As we kick off 2023, ACEP chapters were invited to share their news from the past year and preview what’s to come.

From the national level, ACEP welcomed Chris Johnson as its new Senior Director of State Government Affairs in July 2022. Mr. Johnson is focused on strengthening of the role of state advocacy and aligning state strategies with ACEP’s efforts at the national and workplace levels.

ALABAMA

The Alabama Chapter participated in a physician legislative day on Capitol Hill. During this visit, Dr. Bryan Balentine, President of the Alabama Chapter at the time, testified in the house health committee in opposition to a bill that would have allowed non-nurse midwives to perform vaginal birth after cesarean (VBACS) in a home setting up to an hour away from the nearest hospital. The bill was voted on in the committee that day and failed to pass thereby preventing its advancement to the floor of the house.

ARIZONA

AzCEP celebrated its 50th anniversary with a reception and a special edition of the Arizona EPIC newsletter. The chapter was also actively involved in supporting and implementing legislation to improve its members’ well-being and practice environment and AzCEP hosted a summer retreat that included an EM Work/Life Integration Panel.

CALIFORNIA

Chapter advocacy efforts included work on dozens of pieces of legislation to defend physician reimbursement and to improve patient care. California ACEP sought to require health plans to collect co-payments and deductibles directly from patients rather than requiring emergency physicians to be their billing agents. The chapter will pursue this effort again in 2023. The chapter also supported several bills signed into law to improve mental health care, provide Medicaid to all income-eligible Californians, and to expand fentanyl testing, to name a few.

COLORADO

The Colorado Chapter has had many wins at the Capitol. The chapter met multiple times with the Governor’s office to address COVID-19, staffing, and boarding issues, along with speaking at a press conference alongside Governor Polis. Colorado ACEP hosted a successful Medical Director’s Summit and CME event with hands-on ultrasound training. The chapter formed a task force and has written legislation to combat physician assistant independent practice. There is active work at the city level to protect the ability of EMS to administer sedative medications.

FLORIDA

FCEP was thrilled to host a very successful, full-scale, in-person return to its annual meeting, Symposium by the Sea, at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Bonita Springs. The SBS22 program featured a balanced mix of scientific presentations, networking/social events, and resident competitions. The chapter strove to emphasize wellness while providing a family-friendly atmosphere.

GEORGIA

GCEP is proud to have successfully completed the second year of applications for its Georgia diversity scholarship. The goal is to help an underrepresented minority 4th-year medical student participate in an emergency medicine rotation anywhere within the state of Georgia. GCEP continues to support a successful leadership fellowship program that equips its participants for advocacy at multiple levels. In 2023, the program will add a third fellow. Many of its program graduates are actively involved in GCEP, ACEP, and the American Medican Association (AMA).

ILLINOIS

ICEP supported state funding of the new 9-8-8 emergency care number for behavioral health emergencies and helped pass legislation to improve the Sexual Assault Survivors Emergency Treatment Act (SASETA). ICEP is represented on the new Community Emergency Services and Supports Act (CESSA) technical advisory committee to develop protocols for Mobile Crisis Response (MCR) for 9-8-8 calls and continues to collaborate with state officials to develop strategies to reduce emergency department (ED) boarding, especially those with behavioral health issues.

Members of the Indiana Chapter pose during legislative meetings at ACEP’s 2022 Leadership & Advocacy Conference.

LOUISIANA

Louisiana ACEP was active in the state legislature defending the practice of medicine against scope creep by non-physician practitioners, all while enduring a very active hurricane season. Louisiana ACEP was proud to receive the ACEP Council Teamwork award at the last council meeting.

MARYLAND

Maryland ACEP has been diligently working with the Maryland Department of Health to address emergency medicine billing/reimbursement issues related to Optum, the state’s Administrative Service Organization for Behavioral Health Services. After countless discussions, letters, and a legislative hearing, Optum issued a Provider Alert that can be viewed on the Optum website. MDACEP urges its members to resubmit any claims with a mental health primary diagnosis that were erroneously denied. This is a big win for Maryland ACEP.

MASSACHUSETTS

The state’s current two-year legislative session has come to a close. MACEP was asked to join several work groups that came out of recently passed legislation. The chapter has developed an annual advocacy report to track our advocacy efforts that is available at www.macep.org.

MICHIGAN

MCEP welcomed its new Executive Director, Christy Snitgen, who has been with MCEP for 27 years. MCEP continues to monitor the changing legal landscape post-Roe and is working diligently to mitigate how the Dobbs v. Jackson decision affects emergency physicians and patients. MCEP’s Diana Nordlund, DO, JD, FACEP, and Antony Hsu, MD, FACEP, are co-chairing ACEP’s EM Reproductive Health and Patient Safety Task Force. In 2022, MCEP had representation on each of the Council Reference Committees: Dr. Hsu, Dr. Nordlund and Bradford Walters, MD.

MISSOURI

MOCEP continues to battle down-coding. The chapter was able to fight off scope of practice creep throughout the legislative session and collaborated with other medical groups on several health care issues. MOCEP held its largest Missouri Emergency Medicine Symposium to date and hosted an Advocacy Day in partnership with the state medical association. View the MOCEP Annual Report for more updates at https://mocep.org/2022/08/2022-mocep-annual-report/.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NHACEP held its Managing Medical Emergencies workshop in May followed by a dinner with more than 20 students in attendance.

NEW YORK

New York ACEP celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, commemorating the milestone with a video on New York ACEP’s last 50 years: Advancing Emergency Care in New York State. View the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guIYftXlTvk.

NORTH CAROLINA

The North Carolina College of Emergency Physicians has recently sent a letter to its governor, attorney general, legislative leadership, law enforcement, and the court system about the crisis situation in EDs around the state. The letter addressed violence against health care workers in the ED, extreme staffing shortages, and the behavioral health holds that are combining to make this a crisis situation. The chapter received responses from the Department of Health and Human Services and leadership in the House and will continue to work with these stakeholders to address these issues in 2023.

Ohio Chapter members in Washington, D.C., at ACEP’s 2022 Leadership & Advocacy Conference.

OHIO

Ohio ACEP’s 50th Anniversary was celebrated at its 2022 Annual Meeting. At the event, Laura Tiberi, Chapter Executive Director, 2002–21, was presented the chapter’s highest honor, the Bill Hall Award for Service. Chapter leaders developed its 2022–25 strategic plan, and an in-person Residents’ Assembly was attended by more than 350 residents. Ohio ACEP began offering hands-on ultrasound courses and continues to advocate to protect patients from retroactive insurance claim denials and reduction in benefits for ED visits.

OREGON

OCEP celebrated 50 years as a chapter, putting together a list for its members to highlight the best chapter moments from the past five decades: https://oregonacep.org/ocep-celebrates-50-years/. The chapter held a successful conference with more than 100 members in attendance and will host the 2023 event in Portland for the first time in many years. The chapter continues to partner with other groups to raise awareness about ED violence concerns. In 2023, Oregon is keeping up the fight for legislation on workplace safety and EMS modernization.

PENNSYLVANIA

In 2022, PACEP modernized its decades-old political action committee, the Pennsylvania Emergency Physicians Political Action Committee (PEP-PAC). This transformation included establishing bylaws, electing a board of directors, partnering with a bipartisan consulting firm focused on compliance with lobbying finances and disclosures, and embarking on an innovative fundraising campaign, “$22 for $22,000 in 2022.” These efforts will ensure that emergency physicians can continue to advocate effectively in Harrisburg.

TEXAS

TCEP restructured its Government Relations Council that will lead its advocacy efforts alongside its state lobbyists. The chapter hosted its Advocacy Training Day in November for all interested members. To strengthen the chapter’s relationships with legislators, TCEP facilitated Legi-Zoom calls and ED visits with key legislators.

VIRGINIA

The Virginia chapter is gearing up for an intense 2023 State General Assembly session. From fair payment to boarding and crowding and workplace violence, the chapter is on the front lines of creating and promoting solutions through legislation and regulation. Get the latest on Virginia’s main issues at www.vacep.org/issues.

WEST VIRGINIA

The West Virginia Chapter resumed sending one resident from each EM residency program in the state to ACEP’s Leadership and Advocacy Conference. The Chapter is working collaboratively with the WV Partnership for Health Innovation to establish a statewide system for ED Palliative Care Referrals.

WISCONSIN

In 2023, the Wisconsin Chapter will prioritize increasing the Medicaid reimbursement rates associated with emergency codes. While the increase from the last budget has improved reimbursement for emergency codes for the first time in three decades, more work is needed to get on par with other states. WI-ACEP continues to collaborate with residency programs to present the Annual Wisconsin Emergency Medicine Research Forum. The chapter is focused on overall member engagement and increasing its support to those in more rural areas.

Chapters were well represented during the ACEP22 Council Meeting in San Francisco.