UPEA Endorsement

This week I was pleased and honored to receive the official endorsement of the Utah Public Employees' Association.  What a fine organization and group of people this represents.  It is hard to overstate the importance of the constituents of this group--our dedicated public employees who make everything run in this state.  The condition of our great State is a tribute to their great work.  I am proud to have the backing of this organization and will strive to represent all of Utah's public employees well if elected.

This endorsement reminds me that this campaign's message of bipartisan healthcare reform and strong support for small business and public education is precisely the message that is resonating with the people of Utah, particularly in Senate District 8.  Republicans, Independents, and Democrats alike are rallying together to see that their views and their concerns regarding these issues are represented fairly and effectively on Capitol Hill.  I am humbled and encouraged by the wonderful support I have received.  I am amazed by the quality of people and families that I have been privileged to encounter as I've been out walking precincts.  There is a reason Utah is the greatest state in this country, and the reason is its people.

I am looking forward to meeting more and more of the wonderful people here in Senate District 8 between now and November.  If you share our enthusiasm for healthcare reform and support for public schools, please get involved with the campaign by visiting voteshiozawa.com/index.php/volunteer.  Together, we can make the changes we want to see on Capitol Hill!

UEA Endorsement

I was pleased to receive the official endorsement of the Utah Education Association and the Canyons Education Association recently.  These influential organizations support our teachers and education system and I am grateful for their support in my campaign to strengthen our education system.

This fall as we embark on a new school year, with an ever-increasing student population, it is a huge challenge to keep our class sizes reasonable and provide adequate funding to maintain excellence in our teachers and their curricula.  We need strong education to launch our students into their careers or higher education.  We are blessed to have a hard-working, young population which attracts business to the state of Utah and which fuels our own economy.  However, in order to maintain this excellence we need to provide the adequate funds and oversight to continue our tradition of strong public education.

This will be one of the big priorities of our legislature in the upcoming legislative session.

My experience in Health Care Reform

This past legislative session, as the President of the Utah Medical Association, I was involved in sponsoring legislation that supports patient advocacy, public health and preserving the doctor–patient relationship.

Here are some highlights:

We were able to enact legislation that increased the amount of free samples that doctors could give to patients from a three-day supply to a month or more.  The effect of this bill will help patients receive medications that they might not otherwise afford and that are vital to their health.  On a similar note, we were able to get legislation passed that allows cancer specialists to dispense cancer-treating medications directly to their sickest patients at the office, at cost to the patient. 

The Utah Medical Association also supported legislation to require minors to have a guardian approve their obtaining tanning at local salons.  This requirement will protect youth from excessive UV radiation that has been shown to increase cancer risks.

Another important patient quality measure that we supported restored confidentiality to the ‘peer review’ process.  ‘Peer review’ allows physicians, nurses and other members of the health care team to meet to discuss patient quality care issues and have those issues protected. The legislation, which had strong bipartisan backing, does not hide or obscure patient complaints or errors and does not interfere in the discovery process. This allows for frank and open discussion and is vital to patient quality improvement.

These are some examples of the important advocacy for patients, the public and for the healthcare team that I am pleased to support.

Grassroots Campaign Kickoff

Had a great turnout and great time tonight at our Grassroots Campaign Kickoff at my home.  It is wonderful to have many fantastic supporters and to get the ball rolling throughout the district. Here are some pictures from the event:

Did you see my ad on page 2 of the recent edition of the Valley Journal?

Get Involved!

Had a wonderful fundraiser last week! Many thanks to our many supporters who are helping make the campaign a reality.  

As I've met and talked with more residents of District 8, I'm impressed by the great ideas I'm hearing about needed changes at the state level in education, health care reform, and the need to balance our budget and meet the financial needs of a growing population.  

As a campaign we are going door-to-door and attending public events such as Butlerville Days and the Midvale Harvest Days parade. This is giving me many opportunities to meet and talk with the great residents of this area.  We're enjoying bipartisan support for my solutions to these pressing issues.

I invite you to join with us as we campaign this fall until the election Nov. 6th.  We have many opportunities for you to get involved.  We have a great message and real solutions to the problems Utah faces.  I would love your support!

Affordable Health Care

As an Emergency Physician, I am concerned about the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Utah.  I agree that we need affordable health care available to all citizens.  We also need better access for patients.  However, a couple of observations: 

First, Utah currently has about 13% uninsured patients.  Most of these patients have no regular physician.  Currently, due to the EMTALA laws, any person seeking emergency medical care must be seen and treated in the ED at any time without regard to their ability to pay.  This effectively provides a safety net for them.   However, the safety net can entrap patients:  the care is episodic and the patient is often discharged without a primary care doctor relationship.  It is not ideal. Further, ED care is the most expensive outpatient treatment available.  Pres. Obama noted that each ED bill exceeds a thousand dollars or more.  This is NOT affordable or sustainable health care. However, thousands of uninsured Utah patients utilize EDs each month, because they have nowhere else to go. 

Next, under the SCOTUS ruling Utah will choose if we embrace expansion of Medicaid  eligibility.  According to the Dept of Health, the Utah Medicaid expansion under the ACA will provide health insurance to 100,000 or more currently uninsured Utah patients.  This will provide much needed insurance and it will cost millions of tax dollars.  Further, currently Utah is already underserved in Primary care and many specialties.  We do not have enough physicians for our existing patient population.  Adding thousands more to the Medicaid insured pool of patients will further crowd existing clinics and systems.  As a result, Medicaid patients who according to State Medicaid officials already over utilize EDs, will increasingly seek care in EDs due to limited Primary care access. 

The SCOTUS ruling will also affect those currently with private insurance.  The popular provisions such as additional coverage of patients to age 26, elimination of pre-existing conditions, and other modifications has and will raise insurance premiums.  Many patients will opt to use higher deductibles, health savings accounts and other methods to keep their costs down.  In order to save money, these patients may not visit their physicians as much, and get sicker and then, end up in the ED with even more serious conditions. 

From the emergency medicine view, implementation of this far-reaching law will be complex and challenging.  Here are some solutions I propose for increasing affordable and timely medical care: 

Restore the existing University of Utah Medical school class size to at least one hundred students a year.  Cutting class size was short sighted and this needs to be remedied this coming year. While a longer term solution, it will keep more talented Utah college students here and provide for physicians in the future. 

Increase Utah Medicaid community clinic staffing with more same date and weekend appointments.  This will provide lower cost, timelier access for patients and decrease ED over utilization by Medicaid and other patients. Primary care physicians would lead teams of mid level providers, nurse practitioners, etc. to expand affordable access while ensuring quality of care. 

Use coordinated care counseling in the EDs to educate patients on preventative medical care and appropriate utilization, communication and continuity of care with their primary care physicians. 

Encourage insurers and hospitals to establish lower cost urgent care hospital clinics as an alternative to full emergency care. 

Expand community clinics for substance abuse and psychiatric counseling and care.  Currently, thousands of such patients are treated in EDs, each year, due to lack of outpatient facilities. These clinics would be a more effective, lower cost resource for and an alternative to the EDs.  Further, the jails and corrections facilities could also use such clinics and decrease the recidivism rates of their inmates.   

In summary, we are in a crisis regarding health care and reform.  The SCOTUS interpretation of the ACA is both a threat and an opportunity.  How we deal with this will make all the difference.