2022 YEAR IN REVIEW 2022 YEAR IN REVIEW 2022 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Grassroots Engagement

Grassroots Engagement

Member Participation Makes CMA the Most Effective Advocacy Organization

CMA saw unprecedented grassroots physician engagement, with nearly 4,000 messages sent to policymakers. These physician voices were key in helping to defeat AB 2060 (public member majority on Medical Board of California) and AB 2236 (allowing optometrists to perform surgical procedures).

In a year where the world was starting to return to “normal,” the California Medical Association (CMA) seized the opportunity to make big gains for physician practices in several areas, from modernizing crucial malpractice legislation, preserving reproductive rights and encouraging grassroots engagement. This year’s achievements include:

CMA saw unprecedented grassroots physician engagement, with nearly 4,000 messages sent to policymakers. These physician voices were key in helping to defeat AB 2060 (public member majority on Medical Board of California) and AB 2236 (allowing optometrists to perform surgical procedures).

The California Medical Association (CMA) is proud to advocate on behalf of its nearly 50,000 physician members by supporting pragmatic and forward-looking policies that keep patients and communities healthy and thriving.

For more than a century and a half, CMA has been honored to work with physicians to make meaningful improvements to our health care system and facilitate the timely, accessible, and affordable delivery of care.

Public Health Funding

Public Health Funding

CMA helped administer both the KidsVaxGrant ($22+ million) and COVID-19 Test to Treat Equity Grant ($59 million) programs, providing critical funding for community pediatric vaccinators, public health systems and community health centers.

CMA helped administer both the KidsVaxGrant ($22+ million) and COVID-19 Test to Treat Equity Grant ($59 million) programs, providing critical funding for community pediatric vaccinators, public health systems and community health centers.

MICRA Modernization

CMA was able to garner significant victories in 2022. Keep reading to learn more about CMA’s key advocacy accomplishments in 2022.

Reducing Cumbersome Administrative Burdens

Facing another statewide ballot proposition that would have effectively eliminated MICRA’s cap on non-economic damages, CMA and Californians Allied for Patient Protection seized an opportunity to end one of the longest running political battles in California. The legislative deal (AB 35), which modernizes MICRA while preserving its underlying principles, has ushered in a new and sustained era of stability around malpractice liability.

CMA has long made it a top priority to free physicians from administrative burdens so they can spend more time caring for their patients. In 2022, this included:

Community Health Centers

Community Health Centers

+ Enabling physicians to spend less time dealing with burdensome bureaucracy by:

Reproductive Rights

CMA saw rapid membership growth among community health centers, resulting in an expansion of our mode of practice forums and House of Delegates representation.

CMA saw rapid membership growth among community health centers, resulting in an expansion of our mode of practice forums and House of Delegates representation.

After the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, CMA worked with the Future of Abortion Council to protect and expand access to reproductive health care in California, leading to 15 bills signed into law, $200 million in the state budget and the passage of Prop. 1 to enshrine abortion rights into California’s constitution.

■ Defeating legislation that would have subjected physician practices to a burdensome approval process for changes in governance and mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships with other health care entities

■ Granting physicians more flexibility in complying with California’s electronic prescribing mandate

Election Victories

Retention Payments

Retention Payments

Expanding and Preserving Health IT Innovation

CMA helped secure $1.3 billion in the state budget to provide retention bonuses for many of California’s physicians and other health care workers to stabilize the health care workforce.

CMA helped secure $1.3 billion in the state budget to provide retention bonuses for many of California’s physicians and other health care workers to stabilize the health care workforce.

CMA member Jasmeet Bains, M.D., joined the California Assembly as its third physician legislator, while incumbent assemblymembers Joaquin Arambula, M.D., and Akilah Weber, M.D., were re-elected. At the federal level, representatives Ami Bera, M.D., and Raul Ruiz, M.D., were re-elected to Congress. CMA also saw its ballot measure positions reflected in election results, including the rejection of Prop. 29 (dialysis clinic requirements) and passage of Prop. 31 (ban on flavored tobacco).

The public health emergency enabled rapid and broad expansion of digital health tools, such as telehealth. CMA preserved and built on these gains by:

+ Fighting to add flexibility for providers to enroll patients in certain Medi-Cal programs remotely

Universal Health Care

Universal Health Care

+ Helping physicians comply with the new federal information blocking rule and protect patients’ sensitive medical information

Federal Loan Forgiveness

CMA successfully advocated for full-scope Medi-Cal coverage for all income-eligible Californians by January 1, 2024, making California the first state to expand its Medicaid program to provide full benefits to all eligible individuals regardless of age or documentation status.

CMA successfully advocated for full-scope Medi-Cal coverage for all income-eligible Californians by January 1, 2024, making California the first state to expand its Medicaid program to provide full benefits to all eligible individuals regardless of age or documentation status.

+ Successfully pushing to extend COVID-19 telehealth waivers into 2023

Billing and Burdens

The U.S. Department of Education overhauled the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, including the specific fix that CMA advocated for that will allow all eligible California physicians to receive loan forgiveness.

Protecting Reproductive Health Access

Virtual Grand Rounds

Virtual Grand Rounds

CMA recouped more than $1 million this year (nearly $40 million over 14 years) on behalf of physician members through direct payor interventions. CMA also stopped Cigna’s burdensome modifier 25 policy.

In 2022, the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision sent shockwaves around the country as long-established reproductive rights were suddenly eroded. California, which has a long history of protecting and defending reproductive rights, fought back by bolstering protections for reproductive health access. In 2022, CMA continued that fight by:

CMA completed its 29th Virtual Grand Rounds webinar, providing critical COVID-19 continuing medical education to nearly 13,500 attendees while expanding topics to include other public health concerns such as long COVID, monkeypox and wildfire smoke.

CMA completed its 29th Virtual Grand Rounds webinar, providing critical COVID-19 continuing medical education to nearly 13,500 attendees while expanding topics to include other public health concerns such as long COVID, monkeypox and wildfire smoke.

Health IT

+ Successfully fighting for $200 million in the state budget to expand access to reproductive health care, including abortion, including $40 million for uncompensated care reimbursement to providers of reproductive health services

+ Supporting the passage of the statewide ballot initiative, Proposition 1, which enshrined abortion and contraceptives access into the state constitution

Visit cmadocs.org/year-in-review

CMA achieved significant victories on health information technology issues by extending the COVID telehealth waivers into 2023; permanently extending key Medi-Cal telehealth payment parity; eliminating e-prescribing burdens (AB 852); and helping physicians comply with the new federal information blocking rule while protecting patients’ sensitive medical information (SB 1419).

+ Partnering with the Future of Abortion Council to help get 15 bills signed into law