Virginia emergency physicians urge General Assembly and Gov.-elect Youngkin to remove ER penalty budget item

It is disappointing to see that despite a huge surplus in the Medicaid program, Governor Ralph Northam’s introduced 2022-2024 biennial budget preserves a harmful policy that improperly penalizes emergency physicians and frontline healthcare professionals who have been providing care to all Virginians, including Medicaid patients.

Despite a similar policy being removed from the Virginia budget a few years ago due to being at odds with state and federal law, this policy was enacted at the urging of Medicaid managed care organizations and enacted during the COVID-19 budget uncertainty.

The Resolutions: Setting a course for ACEP's Future

Last month at ACEP21 in Boston, ACEP Councilors — essentially like a legislative branch of ACEP — met to discuss new Resolutions.

“Resolutions” pertain to issues affecting the practice of emergency medicine, advocacy and regulatory issues, and amendments to things like the College Bylaws or rules. Resolutions are considered formal motions that, if adopted, become official Council policy.