“We are gratified to see that the Hoosier state recognizes the importance of physician-led care and look forward to continuing this very important work of advocating for our specialty,” said Indiana ACEP President Lindsay Zimmerman, MD, FACEP.

Dr. Zimmerman and Dan Elliott, MD, provided testimony to support the bill that can be viewed at acep.org/indiana-victory.

Trained Security Now Required in Virginia Emergency Departments

Virginia law now requires trained security in every emergency department and Virginia ACEP advocacy helped make that possible.

The new law requires off-duty police officers or security personnel in the emergency department around the clock. They will have training in conflict resolution and de-escalation, and have the ability to physically restrain unruly patients, family members, or other individuals in the ED. Part of the new law requires every Virginia emergency department to create a security assessment and risk plan.

Virginia ACEP supported this effort the entire way through. Violence prevention was a centerpiece of Virginia ACEP’s EM Advocacy Day in January, when chapter members met with state legislators to share stories of workplace violence and help make sure this bill received strong bipartisan support.

Hospitals will undergo a security-risk assessment that includes trauma-level designation, overall volume, volume of psychiatric and forensic patients, incidents of violence against staff and level of injuries sustained from such violence, and prevalence of crime in the community.

Federal Judge Strikes Down Virginia Downcoding

Virginia ACEP was involved in asking the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to remove harmful “downcoding” provisions from the Virginia budget. In April, a federal judge ruled the Virginia downcoding policy is not in line with federal law and the prudent layperson standard and should be removed—a win for emergency physicians.

Since 2020, Virginia’s budget had automatically cut Medicaid reimbursements for emergency department visits that are on a list of 800 emergency conditions for Medicaid patients. The Department of Medical Assistance Services plans to pay for the downcodes that have occurred since the ruling.

Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Sides with Emergency Physicians

Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin rolled out a policy earlier this year that denied payment for critical-care services when the patient was subsequently discharged from the hospital without being admitted. ACEP and Wisconsin ACEP submitted a complaint to the state insurance commissioner in March detailing concerns.

Our letter outlined the importance of critical-care services and the numerous instances when the initial encounter does not result in a patient being admitted. On May 18th, the insurance commissioner’s office sided with ACEP and ordered Molina to stop denying critical-care claims for payment under their policy.