10/27/2025

GSACEP Council Update: Highlights from the 2025 ACEP Council

CPT Mike Ramirez, MD

 

The ACEP Council—our College’s deliberative body—meets annually for two days alongside the Scientific Assembly to debate and vote on resolutions that shape College policy. Any two members can submit resolutions that may alter the Bylaws, College Manual, or Council Standing Rules. The outcomes of these votes drive ACEP’s policy direction and operational priorities for the year ahead.

Your 2025 GSACEP Council Delegation

• Councillor Christine A. DeForest, DO, FACEP
• Councillor Alan Jeffrey Hirshberg, MD, MPH, FACEP
• Councillor Aicha M. Hull, MD
• Councillor Micaela A. LaRose, MD
• Councillor David S. McClellan, MD, FACEP
• Councillor Torree M. McGowan, MD, FACEP
• Councillor Evan Miller, DO
• Councillor Mike Ramirez, MD
• Councillor Paul James Diggins Roszko, MD, FACEP
• Councillor Justine K. Stremick, MD, FACEP
• Councillor Sean Stuart, DO, FACEP
• Alternate Linda L. Lawrence, MD, CPE, FACEP
• Alternate Gillian Schmitz, MD, FACEP
• Alternate Robert Eduard Suter, DO, MHA, FACEP

Council Priorities in 2025
Council action centered on:

• Protecting physician reimbursement
• Limiting scope creep and ensuring physician-led care
• Tackling the ED boarding crisis
• Strengthening EMTALA by reducing transfer barriers and improving transparency

Resolution Outcomes

Adopted (as submitted)

• ACEP leadership roles recognized by ABEM as practice improvement activities
• Affirming EDs as safe places to receive care in the setting of ICE enforcement
• Expanding naloxone access and training in schools
• Eliminating physician non-compete clauses in contracts

Adopted (with amendments)

• Reaffirmed flexibility in 3- or 4-year EM training pathways
• Board-certified emergency physicians in every ED
• Strengthened EMTALA through transparency on transfer delays (including staffing) and reduced transfer barriers
• Prior authorization reform
• Oversight of AI use in claims review for reimbursement
• Commitment to evidence-based medicine
• Support for evidence-based vaccine schedules

Referred to the Board (for further review/action)

• Policies judged duplicative or needing additional data
• Reaffirmation of ACEP’s 2024 DEI policy/stance
• Funding mechanisms for away-rotation training
• Ongoing education addressing bias and structural inequities

Not Adopted

• Using board certification as an exemption from state-mandated CME topics
• Tele-EM oversight of non-board-certified/eligible providers
• State licensure requirements for hospital administrators

Officers and Elections

From ACEP’s New President, Dr. Cirillo:
“Demand for physician-led emergency care is soaring all over the world. Emergency physicians know they can rely on ACEP to help establish best practices and serve as a professional home, regardless of their practice setting.”

2025 Election Results

• President-Elect: Ryan Stanton, MD, FACEP
• Council Vice Speaker: Larisa M. Traill, MD, FACEP
• Board of Directors: Daniel Freess, MD, FACEP; Kristin B. McCabe-Kline, MD, FACEP; Steven B. Kailes, MD, MPH, FACEP; Bing S. Pao, MD, FACEP

Council Awards

• Council Curmudgeon Award: David S. McClellan, MD, FACEP
  Recognizes a Council participant whose candid, witty, and practical contributions bring focus and reality to deliberations.
• Council Horizon Award: Joshua S. da Silva, DO, FACEP
  Dr. da Silva’s service on the Bylaws and Council Steering Committees has amplified his impact in state-level advocacy. He credits ACEP’s community and opportunities with sustaining his practice through post-COVID challenges.

Thank you to our GSACEP councilors and alternates for representing the chapter and advancing priorities that protect our patients, our practices, and the future of emergency medicine.