ACEP chapters across the country prove that when emergency physicians unite, real change happens. These state legislative and policy wins are possible because ACEP members are coming together and speaking out in coordinated advocacy campaigns informed by frontline experience.

From strengthening protections on the job and protecting physician-led care, to combating corporate interests in medicine, and more, ACEP state advocacy empowers emergency physicians at work and improves patient care.

Oregon: Keeping Corporate Interests Out of Medicine

ACEP strongly supports national and state efforts to address the threats posed by consolidation and corporate overreach.

Oregon ACEP (OR-ACEP) played a leading advocacy role in the adoption of a new state law ensuring patient care is managed by physicians, not corporations. The law prohibits corporations from influencing physician clinical decisions, staffing, or management. It also bans non-compete clauses that restrict physicians’ due process rights.

Over months of deep negotiation, the chapter made sure legislators heard persistently and directly from emergency physicians about how corporate overreach accelerates burnout and contributes to workforce shortages, among other complicating factors.

In written testimony, the chapter said, “The relationship between patient and physician is sacred because we uphold the beneficial interest and autonomy of the patient as most important. OR-ACEP believes the doctor and patient relationship is the center of medicine. Clinical decisions should only be made by a physician.”

These victories are aligned with ACEP’s comprehensive advocacy strategy to protect the physician-patient relationship and preserve emergency physicians’ jobs, well-being, and autonomy.

Several States Improve Safety Protections for Emergency Physicians

ACEP is making sure that legislators and health care leaders across the country hear directly from emergency physicians: violence should never be considered “just part of the job.”

New York ACEP supported a bill that empowers victims of workplace assault to give statements at their job sites and requires hospital committees to review instances of violence.

“Our health care professionals deserve a workplace free from violence. The passage of this bill reaffirms that the safety of those who care for our communities must be a priority,” said Dr. Penelope C. Lema, president-elect of New York ACEP.

In a 2024 ACEP poll, 91 percent of emergency physicians said that they, or a colleague, had been victims of violence in the past year.  The Ohio ACEP chapter’s advocacy helped enact a law aiming to prevent hospital violence through enhanced training, improved incident tracking and reporting, and strengthened security plans.

“Physical violence, intimidation, and threats are not accepted in any other workplace, and they should not be allowed or tolerated in a health care setting,” said Dr. Nicole Veitinger, past president, Ohio ACEP.

Two more chapters were instrumental in the passage of state laws protecting emergency physicians from violence. Virginia ACEP voiced their strong support for a law requiring hospitals to establish a workplace violence incident reporting system. OR-ACEP advocated for a law creating workplace violence prevention requirements and worked with the Oregon Nurses Association to ensure violence prevention training was offered.

ACEP is committed to keeping you safe on the job. These laws are meaningful steps in the right direction, and more wins are possible through dedicated ACEP member advocacy. Here is a list of states that passed laws recently to protect health care workers.

• Colorado (SB 25-166)
• Montana (HB 543)
• New Hampshire (SB 29)
• Ohio (HB 452)
• Oregon (HB 537)
• Vermont (H 259)
• Virginia (SB 1260/HB 2269)
• Washington (HB 1162)

South Carolina and Vermont: Ensuring Physicians Lead ED Care

ACEP proudly leads efforts nationwide to champion emergency physicians as the leaders of care in every emergency department.

In 2023, Indiana ACEP (INACEP) developed and advocated for a state law requiring an emergency physician to be present and on duty in every emergency department. In 2024, this ACEP-developed model legislation was used by Virginia ACEP to achieve another state victory for physician-led care.

This year, South Carolina ACEP (SCCEP) worked tirelessly to support legislation requiring all hospitals with emergency departments to have a physician physically onsite. SCCEP’s strategic approach showed lawmakers that an emergency physician-led care team is integral to high quality patient care.

“Our advocacy focused on preserving the existing standard of care. We emphasized that the bill was necessary to maintain the high level of expertise currently present in all our emergency departments,” said Lee Katherine “Kat” Moore, MD, president of SCCEP.

Vermont ACEP also stood up and voiced strong opposition to a recommendation by the state’s board to convert four hospitals into standalone emergency departments staffed by nonphysicians.

Indiana: Strengthening Prudent Layperson Standard Enforcement

Emergency physicians will not hesitate to stand up to insurance companies and demand an end to bad insurer behaviors. Indiana ACEP (INACEP) was instrumental in the drafting and introduction of a new state senate bill that would reinforce the prudent layperson standard and help make sure that insurance companies fairly and promptly reimburse emergency physicians for care.

“We see this legislation as a step in the right direction. It is our hope that our state legislature supports us and passes this bill so that Indiana continues to lead the nation in its support of emergency physicians and the patients for whom we provide care,” said Emily Fitz, MD, past president of INACEP.

ACEP continues to work toward ensuring fair and timely reimbursement for all emergency physicians.

Ms. Enser is ACEP’s Public Relations Manager.