In today's fast-paced world, health policy plays a crucial role in shaping the health care landscape of a nation. The decisions made in Washington D.C. have far-reaching impacts on the well-being of citizens, the quality of health care services, and the sustainability of the health care system.
Advocating for health policy changes is essential to addressing the pressing issues facing our health care system and ensure that all individuals have access to high-quality care. Every year, SSVMS leadership heads to Washington with the Cap-to-Cap health care team to fight for our members, our patients and the communities we serve.
One focus of our advocacy in this visit to the nation’s capital was increasing Medicare rates. Medicare is a vital lifeline for millions of Americans, but stagnant reimbursement rates have put a strain on health care providers that leads to significant challenges to access to care and delivering quality care. During our trip, we had the opportunity to meet with some of the staff from MedPAC (the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission) to share with them our experiences from the front lines and provide insight into the everyday challenges facing our physicians and patients due to the Medicare cuts and dwindling access to care.
We also addressed the violence and aggression health care workers increasingly face in the workplace. SSVMS and other members of the health care team shared personal stories of violence committed against them or other health care workers in a plea to lawmakers to support legislation that increases penalties for individuals who commit crimes against health care workers, who are just trying to do their jobs and take care of patients. We also focused on the need to prevent violence by addressing the root cause of the increased anger and frustration in our health care climate: lack of access to care for chronic medical conditions and mental health.
The SSVMS team also asked for the continuation of the expansion of telemedicine payment parity so patients can continue to access telehealth services seamlessly. Telemedicine has the potential to improve access to care, especially for individuals in rural or underserved areas, and advocating for payment parity will help sustain this increasingly important mode of delivering health care to as many people as possible.
No visit to the Capitol, where we met with staff and members of Congress, would be complete without driving home the issue of work force shortages. Physicians are leaving the profession at an alarming rate and our replacements are not coming fast enough! Graduate medical education (GME) is essential for training the next generation of physicians and ensuring that there is an adequate number of health care providers to meet the needs of the population.
Increased funding for GME is essential as a way to address physician shortages, especially in underserved areas. We were able to meet with staff from the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee to make the case for investing in GME and demonstrate how important it is to providing health care in California and the country as a whole.
I would be remiss to leave out that in addition to the business side of the trip, which also includes members of the Sacramento region business community, a lot of fun that was had by all at the various events sponsored by our local business leaders and health systems. We had multiple opportunities to meet new people and make connections with individuals who can help SSVMS be more effective in serving our physicians and practices.
It was truly an honor to represent all of you in speaking with our legislative leaders in Washington, D.C. and I look forward to continuing to work with them to improve the health of our communities. This visit was just one of our ongoing efforts to help shape health policy at the federal, state and local level, and with your support and participation our voice as an advocate for the health and well-being of the population can be even stronger. I encourage you to join SSVMS and CMA whenever you can to help us fight for physicians — to fight for you — in the year ahead.
Email Vanessa Walker, DO
