Physician Grassroots Must Continue to Fight Adverse Budget Proposals That Weaken Patient Access to Community-Based Physician Care
Click to Enlarge
Physicians must continue to advocate to their legislators on the numerous proposals impacting medical care delivery set forth in the Executive Budget proposal for the 2025-26 Fiscal Year. Many physicians will be in Albany next Tuesday March 11 as part of MSSNY’s Annual Physician Advocacy Day to fight for their profession and their patients.
With both the Assembly and Senate likely to adopt their respective “one-House” Budget proposals next week, setting the stage for “3-way” Budget negotiations with the Governor, the timing for our advocacy day is critical!
MSSNY Continues to Strongly Oppose:
- Eliminating Access to Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR). Eliminating the right of physicians to appeal Medicaid Managed Care underpayments to IDR. This provision could further impair the ability of hospitals to maintain already strained on-call specialty care services. Please send a letter opposing this measure here: Retain Physicians’ Right to Use Independent Dispute Resolution Process in Medicaid Managed Care Claims
- Removing Important County Medical Society Review Role. Eliminating the historical role of county medical societies in vetting physicians to participate in the Workers’ Compensation (WC) program. This proposal does not meaningfully address the reasons physicians refrain from participation in WC and could result in some situations where an injured worker’s claim is impeded due to lack of sufficient knowledge of the often-cumbersome WC process. Please send a letter opposing this measure here: Preserve Role of County Medical Societies in Workers’ Compensation Application Process
- Increasing Liability Costs. Requiring physicians to pay 50% of the Excess Medical Malpractice Insurance cost – a $40,000,000 imposition on the 16,000 physicians with Excess coverage, which would be on top of the already outrageously high medical liability insurance premiums they already pay. Please send a letter opposing this measure here: Reject Physician Cost-Share for Excess Insurance Program.
- Eliminating Physician Supervision. Eliminating the requirement for physician supervision of the healthcare services provided by Physician Assistants (PAs) despite legislation enacted last year (and just implemented) to significantly expand the responsibilities of PAs. Please send a letter opposing this measure here: Preserve Physician-led, Team-based Healthcare.
- Eliminating Funding Source for CPH. Deleting the component of the biennial physician registration fee that is specifically set aside to fund the essential substance abuse counseling services provided to physicians in need through MSSNY’s Committee for Physicians Health (CPH) program. It does not repeal the CPH program but would make it harder to fund in future Budget years. This is part of a proposal to transfer the registration of physicians and PAs from the State Education Department to the Health Department, which MSSNY opposes.
MSSNY Supports the Following Initiatives in the Executive Budget:
- Funding to help increase woefully inadequate Medicaid physician reimbursement.
- Addressing the unworkable provider financial consent requirement enacted last year (currently “on hold”) that consent for payment from the patient be received after services are delivered.
- Directing DOH to undertake a comprehensive review of New York’s outdated health plan network adequacy standards.
- Funding for MSSNY’s Committee for Physicians Health (CPH) program.
- Funding for the Doctors Across New York medical student loan repayment program.
