INSIDE WVSMA
Message from the President
Suzanne Gharib , MD
In the last issue of the West Virginia Medical Journal , the topic of my message was the importance of advocacy and the engagement of physicians in the process . In this issue , let ’ s delve into a specific example that happened this year — House Bill 5105 . Just to give a brief synopsis , this bill was introduced to the West Virginia House of Delegates to essentially remove the mandate for private and parochial schools for pediatric immunizations .
Clearly , the medical community recognized the potential harm , as we have been seeing increased reports in the media of outbreaks of long-controlled diseases such as measles and cases of polio that have occurred in regions where immunization rates decline . Unfortunately , rather than seeing the clear data around this issue , the majority of delegates in our House of Representatives instead chose to pass this bill in the name of health freedom . The bill then progressed to the Senate , where , despite the efforts of our physician colleagues in the Senate as well as a loud outcry from the medical community , this truly awful bill was passed there as well .
Fortunately , the medical community became very engaged through this process and took this issue up as a huge strike against public health . Efforts of physician groups , especially the West Virginia State Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics , as well as multiple other groups , including teachers , nurse ’ s associations ( especially school nurses ), and concerned parents , helped to bring this issue into greater focus in the public eye . Those efforts helped bring this issue to the governor ’ s desk , and in a massive win for public health , Governor Jim Justice vetoed the bill .
While we can run a victory lap and be proud of our efforts , we also need to take a step back and be realistic that while this was a win , it also highlights our failure as a medical community . The best description of our approach to this issue , and unfortunately many of the issues that plague our profession , is a defensive one . Unfortunately , this is not a sports analogy where defense wins games . In the game of legislation , it is often the offense that sets the tone and drives lawmaking .
So , what are the takeaway lessons from this experience ?
The first is that to enact change , there is a desperate need to elect legislators who truly represent our field into the appropriate positions to help legislate healthcare policy . That comes with encouraging civic minded physicians and healthcare workers to run for those positions and to support them both financially and professionally . While this is a long-term goal , this is ultimately the best option to help shape healthcare policy .
Also , there is more immediate work that needs to be done . For instance , efforts need to be taken to educate the public and legislators about issues that affect medical policy in a proactive fashion . The war over immunizations is unfortunately far from over . While we live to fight another day , there is a guarantee that this issue will continue to arise over the next few years . As such , public relations campaigns , teaching at the local and state levels , and talking to individual representatives about the harm incurred by decreasing numbers of vaccinated children in our communities are essential to prevent such laws from coming to fruition .
While the immunization issue is very specific , this approach can be applied to a wide variety of issues that arise regarding health policy . Issues that come to mind include pharmacy benefit managers and their general lack of transparency , continuing cuts on NIH funding , ongoing problems with prior authorizations and the masses of paperwork that delay care , non-medical switching of medications practiced by multiple insurance companies for financial gain , tort reform , and determination of quality measures that result in tedious work for physicians but do not actually measure anything worthwhile . These are just a few of the issues that warrant increased visibility and discussion .
In summary , we saw some amazing things in the last legislative session when physicians came together for a common goal . We saw a wrong and worked tirelessly to correct it . If we can apply a fraction of that passion to electing those who will fairly represent our profession as well as becoming proactive about the topics that affect our work and our patients , the success will be immeasurable .
Best regards ,
Suzanne Gharib , MD
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