2007-2008 Legislative Session Priorities

The Academy will continually monitor and track legislation and when appropriate offer testimony in favor of bills that support initiatives promoting and improving patient care as well as improving practice environments.

The Academy will also monitor and track legislation and when appropriate offer testimony in opposition of bills that may place unnecessary burdens on patients or on the practice of family medicine.

Priorities include:

Monitor Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006 “An Act Providing Access to Affordable, Quality, Accountable Health Care” to:
1. Ensure financial burdens do not impede access to health care by vulnerable populations;
2. Make every effort to have family medicine voices involved in important decisions and on represented on committees;
3. Monitor reimbursement to health care providers under the program to ensure it is fair, what has been promised is delivered and that health care providers will be able to continue to provide high quality care;
4. Monitor for issues impeding access to care for all patients; and
5. Be mindful that many of our members are small business owners and monitor how the plan affects them
Relationships with government and insurers
1. Pay for Performance
  1. Work to ensure quality measures being used are appropriate for physicians and reflect the quality they are responsible for;
  2. Work to ensure it adds benefit and is not “punitive”; and
  3. Monitor “unfunded mandates” in terms of providing adequate payment for the increased documentation required.
2. Tiering
  1. Work to ensure tiering is accurate and reflects the differences in physician practices;
  2. Work to ensure that there exists adequate opportunity for physicians to challenge and improve their tiers; and
  3. Monitor tiering as it relates to access to care.
3. Scope of practice
  1. Ensure that family physicians are allowed to practice the full scope of family medicine for which they are trained, including but not limited to maternity care, child care, and mental health care, without interference from the government or insurance companies; and
  2. Monitor legislation that would increase the scope of practice of non-physician providers.
4. Credentialing – continue to encourage use of the uniform credentialing application.
5. Monitor for fairness in reimbursement.
6. Monitor timely payment issues.
Board of Registration in Medicine
1. Monitor new regulations and how they affect family physicians; and
2. Monitor for increased regulation of physician practice outside of the usual scope (medical spas, boutique practice).
Public Health and Safety
1. Universal immunization;
2. Flu vaccine issues;
3. Seat belts; and
4. Bioterrorism
Continue to encourage Legislative Advocacy
1. Speak Out;
2. Key Contacts;
3. Voices on the Hill; and
4. PAC support
Develop coalitions with appropriate medical specialties.
Medical Liability Reform.

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Email: Information@MassAFP.org
Telephone: (978) 232-0022 | Fax: (978) 232-0072