The MHA Legislative Policy Panel convened May 24 to develop recommendations for the MHA Board of Trustees on legislative initiatives impacting Michigan hospitals.
The meeting was highlighted by a presentation on potential state licensure of anesthesiologist assistants (AAs) from Michigan Society of Anesthesiologists (MSA) President Neeju Ravikant, MD, MS; Secretary/Treasurer & Legislative Co-Chair Courtney Abernathy, MD; and MSA board member William Peruzzi, MD. Currently Michigan is one of four states that allow practice for AAs via physician delegation. Licensure would still require AAs work under the supervision of a qualified physician anesthesiologist and would have Michigan join 15 other states, the District of Columbia and the US Territory of Guam that have moved over to licensure.
In addition to the presentation, the panel recommended the MHA support telehealth parity and discussed issues around pharmaceutical manufacturers discriminating against covered entities based on their contract pharmacy relationships.
The panel received updates on other issues including a review of the MHA Strategic Action Plan from MHA CEO Brian Peters, a federal update from federal lobbyist Carlos Jackson with Cornerstone Government Affairs and state updates on the budget and nurse staffing ratio legislation.
For more information on the MHA Legislative Policy Panel, contact Adam Carlson at the MHA.