PULSE: Policy Updates at the 2025 House of Delegates

At its annual House of Delegates meeting on April 5, MSSNY passed the following significant new policy:

Governmental Affairs A

Preservation of Medicaid
MSSNY strongly supports maintaining and expanding Medicaid coverage to ensure access to comprehensive healthcare for vulnerable populations; and opposes any state or federal efforts to impose work requirements as a condition of Medicaid eligibility and opposes increasing cost-sharing requirements for Medicaid enrollees.

MSSNY will ask the AMA to make preservation of federal funding and eligibility for Medicaid an urgent and top legislative advocacy priority and will ask the AMA to strongly oppose federal and state efforts to restrict eligibility and funding for all public health insurance programs, including Medicaid and CHIP.

Ban Non-Competes
MSSNY will revise its policy on non-compete agreements to advocate for legislation/regulation to eliminate noncompete agreements from all physician employment contracts.

Ask Gov to Form Medical Liability Commission
MSSNY, with our allies, will formally and publicly propose to Governor Hochul that she empanel a Commission of Stakeholders, including business owners, attorneys, physicians, builders, etc., to evaluate NY’s entire Liability Landscape to reform NY’s Tort Law.

Need for H-1B Separate Pathway
MSSNY will work with the American Medical Association to advocate for an expedited H-1B visa application and renewal process for International Medical Graduate physicians.

Public Health & Education

Protecting the Integrity of the U.S. Healthcare System from Misinformation
MSSNY will work to educate both medical professionals and the public on the importance of scientific literacy and medical accuracy, the risks associated with healthcare misinformation, and the importance of continued advancement of evidence-based healthcare.

Increase Education About Long COVID
MSSNY will seek out collaborations to increase the education of physicians and the general public about Long Covid, its diagnosis and sequelae, and treatment options as they emerge.

Timely Access to Pain Medications in Discharged Hospital and Ambulatory Surgery Patients
MSSNY will advocate for legislation and/or regulation prohibiting health insurers from requiring preauthorization for prescribed opioid pain medicine for post-surgery and post-hospital discharged patients for an initial 7-day supply.

Mitigating Air and Noise Pollution from Aviation in Disproportionately Impacted and Vulnerable Communities
MSSNY will promote sustainable aviation fuels and advocate for the adoption of sustainable alternative jet fuels to decrease premature death rates in communities near and downwind of airports.  Additionally, MSSNY will encourage expansion of noise mitigation infrastructure and foster partnerships with affected communities to raise awareness of the health impacts of air and noise pollution.

Governmental Affairs B

Prohibit Arbitrary Timelines on Prior Authorization Expiration
MSSNY will advocate to prohibit private health insurers and the state Medicaid program from establishing time limits on the duration of prior authorization of no less than one year. MSSNY will urge that all approved prior authorizations shall not be required to be repeated and in no event last less than one year.

Addressing Additional State Mandated Educational Requirements for Physicians
MSSNY will advocate for meaningful physician input before new mandatory educational requirements are issued for physicians.

Socio-Medical Economics

Addressing the Physician Shortage and Insurance Panel Restrictions in New York
MSSNY will advocate for policies that require insurance companies to open their panels to new physicians, particularly in areas identified as having a physician shortage and will work with state legislators and regulatory bodies to develop and implement measures that facilitate the inclusion of new physicians in insurance networks, thereby enhancing patient access to comprehensive healthcare services.

Prohibiting Insurers from Denying Payment for Procedures Based on Site of Service
MSSNY will advocate for legislation or regulation that prohibits insurers in NY State from denying payment for a procedure based on the site of service in which it was performed, provided that the procedure is medically necessary, and that site of service is recognized by AMA/CPT as valid for that procedure. MSSNY will also advocate for the AMA RUC to expand the allowable sites of service for codes that can be performed to similar standards in an office setting.

The Crisis in the Availability of Primary Care: Halt the required participation of small practices in value-based payment (VBP) models
MSSNY requests the American Medical Association to take a stand against the detrimental effects of VBP programs on small practices, primary care in particular, and advocate for the immediate discontinuation of required participation in VBP arrangements for practices with ten or fewer physicians regardless of practice revenue.

Reports Of Officers and Administrative Matters

Supporting Easily Accessible Childcare for Parents
MSSNY will encourage the development of childcare opportunities in or near medical centers and hospitals.