MSSNY Continues Advocacy on Key State Budget Priorities to Protect Patient Access to Community-Based Physician Care
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MSSNY continues to meet with state legislators on the numerous initiatives of interest to physicians and their patients contained in Executive Budget proposal for the 2025-26 Fiscal Year. While the Executive Budget proposal contains some positive measures, it also contains several seriously problematic initiatives that MSSNY will work with numerous allies to oppose.
MSSNY Will Strongly Oppose:
- 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 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
- 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
- Eliminating the requirement for physician supervision of the healthcare services provided by Physician Assistants (PAs) despite legislation enacted last year (and not even effective until mid-February) to significantly expand the responsibilities of PAs. Please send a letter opposing this measure here: Preserve Physician-led, Team-based Healthcare
- Permitting psychiatric NPs to certify involuntary commitment of patients.
- Permitting pharmacists to prescribe and order medications to treat nicotine dependence.
- Increasing prior authorization burdens in Medicaid by eliminating “prescriber prevails” protections in Medicaid.
MSSNY Supports:
- Funding for MSSNY’s Committee for Physicians Health (CPH) program.
- Funding to modestly 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.
- Permitting medical assistants to administer immunizations under physician supervision.
- Continuing $16 million in funding for Doctors Across New York medical student loan repayment program.
- Reducing interest rates on court judgments.
- Requiring a patient’s health insurance to cover patient costs when a workers compensation carrier controverts an injured worker claim.
Several weeks of hearings by the State Legislature on the various components of the Executive Budget are ongoing. The hearing on the health components of the State Budget will take place next Tuesday, February 11, for which MSSNY has submitted written testimony and is awaiting approval to provide verbal testimony in person.
The problematic initiatives included in this Budget proposal is another critical reason for physicians to come to Albany for the Annual Physician Advocacy Day on March 11.
