State Legislative Advocacy for Family Medicine
The PAFP advocates on state government matters of importance on behalf of its members and the patients they serve. For information and updates, please join our Governmental & Practice Advocacy Committee group on PAFP Connect, or advocate online on specific topics via SpeakOut (below).
Governmental & Practice Advocacy Committee
This committee guides our policy positions on health care legislation and regulations. For PAFP members interested in joining please visit our PAFP Leadership page.
SpeakOut
The PAFP uses SpeakOut, an advocacy tool developed by the American Academy of Family Physicians, to distribute Advocacy Alerts to members as needed. Click here for more information on how this advocacy tool works. Watch this page for future SpeakOut campaigns.
PAFP 2019-20 State Legislative Agenda - (Updated November 19, 2018)
Nurse Practitioner Independence
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are integral, valuable members of the health care team, held in the highest regard by family physicians. However patients are best served when a physician-led, highly coordinated health care team provides care. Therefore, the PAFP opposes legislation that would expand their scope of practice and eliminate collaborative agreements.
Prior Authorization Reform
Prior authorizations have become significantly burdensome to family physicians, and more importantly result in delays and jeopardized quality care to patients. The PAFP supports reforms that would maximize electronic communications for authorizations as well as adverse determinations, and define consistent response times for authorizations, rejections, appeals, and external utilization review.
Direct Primary Care Authorizing Legislation
DPC is a model of care outside the bounds of health insurance and an emerging option for patients and physicians. The PAFP supports legislation that specifies direct primary care agreements are not insurance and therefore not subject to insurance laws or regulations.
Health Insurer Credentialing Reform
Delays in credentialing of new physicians or existing physicians changing practices create undo hardships most notably on the communities they serve. The PAFP supports legislation that would standardize the credentialing form and set processing standards.
Restrictive Covenants
In this age of health system consolidations, PAFP supports legislation limiting restrictive covenants in health care practitioner employment agreements.
Buprenorphine Medically Assisted Treatment Act
Access to care for patients suffering from substance abuse disorder is critical, and state regulation could significantly jeopardize access to office based opioid treatment (OBOT). The PAFP opposes legislation that would require prescribers of Buprenorphine to be licensed by the state and pay any state licensing fee.
POLST Legislation
Working with the Pennsylvania Medical Society, the PAFP supports updating and revising Pennsylvania law to include codification of Pennsylvania Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) to be used by medical professionals across all health care settings for patients who voluntarily wish to execute a POLST order.
Workplace Accommodations for Nursing Mothers
The PAFP supports legislation that requires employers to provide employees time to express breast milk in a sanitary environment for her nursing child.
PAFP’s State Legislative Agenda is crafted through the Government and Practice Advocacy Committee with position decisions made by the Board of Directors.
Questions/Comments? Please contact Brent Ennis, PAFP Deputy EVP/COO and State-Registered Lobbyist at bennis@pafp.com.
