News and Announcements

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2022 Legislative Recap

This was an eventful session with a lot of new faces and shifts in power. The elections in November resulted in the Republicans winning all three statewide offices and the majority of the House of Delegates. The Democrats still maintain the majority in the Senate. Governor Glenn Youngkin was sworn into office on January 15^th and has been setting up his new administration.

VOS worked closely with our colleagues in the House of Medicine to advocate for our patients and profession. Our biggest victory this year was the defeat of legislation that would have made major changes to the current medical malpractice cap. If passed, this bill would’ve been very harmful for physicians and resulted in malpractice insurance rates skyrocketing. We have now defeated this bill two years in a row.

We were happy to support our colleagues, the athletic trainers, with their legislation that will require health plans to reimburse athletic trainers for services covered that they provide. HB 45 (Ware) and SB 525 (Barker) passed the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Youngkin.

As always, reforming Certificate of Public Need continues to be a top priority. Senator Chap Petersen carried legislation again for us this year that would create an expedited review system for certain services, including imaging and surgical centers. We made progress this session with the bill passing the Education and Health committee. Unfortunately, it died in Senate Finance. We are encouraged by the new administration and look forward to meeting with Governor Youngkin and the new Secretary of Health and Human Resources, John Littel, to discuss the importance of finally reforming this antiquated system.

The best way for the VOS to be successful at the legislature is to build and maintain relationships with your local Delegate and Senator. If you are interested in helping, we will work over the spring and summer to set up in-district meetings for you. It is critical that legislators know and trust the orthpaedic surgeons in their districts!

A strong and robust PAC demonstrates VOS’s leadership and investment in the political and policy process. Your support is crucial to our advocacy success! Contributions to the PAC will help raise the visibility and profile of orthopaedic surgeons, connect us to new and returning legislators, and continue to build productive relationships with key General Assembly members. As always, we continue to support members of the legislature who care about issues affecting our profession and our patients. We support both parties and their leadership through individual legislator and caucus events.

Please support your PAC today:
Contribute HERE, or mail a check payable to OrthoPAC to 118 N. 8^th Street, Richmond, VA 23219.

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Newsletter

Current Newsletter: Winter 2022

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Archived Newsletters

Resources

AAOS Newsroom

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OrthoInfo.org - Bicycle Safety

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AddictionResource.com

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Rehabs.com

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Withdrawal.net

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VOS Partners with OREF

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HealthCorps.org

Membership App