| Watch_This__WSMA_Legislative_Update_with_Katie_Kolan_April8-12 | Watch This: WSMA Legislative Update with Katie Kolan | Latest_News | Shared_Content/News/Advocacy_Report/2019/Watch_This__WSMA_Legislative_Update_with_Katie_Kolan_April8-12 | <div class="col-md-12">
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<h5>April 15, 2019
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<h2>Watch This: WSMA Legislative Update with Katie Kolan</h2>
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<p>In this week's legislative update video, WSMA Director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Katie Kolan covers the top five "what you need to know" issues as the regular legislative session enters its final stretch: 1. a call to action on the public option; 2. the MMR vaccination bill; 3. the governor's opioid legislation; 4. Tobacco21 bill signed; and 5. budget negotiations and the potential of a special session. Check out this week's video <a href="https://vimeo.com/330510167">here</a>&nbsp;and find archived videos <a href="https://vimeo.com/album/5835487">here</a>.</p>
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</div> | 4/15/2019 10:42:52 AM | 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM |
| weekly_rounds_apr_15_2019_taking_action_makes_a_difference | Weekly Rounds: Apr. 15, 2019 - Taking Action Makes a Difference | Latest_News | Shared_Content/News/Weekly_Rounds/2019/weekly_rounds_apr_15_2019_taking_action_makes_a_difference | <div class="col-md-12">
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<h5>April 15, 2019</h5>
<h2>Taking Action Makes a Difference</h2>
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As I write today's Weekly Rounds, I am on a plane headed to San Francisco to represent the WSMA and all of you at a Physicians Foundation board meeting. Even as I write, things are heating up in Olympia as we draw near to the scheduled end of session (April 28). The WSMA team there is working nonstop to protect the interests of our members, their patients, and the profession.
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In short, there's a lot going on! I'll highlight just five things here for now:
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First, as you've likely seen, we've sent several urgent calls to action on multiple topics recently: wrongful death expansion, business and occupation (B&amp;O) tax increase, and the public option bill. Thank you for taking the time to contact your legislators on these important matters. Your emails and calls do make a difference and we need you to continue to be engaged. April 17 is the cutoff for bills to be voted out of the opposite chamber (i.e. for <a href="https://vimeo.com/album/5835487">House bills to pass the Senate</a>). Our team in Olympia is working hard to salvage our priority bills and shut down attempts to move bad policy bills forward.
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Next, after many years of negotiation, the WSMA has reached an agreement on balance billing legislation that protects patients from unexpected bills and is fair for the physician community. The bill, which has passed both the House and the Senate and will soon be headed to the governor for his signature, includes:
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<li>No statutory reimbursement rate or mechanism for out-of-network payment subject to the bill, requiring carriers to reimburse out-of-network physicians at a commercially reasonable rate.</li>
<li>Physician-friendly dispute resolution process with no reference to Medicare rates as an arbitration criterion, and claims bundling allowed over a two-month timeframe.</li>
<li>Addressing the ERISA problem with an ability for self-insured health plans to opt in to complying with the law, and a mechanism for physicians to verify the nature of a health plan (i.e. whether it complies with the law and/or whether a patient can be balance billed). </li>
<li>Direct payment from carriers to physicians (prohibiting carriers from routing payment through patients).</li>
<li>Strengthened network adequacy requirements for carriers.</li>
<li>Workable requirements for physician groups pertaining to transparency and enforcement of the law.</li>
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I want to acknowledge the good work of Sean Graham, WSMA's director of legislative and political affairs, and all the physicians who worked with him to find a path forward for addressing this difficult issue. We know this law—however physician-friendly—poses challenges for the physician community. We're committed to helping practices implement the law and will continue to advocate during the rulemaking process to make the law as fair to physicians as possible.
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Third, last week's WSMA e-newsletter, Membership Memo, featured updates on what's happening in Olympia, including news that Gov. Jay Inslee signed one of WSMA's priority pieces of legislation: raising the age of sale for tobacco and vapor products in Washington state from 18 to 21. This is a major victory for public health and for physician advocacy in our state. As WSMA President Tom Schaaf, MD, noted in our press release, "This is the fifth legislative session where Washington's physicians have fought for policy to raise the tobacco and vaping purchasing age. In this instance, the fifth time's the charm. It's a reminder to all of us that the health and well-being of our patients, families, and loved ones is worth fighting for, no matter how long and hard the fight." The new law takes effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
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Next, the WSMA Foundation received a year-long grant from the Physicians Foundation to pilot a practice transformation initiative at several sites throughout Washington state. Congratulations to Allegro Pediatrics, EvergreenHealth Medical Group, Family Care Network, Kaiser Permanente, MultiCare Health System, The Everett Clinic, UW Valley Medical Center, and Virginia Mason for being chosen to participate with the WSMA, the AMA, and the Physicians Foundation on this journey to advance research and promote evidence-based solutions that improve patient care by enhancing professional fulfillment and reducing clinician burnout.
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Finally, more than 10 years ago, the WSMA recognized the unique needs of physician medical executives in the hospital setting. We partnered with the Washington State Hospital Association to create a joint chief medical officers workgroup. Since that time, the group has evolved to include medical officers at large independent clinics. Our <a href="http://medicalofficercollaborative.org/home/">Medical Officer Safe Table Learning Collaborative</a> offers a forum for medical officers to engage with and learn from each other on topics such as patient safety and quality; wellness, burnout, and impairment; leadership development; policy; culture change; and other shared challenges all CMOs face. The group meets three times a year and all medical officers are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Jessica Martinson at <a href="mailto:jessica@wsma.org">jessica@wsma.org</a>.
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This quick rundown barely scratches the surface of all we're doing just now, but you're busy and my plane is about to land, so I'll wrap this up. Thanks for your engagement with the WSMA, and for taking time to read about our work.
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</div> | 4/15/2019 12:00:00 AM | 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM |
| WSMA_Whistleblower_Bill_Passes_Senate__Heads_to_Governor_s_Desk | WSMA Whistleblower Bill Passes Senate, Heads to Governor's Desk | Latest_News | Shared_Content/News/Advocacy_Report/2019/WSMA_Whistleblower_Bill_Passes_Senate__Heads_to_Governor_s_Desk | <div class="col-md-12">
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April 12, 2019
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<h2>WSMA Whistleblower Bill Passes Senate, Heads to Governor's Desk</h2>
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<a href="https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1049&amp;Initiative=false&amp;Year=2019">House Bill 1049</a>, which will make it safer for physicians in Washington to speak up against wrongful actions, has passed out of the Senate with a unanimous vote, and now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk for his signature.
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The bill will provide the necessary protections and clarifications to make it easier for health care workers to speak out when they witness wrongdoing, without fear of retaliation and regardless of employment status or relationship to an organization. Provisions of HB 1049 will:
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<li>Ensure nonemployed physicians have the same protections regarding peer review and whistleblowing as employed physicians.</li>
<li>Provide protection of the identity of physician whistleblowers, protection from retaliation, and legal remedies, including the ability to file suit seeking damages and attorneys' fees. </li>
<li>Give physicians the ability to seek an injunction in some cases to regain a position or privileges in case a physician has been kicked off a medical staff in a process conducted improperly. </li>
<li>Amend the peer review chapter of the Washington statutes to require that any medical staff sanction process that may result in the revocation, suspension, or reduction of medical staff privileges or membership be conducted in accordance with medical staff bylaws.</li>
<li>Require that peer review be conducted according to criteria in the federal Healthcare Quality Improvement Act. The law was established in 1986 to encourage good faith professional review activities of health care entities. </li>
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The bill's provisions, written in response to resolutions from the 2016 WSMA House of Delegates meeting, were brought to legislators by the WSMA. The governor is expected to sign the legislation into law. Thanks to the many WSMA delegates and members for their support of this issue!
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</div> | 4/12/2019 3:01:13 PM | 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM |