Health Equity

Last night, MSDC held its September Board Meeting at DC Health Headquarters at 899 N Capitol St NE, Washington, DC. In attendance were many DC Health leadership staff and MSDC Board of Director members. This is MSDC’s final board meeting before the new leadership is announced and installed at the 2022 Annual Meeting next month.

MSDC Board Chair Dr. J. Desiree Pineda kicked off the meeting, recognizing the strong working relationship between MSDC and DC Health. Most notably, MSDC and DC Health co-hosted a webinar on medical license renewal in DC at the beginning of September. In addition, MSDC members have provided physician input to DC Health and the Board of Medicine on multiple topics. These include public health and licensure issues, such as minor consent for vaccination, maternal health, and interstate licensure.

DC Health Interim Director Sharon Lewis, DHA, discussed updates from DC Health including:

• DC Health's priority to make the District the healthiest place to live in the US
• Upcoming changes to the boards of licensing
• The District's national recognition for its public health responses to COVID-19 and monkeypox
• Concerns over childhood vaccinations and efforts to address vaccinations in school age children
• Changes and updates to the medical license process
• and more.

MSDC’s Board meeting continued with a full agenda covering many items. Among them were: 

• As the 24th DC Council period heads into its final months, MSDC is vigorously pursuing its advocacy priorities. This includes legislation addressing reproductive health, copay accumulators, prior authorization, health equity, and more. To raise awareness and help legislation move forward, MSDC and its partners are conducting a Day of Action on September 20.
• The MSDC 2022 Annual Meeting is taking place on Friday, October 28, both in-person at the AIA Event Center near the White House and virtually. This marks MSDC’s 205th anniversary since its founding in 1817.
• UnitedHealthcare, an MSDC Corporate Partner, provided an overview of its Medicare/Medicaid dual-eligible program. See here for an overview of the program.
• MSDC reported on its participation on the Mayor’s Healthcare Workforce Task Force, in which MSDC assists the Administration in sustaining the District’s healthcare workforce.
• The MSDC Board recognized Dr. Laurie Duncan who is rolling off the Board of Directors in October. She has served MSDC in many capacities including her tenure as Secretary, Chair of the Bylaws Task Force, and member of the Physician Health Committee.