Washington Physicians Call On Lawmakers To Pass Legislation Addressing Critical Health Care Issues Facing The State

OLYMPIA, Wash., March 3, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Washington state is currently facing a number of critical health care issues, including physician/provider workforce shortages, barriers to access for much-needed health care services affecting our state's most vulnerable populations, and dangerously low levels of vaccination rates in some communities.

This month, as legislators in Olympia continue their work developing policy and budgets during the legislative session, the Washington State Medical Association is calling on physicians and patients to join them in urging lawmakers to support the following funding and policy recommendations to address our state's most pressing health care issues:

Support for House Bill 2009 to eliminate personal and philosophical vaccine exemptions: According to CDC data from 2013-14, our state's vaccination rate for kindergarten-age children remains below the 90 percent federal baseline for preventing outbreaks. Exemption rates are as high as 30-40 percent in some of our state's schools. We must strengthen existing immunization policies to better ensure community immunity.

Support fair funding for primary care services: Physicians in Washington state are being asked to accept Medicaid payments that are far short of the cost to provide care—an unsustainable situation for many practices. If our state's most vulnerable citizens aren't able to access quality care, chronic conditions will go untreated, emergency room visits increase and health outcomes worsen, costing the state money, productivity and lives.

Support health professional student loan repayment: To address a growing physician shortage in our state's rural and underserved areas, we need our legislators to support proven programs like the Washington State Health Professional Loan Repayment and Scholarship Program that provide incentives for new physicians and other providers to practice in these communities.

Support graduate medical education funding: There is a severe shortage of primary care physicians in our rural and underserved communities. To meet the needs of an expanding patient base, state legislators in Olympia must invest in training family physicians. Where a physician does his or her residency is the number one predictor of where that physician chooses to practice. Support for the Washington Family Practice Residency Network is desperately needed to expand capacity of student and residency slots in primary care.

Other priority issues the WSMA will be supporting this month in the legislature include:

Adolescent e-cigarette use: House Bill 1645 addresses adolescent e-cigarette use/vaping by limiting access to minors, and imposes monetary penalties for violations and a tax on vapor products, revenue from which would be deposited into a public health services account.

Telemedicine: Senate Bill 5175 would require insurers to cover procedures delivered via telemedicine that were already covered for regular visits.

Distracting driving: Senate Bill 5656 seeks to curtail driving distractions caused by the use of smartphones.

Funding for psychiatric services: In addition to funding more psychiatric in-patient beds, the WSMA is supporting legislation that seeks to integrate mental health and physical health services, such as House Bill 1140 which would require the state's Health Care Authority to establish a program to support primary care physicians in the assessment and appropriate diagnosis and treatment of adults with behavioral health disorders through the provision of primary care psychiatric consultation services.

All-payer claims database: The WSMA continues its support of an all-payer claims database, with all insurance companies reporting health care information related to price and outcomes. Two bills seek to address elements of the database: Senate Bill 5084 and House Bill 1437.

Visit the WSMA's Legislative Action Center at www.wsma.org for more information on these issues and to make your voice heard.

For more information on the WSMA or any issues of interest to Washington physicians or patients, please contact Susan Callahan at [email protected] or (206) 794-4706.

SOURCE Washington State Medical Association

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http://www.wsma.org