CMA ANNUAL REPORT

ANNUAL REPORT

2020

LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT

The California Medical Association’s (CMA) nearly 50,000 members come from a diverse set of backgrounds with unique life experiences. But in 2020, we were bound together by the common goal to protect the health and lives of all Californians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year was unlike any other year in CMA’s distinguished 164-year history. As an association largely founded during a cholera outbreak, we quickly rose to the challenge and shifted gears to help our physician members and policymakers navigate the COVID-19 crisis.

From expanding telehealth capabilities to securing personal protective gear to providing guidance and resources as the landscape shifted daily, there was no shortage of opportunities to fight for physicians and the practice of medicine.

The approval of two COVID-19 vaccines in December 2020 has brought some much-needed positive news in the fight against the coronavirus. But too many physicians are still struggling to obtain clear and actionable information to share with their communities about how and when they can expect the vaccine. Many others are wrestling with financial hardships in the wake of the COVID crisis and need more support to keep their doors open so they can continue to serve patients.

CMA will continue to advocate for physicians – whether it is a statewide strategy to simplify widespread vaccine distribution for physicians and the public, or to ensure that our physicians have the financial and policy support they need to guide their practices through the rest of this pandemic, and the months that follow.

CMA was able to rise to the challenges and opportunities largely because of the passionate engagement from our physician members. In 2020, we proved once again that when physicians work together, we can move mountains for our patients and communities.

Thank you for your service to California during the most extreme of circumstances. Together, we will continue to stand together “to promote the science and art of medicine, protection of public health and the betterment of the medical profession.”

Peter N. Bretan Jr., M.D.

President

LETTER FROM OUR CEO

The staff at the California Medical Association (CMA) are always honored to support physicians and the practice of medicine – and our work took on even more special meaning in 2020.

The global pandemic nearly brought the health care system to its knees and created new challenges for physicians in all modes of practice and specialty. From forced office closures, debunking conspiracy theories, stayat-home orders, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), death threats and declining patient visits, physicians faced an onslaught of obstacles that threatened the very health of their communities.

Physicians rose to the challenge to swiftly take action to protect public health.

CMA provided daily guidance to the state’s response and distributed more than 100 million pieces of PPE to physicians and medical practices across California. CMA created a new COVID-19 resource center with daily updates, toolkits, webinars and other resources, and we continued to fight for the practice of medicine through a comprehensive program of legislative, legal, regulatory, economic and social advocacy.

Through it all, CMA’s goal remains the same: provide our members with the support necessary to empower them to focus on providing quality patient care.

I want to thank each of you for your support and dedication to CMA because it’s what drives this organization to excellence. And when we work together to fight for the health of our patients and the vitality of the profession – we win.

Dustin Corcoran

Chief Executive Officer

2020 YEAR IN REVIEW

2020 was unlike any other year in CMA’s 164-year history. As an association largely founded during a cholera outbreak, we quickly rose to the challenge and shifted all gears to help physician members, elected officials and policymakers navigate the COVID-19 crisis. This year’s achievements include:

Advised the state’s development of executive orders and laws to ensure physicians

could respond to the pandemic, including on telehealth policy, regulatory waivers and public health officer safety.

Distributed more than 100 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to physician practices and medical groups statewide.

Secured more than $100 billion in financial

assistance to physician practices in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and an additional $75 billion to the HHS Provider Relief Fund in the COVID-19 “Interim Economic Relief” bill.

Created a new COVID-19

website with daily updates, toolkits, webinars and other resources for physicians.

Convened virtual grand

rounds on COVID-19 topics, including transmission, schools re-opening, testing and vaccines. Protected Proposition 56 funding (tobacco tax revenues) in the state budget, including $57 million for physician loan repayment and $38 million for graduate medical education programs.

Sponsored a new ban on flavored

tobacco products that will save lives, as well as limit Big Tobacco’s ability to target children and communities of color. Amended CMA’s mission statement to include health equity.

Continued our court fight to protect the Affordable Care Act.

Helped shape a federal surprise

billing ban that includes baseball-style arbitration to resolve disputes between physicians and payors.

2020 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

As a physician-led association, the California Medical Association (CMA) proudly advocates for nearly 50,000 members across all modes of practice and specialty. CMA’s advocacy mix includes legislation, voter ballot propositions, regulatory affairs, policymaking, legal affairs, practice management, reimbursement assistance and wellness programs.

Last year, CMA rose to the challenge of a deadly pandemic, which the association had not faced since its founding in the 1850s during a cholera outbreak. CMA advised and engaged daily with the state’s development of executive orders and laws to ensure physicians could respond to the pandemic, including on telehealth policy, regulatory waivers and public health officer safety. Thanks to our member support and engagement, CMA also:

+ Secured more than $190 billion in financial assistance from Congress through the Provider Relief Fund and $900 billion in forgiveable Paycheck Protection Program loans to help sustain physician practices through the pandemic

■ Secured a 2% Medicare physician payment increase while stopping a 10% payment cut to physician specialists

■ Secured a 6% increase in Medicaid overall funding while stopping a 50% funding cut

+ Distributed more than 100 million pieces of PPE to physician practices across California, in partnership with our component medical societies

+ Engaged community-based physicians, so Californians could be vaccinated in a place they are familiar with, under the care of a provider they trust

+ Convened virtual grand rounds on COVID-19 topics, including transmission, schools re-opening, testing and vaccines

+ Provided clear and actionable guidance to physicians and policy makers about how to reopen medical practices safely after many were shut down due to the pandemic

+ Created a new COVID-19 website with daily updates, toolkits, webinars and other resources for physicians

CASE STUDY: PPE DISTRIBUTION

Lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) throughout 2020 compounded hardships for medical practices and hindered their ability to provide care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To alleviate the strain on practices and improve patient access to care, the California Medical Association (CMA) partnered with local county medical societies and the state of California to distribute more than 100 million pieces of PPE—including medical-grade masks, gloves and gowns—to over 100,000 physicians and their staff, free of charge.

Setting up a statewide distribution system for essential equipment was uncharted waters for CMA, but the staff rose to the challenge and put together a plan that mobilized the county medical societies to develop an entirely new statewide distribution system for essential medical equipment, which included PPE donations from the Office of Emergency Services (OES).

Within weeks, PPE was being moved from state warehouses, repackaged into individual kits and loaded on trucks to be handed out at drive-through events across the state. Physicians and medical practices also accessed PPE through their local county medical society or CMA’s online request portal.

As of December 31, 2020, the effort had distributed a combination of 35 million masks, 35 million sets of gloves, 2.3 million isolation gowns, 2.5 million face shields, 400,000 hooded coveralls, 21 million N95 respirators, 3 million sanitizing wipes and 700,000 sanitizer bottles.

21 Million

N95 Respirators

2.5 Million

Face Shields

400,000

Hooded Coveralls

35 Million

Examination Gloves

2.3 Million

Isolation Gowns

35 Million

Surgical Masks

3 Million

Sanitizing Wipes

700,000

Sanitizer Bottles

To download CMA's full 2020 Annual Report, please visit cmadocs.org/2020.