The Evidence Is in: Making Urgent Care Voices Heard Works

When the Northeast Regional Urgent Care Association Government Affairs team recognized the hazards that proposed legislation in New York posed for urgent care, they jumped into action to mobilize members to speak out. And it worked. According to a mass email from NERUCA Government Affairs Chair Jonathan S. Halpert, MD, FACEP to members and urgent care stakeholders, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office received thousands of telephone calls and emails protesting a proposed bill that would have increased the sum of potential awards in wrongful death cases. The net result of the so-called Grieving Families Act would have been an estimated 40% jump in medical liability insurance premiums, which clearly would have had a deleterious effect on urgent care operators and other healthcare facilities. Halpert’s email noted that the efforts of those who reached out to Albany “in no small way resulted in the governor vetoing the bill.” The Urgent Care Association often informs the urgent care community of timely legislative issues at the local and regional levels. Take the NERUCA story as evidence that your voice will be heard, and could help protect and advance the urgent care cause.