Bidens first moves will aid pandemic fight, boost global health

On COVID-19, the administration launched a 100-days masking challenge, asking Americans to #MaskUp for 100 days and requiring masks and physical distancing in all federal buildings, lands and by federal employees and contractors. The Department of Health and Human Services will work with state and local officials to implement masking and other public health measures to stop the spread of COVID-19, which has killed 400,00 Americans since the first case was identified in the U.S. 12 months ago. 

President Biden also rescinded former President Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization, a move that the AMA and many other health care stakeholders opposed as detrimental to harmonizing global efforts to combat the deadly spread of COVID-19.  

Meanwhile, the new president also created the position of COVID-19 response coordinator to make sure all elements of the government’s response—including production, supply and distribution of personal protective equipment, vaccines and tests—are working swiftly. That coordinator person will be Jeff Zients, who helped revive HealthCare.gov after its rocky rollout in 2013. 

“Defeating COVID-19 requires bold, coordinated federal leadership and strong adherence to the public health steps we know stop the spread of this virus—wearing masks, practicing physical distancing, and washing hands,” said AMA President Susan R. Bailey, MD.  

“We are pleased by the Biden administration’s steps today, including universal mask-wearing within federal jurisdictions, providing federal leadership for COVID-19 response, and reengaging with the World Health Organization. Taking these actions on day one of the Administration sends the right message—that our nation is laser focused on stopping the ravages of COVID-19.” 

The AMA’s president, an allergist and immunologist from Fort Worth, Texas, also applauded these other Biden administration first-day moves. 

Rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate change. “A critical step to demonstrate American leadership in the prevention of the devastating health harms of climate change.” 

Preserving and fortifying the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. “Thousands of Dreamers are working in, or training to join, health care professions and our country is in need of their services in the fight against COVID-19. Giving Dreamers certainty about their legal status is a critical step in the right direction by the Biden Administration. People with DACA status contribute to a diverse and culturally responsive physician workforce, which benefits all patients.”  

Prohibiting workplace discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. “We were proud to join 15 other leading health organizations in an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in the recent Title VII case, and we are encouraged by today’s action by the Biden administration to ensure equality.  

“The AMA supports access to quality, evidence-based health care for all people, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, and we will continue to work diligently at all levels to expand access to health care, reduce stigma in treating patients with unique needs, and break down discriminatory barriers to care.” 

AMA urges court to overturn medical cannabis ballot initiative 

Mississippi voters in November passed a ballot initiative that proposes amending the state constitution to legalize medical cannabis and for the state to govern its distribution. Now the Mississippi Supreme Court will decide whether Initiative 65 was unconstitutional.

The question hinges on voter signatures needed to get the initiative on the ballot.

The AMA and Mississippi State Medical Association (MSMA) filed an amicus brief urging the state’s highest court to declare the initiative unconstitutional. Beyond the caselaw supporting that conclusion, the brief argues that the initiative poses significant risks to public health and puts a burden on Mississippi physicians.

“Making sure the constitutional amendment map is followed is always important, but given the nature of the initiative at issue and the substantial ramifications it poses for Mississippi’s public health and the medical community, particular care is warranted here,” says the amicus brief in the case, Butler v. Watson.

The Litigation Center of the American Medical Association and State Medical Societies is the voice of America’s medical profession in legal proceedings across the country.

Legislature, not courts, must act
In Mississippi, it’s currently impossible to bring constitutional amendments to voters through the ballot box.

Related Coverage
Marijuana policy should be guided by evidence, not the ballot
The state constitution mandates that no more than one-fifth of the voter signatures required to place a constitutional amendment question on the ballot come from a single congressional district. When that prerequisite was established in 1992, there were five Mississippi congressional seats and districts. However, that number dropped to four after the 2000 census, making the one-fifth requirement impossible to meet.

Lawmakers never changed the one-fifth language despite considering seven proposed legislative changes over the years. Each proposal died in committee.

The AMA and MSMA brief argues that the Mississippi Supreme Court should let Mississippi lawmakers make the necessary change and decline the invitation for the court to fix the one-fifth error through the justices’ interpretation.

Initiative hurts public health
Beyond the question of whether including Initiative 65 was unconstitutional, the AMA and MSMA tell the court that the very nature of the initiative is another, more prudential reason why it is important to follow the state’s constitution.

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