May 15: Spring Surge
May 21: Public and Environmental Health Committee Meeting
June 4: Emergency Care Committee Meeting
June 11: Virtual Grand Rounds: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in California – A New Landscape
June 12: Physician Peer Group – El Dorado Hills
June 12: Physician Peer Group – Newcastle
June 13: Editorial Committee Meeting
June 18: Public and Environmental Health Committee Meeting
June 25: Joy of Medicine Advisory Committee Meeting
July 8: SSVMS Board of Directors Meeting
July 10: Physician Peer Group – El Dorado Hills
July 10: Physician Peer Group – Newcastle
July 11: Editorial Committee Meeting
July 11-12: 2024 Health Equity Leadership Summit by Physicians for a Healthy California
Since the last issue of SSV Medicine magazine, SSVMS has participated in CMA’s Legislative Advocacy Day and sent leadership to Washington, DC as part of the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Cap-to-Cap program.
CMA’s Legislative Advocacy Day covered several important issues. First, we asked legislators to protect the increase in provider Medi-Cal rates we achieved through the extension of the MCO tax in 2023 by approving the rate increase in the state budget. Second, we requested support of SB 516 (Skinner) to reform prior authorization by removing that need from services that are regularly approved, speeding up the appeals process, requiring that “peers” be of the same or similar specialty of the appealing physician, and requiring health plans to report their approval and denial rates. Additionally, we requested support of SB 1120 (Becker), the Physicians Make Decisions Act. This bill would require that a licensed physician or health care provider has final approval of any utilization review decisions that are made or assisted by artificial intelligence decision-making tools or algorithms used by a health care insurer.
The Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Cap-to-Cap trip, described in greater detail by Vanessa Walker, DO in this issue, allowed SSVMS leadership the opportunity to speak with members of Congress and their staff about the importance of increasing Medicare rates, curbing violence against health care workers, the expansion of telemedicine payment parity, and the effects of workforce shortages.
The California Medical Association is part of a large collection of organizations forming the Coalition to Protect Access to Care, which is supporting the Protect Access to Healthcare Initiative on the November 2024 ballot. This initiative will leverage existing federal funding to expand access to care for patients across California and protect the historic investment made by a bipartisan group of state leaders to provide stability for patients and health care providers. This initiative, targeted for the November ballot, will expand access to preventive health care for Medi-Cal patients, leading to fewer costly emergency room visits and shorter wait times for all Californians. It will also protect existing health care funds and require them to be spent to keep hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices open, and expand access for patients. The measure will provide support for California to manufacture its own insulin and other prescription drugs for much lower prices than exist currently. For more information on the Protect Access to Healthcare Initiative of 2024, please visit AccessToHealthcareCA.com.
We are pleased to report that March 5 election results were certified and Measure C in the City of Sacramento officially failed by a vote of 61.5% to 38.5%. By voting down Measure C, the business operations taxes affecting physicians and others practicing in Sacramento remained at their current levels instead of facing increases of up to 812%.
The Editorial Committee is responsible for planning, soliciting articles, editing, and publishing SSV Medicine. The Committee met in April to discuss topics for the May/June issue and to explore expanding the magazine’s online and audio presence. The Committee also met in May to recap the status of the upcoming articles and discuss pieces for the July/August issue. Topics discussed included missed diagnoses on younger female patients, the importance of courage, a physician’s first patient, marijuana changing schedules, and horticultural therapy.
The Emergency Care Committee studies issues related to emergency care services, trauma, patient transport and triage, disaster preparedness, and on-call issues within the region. The Committee also serves as liaison with government agencies responsible for emergency services, transport, and disaster planning, while providing quality improvement oversight to SSMVS’s SMART Medical Clearance Protocol. The Committee met in April to discuss safety and violence concerns at medical offices and hospitals, particularly in regard to weapons and firearms.
The Future of Medicine Committee manages the Future of Medicine program. This Committee met in April to select applicants for the Summer Program and Virtual Program. Ninety students were selected this year out of more than 150 applicants. The Committee has also recruited twenty-five guest speakers for the programs.
The Joy of Medicine Advisory Committee works to mitigate physician burnout by treating the effects on physicians and by advocating for systemic changes to prevent burnout at the source. The Committee also performs original research and plans the Annual Joy of Medicine Summit. This Committee met in March to review 2024 program data to-date, the status of the anti-violence project, and the 2024 Joy of Medicine Summit.
The Public and Environmental Health Committee studies and makes recommendations regarding public and environmental health issues affecting the health and well-being of our community. The Committee met in March to discuss the impacts of methamphetamine and opioids on the local community. The Committee also met in April to further discuss what steps to take in the fight against methamphetamine and opioids.
The Scholarship and Awards Committee administers the Medical Student Scholarship Fund and recommends special awards for members such as the Golden Stethoscope, Community Impact, Excellence in Advocacy, and Outstanding Medical Society Volunteer Awards. The Committee met in March to determine the recipients of SSVMS Honors Medicine awards. The recipients chosen were Rajiv Misquitta, MD for the Golden Stethoscope Award, Aimee Moulin, MD for the Community Impact Award, and Robert “Dr. Bob” LaPerriere, MD for the Outstanding Medical Society Volunteer Award.
The SPIRIT Management Committee provides support for donated medical care to the Sacramento region’s uninsured and medically indigent patients. The Committee met in early May to review 2024 donated services to-date, the status of referrals and wait lists, and the impact of the 2024 Medi-Cal expansion.