or altering an exam room, which is well beyond the usual scope of a certificate of need. While the District has a robust, vibrant, and innovative healthcare system, our small geography means the District needs to constantly ensure its statutes and regulations are competitive with Maryland and Virginia. Asking practices to hire an attorney and spend thousands of dollars to see if they need to undergo the certificate of need process makes it easier to decide to relocate your practice a few miles over the border.
In particular, we want to highlight the bill’s definitions which exempt practices of certain sizes and patient care types from the certificate of need processes. Equating building a new hospital with redoing a waiting room is preposterous, and exempting smaller practices allows them to innovate and improve patient care without worrying about added paperwork and expense.
Please reach out to the MSDC office if our membership can be of assistance on this or any issue. We look forward to working with you and the Committee to make the District the nation’s model for patient care and physician practice.
Sincerely,
Ashesh D. Patel, MD, FACP
President, Medical Society of DC
Dock Winston, MD
President-Elect, Medical Society of DC
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