LEGISLATORS IN THE NEWS
An Interview with Congresswoman Dr. Kim Schrier Lisa Moreno, MD MS MSCR FAAEM FIFEM — President, American Academy of Emergency Medicine
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elcome to the next installment of Legislators in the News. In this issue, we interview Congresswoman Dr. Kim Schrier (D-WA, US House of Representatives) who is a board certified pediatrician and only one of two female physicians, and the only Democratic female physician, currently serving in Congress. The Congresswoman is a staunch advocate of children and public health and supports the role of women in public policy. She generously accepted AAEM’s invitation to do a presentation at our annual Health Policy in Emergency Medicine Day, held on October 19, 2021, and allowed me to interview her on that day.
KS: Well, I certainly experienced this as an undergraduate. I was an astrophysics major and I was often the only woman in the room. But in Congress? Never! Remember, I was elected as part of the group of Democratic women who turned Congress. This is the Grand Sisterhood, and we are focusing on legislation that supports women in their roles as working mothers and supports children as the future leaders of our nation.
LM: Dr. Schrier, was there a particular event or series of events that led you to change your primary service focus from medicine to politics, or was it a more organic transition?
(Author’s note: Dr. Schrier joined the House of Representatives in a cohort of remarkable, record breaking women: Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, the first Black to represent Massachusetts; Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress; Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim women ever elected to Congress; and Congresswomen Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids, the first Native American women ever elected to Congress.)
KS: I’ll tell you very simply what it was: Trump got elected. I started to think about the implications of that election on my patients and their families. I realized that this election had the potential to have significant adverse impacts on the lives of children and on their health care. Many of our nation’s children were able to get quality healthcare under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). ACA’s exchanges have provided coverage for upwards of 10 million people annually. The Trump Administration reduced the support for advertising the program and reduced the annual enrollment period by almost half. There was a plan to exclude pre-existing conditions. This impacted me directly, as a Type 1 diabetic. It was disturbing to realize how many families and children would be left without medication, without care for congenital conditions, without the vaccines, and early detection that is facilitated by regular well child visits to the pediatrician that become impossible for those without insurance. Under that administration, immigrant children were not accorded the Child Tax Credit on the income tax returns of their parents, directly impacting the money available for food and housing. Public education was under attack during the campaign, with talk of issuing school credits that could be used at charter schools and religious schools, most of which are unaffordable or not accessible to our most vulnerable families. This plan threatened to decrease the support for public schools and increase the disparities in education that the poor are already experiencing. Even the general tenor of the conversation during that campaign was troubling. There was name calling, mocking of individuals with disabilities, disparagement of women. As a pediatrician, I know that the morale of children, of all individuals, is related to their mental health and to their ability to succeed. I felt it was my responsibility as a pediatrician and as a citizen to take a stand for the rights and wellbeing of children and families, and so I ran, and I won. LM: Many women in leadership experience “the only woman in the room” or “the only woman at the table” phenomenon. How does this play out for you in Congress?
LM: How does your knowledge and experience as a physician empower you in your interactions with other lawmakers? KS: Who better to take on information sharing than a physician in Congress! Everything I do carries additional weight because I’m a doctor. I can help set the trend for healthy behavior. Members watch to see, “Does Schrier replace her mask between sips and bites?” Other members even ask me to diagnose their kids; they seek my opinion about their children’s medical care. Concern for your children is bipartisan; it knows no bounds, and this fosters good relationships with other members, regardless of party or political stance. And MDs speak the same language, so it’s easy to gain bipartisanship with the other doctors serving in Congress. We understand the priorities. I worked with Republican Congressman John Joyce, MD (Pennsylvania), on strengthening the Vaccines for Children Program. This is a program that provides free vaccines for children whose families are unable to afford them and covers not just vaccines given at clinics or vaccine centers, but also in the pediatrician’s office. The VACCINES Act of 2019 is another example. This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a national surveillance system to monitor vaccination rates, and to conduct a national campaign to increase awareness of the importance of vaccines. These are non-partisan issues that physicians agree on, and physicians are regarded as experts on these issues by other members of Congress. We were able to come together with the same passion as the antivaxxers bring to their movement. Some of the older physician members who saw the results of unvaccinated kids who got polio were able to share their experiences. This carries weight. You have actual
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COMMON SENSE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
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