ACEP 2008 National Report Card on the State of Emergency Medicine:

VACEP Talking Points

We are very happy that Virginia moved up significantly from an overall ranking of 46 to an overall ranking of 23 on the report card. The report found:

• The state is well prepared for a large-scale emergency, in fact we got a B+ in that category.
• Virginia improved in several areas on the report card, including public health education and injury prevention.
• These improvements were the result of hard work by the Virginia Department of Health, coordinating with other branches of the administration and state lawmakers, and local EM Disaster specialists.

Although Virginia has made strong progress in a number of areas, and our emergency physicians provide excellent care 24/7/365 to patients, the lack of access to emergency care is a challenge.

• Emergency physicians are the only physicians who see any patient, any time…even if the patients can’t pay for the care.
• Emergency rooms have become crowded with uninsured and underinsured people, but also an alarming increase of insured people who can’t access their regular physicians or specialists.
• As the need for emergency care is increasing, the infrastructure that supports it is not. There are fewer emergency departments per million people since last report. In other words, emergency departments are struggling to keep up with the increased need for care. 

While Virginia can do many things to address this problem, what lawmakers shouldn’t do is: increase the Medical Malpractice cap or cut Medicaid reimbursements to providers.  

• Increasing the cap on damages in medical malpractice cases or cutting Medicaid reimbursements for emergency services would make it more difficult to practice emergency medicine.
• As the patient load continues to increase, and if reimbursement for services decreases, it will be much harder for us to continue to recruit talented emergency physicians into the state. 
• In fact, we successfully increased the number of board certified emergency physicians per 100,000 people since the last report was published.
• Access to emergency care is a problem across the country, so we would like federal lawmakers to address it as part of national healthcare reform.
• Here in the Commonwealth, we are sharing information and educating Virginia lawmakers about the connection between holding the line on the medical malpractice cap and Medicaid reimbursements and not losing further ground in access to care.

Emergency physicians are available every day – at all hours of the day – caring for all kinds of patients. That challenge is what we love about emergency medicine.

• Emergency physicians are determined to provide excellent care to all patients who need it – when they need it.
• We practice in a tough environment, and we are committed to being the healthcare safety net for Virginia’s citizens in need.

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Our Mission –To promote and protect the interests of Emergency Physicians and the patients they serve.

VACEP • PO Box 911 • Norge, VA 23127

Gwen E. Messler Harry, Executive Director
Voice: (757) 220-4911 • Fax: (757) 258-3042 • E-mail: gwenh@vacep.org