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.
Join the physician letter asking for a prior auth hearing
MSDC is again pushing for the DC Council to hold a hearing on legislation to reform prior authorization, in line with recommendations made by the American Medical Association and other national healthcare groups. Last year, Councilmember Mary Cheh introduced this bill, and we have heard another bill may be introduced soon.
Without a hearing, the prior auth legislation cannot move forward for consideration by the Council. A hearing is also an opportunity by the Council to hear how and why prior auth is a burden to local practices. While MSDC has reams of data on national impact, the local impact moves the needle.
Just like last summer, we are asking you to join a physician sign-on letter asking for a hearing on potential legislation. Our hope is that if the bill drops shortly the letter can be used to show the urgency for a hearing.
Use this link to join our letter - the deadline is Tuesday, February 7.
The letter text is below. If you have any questions about prior auth or how to get involved, contact Robert Hay Jr at hay@msdc.org or 2O2-466-18OO.
February 7, 2023
The Honorable Christina Henderson
Chair, Committee on Health
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington DC 20004
Dear Chair Henderson,
We, the undersigned
physicians and healthcare professionals, urge you to hold a hearing on prior authorization legislation before the Council recess this summer.
According to a recent Axios article, 40 states are considering legislation to reform prior authorization
practices. The Mayor’s Healthcare Workforce Task Force includes a draft recommendation to reform the practice to prevent healthcare worker burnout and improve retention. Nationally, the movement is to reform a practice that harms patients and
hinders care, and the District needs to be a part of this movement.
A recent American Medical Association (AMA) physician survey on prior auth showed that 93% of physicians report care delays because of prior authorization. The same survey
showed that physician offices spend 13 hours each week (almost two business days) dedicated to prior auth paperwork.
These delays impact our residents and patients daily, leading many to wait unnecessarily for their treatments or choose
to abandon them altogether.
We ask you to hold a hearing on this bill because you and your colleagues need to hear our stories about how prior authorizations negatively impact physicians across the District. We look forward to continuing
to share our stories and working with your office to pass this legislation in 2023.
Sincerely,