Behavioral Health
Behavioral health is a major public health issue in the District of Columbia. Sadly, many of the legislative and regulatory initiatives around behavioral health are tied to other public health concerns, such as opioid addiction, maternal mortality, and health equity.
In partnership with the Washington Psychiatric Society, AMA, and American Psychiatric Association (APA), MSDC works to ensure that patients receive appropriate support for behavioral health issues, that the practice of psychiatry is supported in the District, and that psychiatrists are available to patients in the District.
MSDC was a proud supporter of the Behavioral Health Parity Act of 2017, which enshrined into law that all health plans offered by an insurance carrier meet federal requirements of the Wellstone/Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.
MSDC Statements and Testimony of Behavioral Health Issues
25th Council period information coming soon
MSDC Members Visit the Wilson Building for Advocacy Event
Physicians are their own best advocates, so MSDC brought a group - virtually and in-person - to the DC Council as part of the annual Council Visit Day.
Council Visit Day is an annual event where physicians meet Councilmembers and their staff to discuss issues important to the entire DC House of Medicine.
This year, attendees shared three items:
- Concerns about B25-571, which would create a new mandatory CME requirement
- Information about prior auth gold carding as a next step in DC's progressive prior auth reforms
- A draft resolution encouraging Congress to fix the Medicare payment system
Attendees held six in-person and one virtual meeting, including meeting members of the Committee on Health and Committee on Health Equity. Towards the end of the day attendees spent 30 minutes with Councilmember Charles Allen discussing a number of healthcare topics and were thanked for their service.
This is not the only opportunity for physician engagement in advocacy this year; those interested in meeting Councilmembers or speaking with their offices can:
- Ask MSDC to help you sign up to testify at a hearing
- Ask MSDC to arrange a meeting to discuss an issue on the MSDC agenda
- Join or renew their membership to see opportunities in Capital Medicine or dedicated emails
For more information contact the MSDC office.
Sample of Legislation MSDC is Tracking in Behavioral Health
(see the whole list of bills here)
What does it do? The bill requires licensed health providers to complete 2 hours of CME on suicide prevention, assessment, and screening.
MSDC position: MSDC opposes the bill as written as the language does not encourage physician wellbeing or sufficient awareness of suicide prevention.
Current status: The bill had a hearing with the Committee on Health on June 10.