FEATURE
KMA PHYSICIANS’ DAY AT THE CAPITOL
AUTHOR Rachel H. Safeek, MPH
I
t is 6:30am on Thursday, February 6,
2020. Nearly 20 of my University of Lou-
isville School of Medicine classmates and
I are heading to Frankfort to participate
in the 2020 KMA Physicians’ Day at the
Capitol. The first-year medical students
are preparing for an exam the following
day; all heads are bent over histology slides
on their laptops. Soon we’ll descend upon the Kentucky State Cap-
itol building to advocate for important health policies affecting
Kentuckians.
The annual Physicians’ Day at the Capitol (PDAC), hosted by
the Kentucky Medical Association (KMA), is an advocacy oppor-
tunity for physicians and medical students from all over the state
of Kentucky to discuss their concerns, suggestions and opinions
with Kentucky state Senators and Representatives.
As a second-year medical student, I also serve as the Ameri-
can Medical Association (AMA) Medical Student Section Chapter
President and medical student representative to the KMA Board
of Trustees (2019-2020 session). I work closely with the Greater
Louisville Medical Society and the KMA to organize students for
advocacy events, including PDAC and the KMA annual meeting.
As I watched a sea of white coats converge upon the State Cap-
itol building on the morning of PDAC, I grew excited, knowing
how difficult assembling a large group of students can be (let alone
for an advocacy event at 8am that was over an hour away and the
day before a big exam).
The morning began with an address from Cory Meadows,
Deputy Executive Vice President and Director of Advocacy of
the KMA, who discussed the legislative priorities for the morn-
ing. Topics of interest included a bill on copay accumulation that
would allow manufacturer-based copay coupons and vouchers
provided to patients to be counted toward a patient’s deductible;
putting an end to surprise billing; maintaining a stance of further
(continued on page 14)
MAY 2020
13