::Suffolk County Medical Society/Suffolk Academy of Medicine::

2010 Legislative Session – Summary to Date

Attached is a brief summary of the status of some of the more significant bills which MSSNY and New York physicians’ were/are following during this Session of the New York State Legislature. Since we have no final budget (the Senate failed to act on the “Revenue” bill) the members are not being paid. Clearly at some point the members will be called back to complete the business left unfinished. This report will be updated as events occur. Click Here for more information.

CMS FINALIZES REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MEDICARE ELECTRONIC

HEALTH RECORDS (EHR) INCENTIVE PROGRAM

CMS FINALIZES REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MEDICAID

ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS (EHR) INCENTIVE PROGRAM

CMS FINALIZES DEFINITION OF MEANINGFUL USE OF CERTIFIED

ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS (EHR) TECHNOLOGY

Colleagues:

A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand

The House of Medicine is in need of repair. As Abraham Lincoln said in 1858, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Many physicians remain angry about the AMA’s handling of health care reform. The Florida Medical Association (FMA) met this past weekend at their House of Delegates. FMA President Madelyn Butler, in a statement, said, “The FMA House of Delegates strongly believes that the AMA has failed to represent practicing physicians on the issues of healthcare reform .The FMA has voted to express these grave concerns to the AMA by sending a letter conveying a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the current AMA leadership regarding this issue. After passionate debate and testimony, the overwhelming sentiment was that the FMA members and leadership continue to have serious concerns about the effectiveness of the AMA and its ability to represent physicians’ interests.”

Although it was expected that the group would consider splitting from the AMA, in the end, the Florida group opted to send a strongly worded letter of disapproval to the AMA. As I write this, the letter was not yet available for publication.

New Coalition

A group within the AMA, the Coalition of State Medical and National Specialty Societies, is holding the AMA leadership’s feet to the fire to be more focused on advocating for the interests of practicing physicians. The membership consists of 12 State Medical Societies (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Tennessee), four Specialty societies (American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, American Society of General Surgeons, and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons) and three AMA Past-Presidents (Drs. Daniel H. Johnson, Jr. , Donald J. Palmisano and William G. Plested III).

The Coalition has “a common commitment to preserve the practice of medicine as a profession, and to preserve the time-honored patient-physician relationship keeping it free of outside interference.” Members “pledge to publicly and actively promote” their basic principles:(1) the right of patients and physicians to privately contract for services without third party interference or penalty; (2) that the determination of the quality of medical care must be made by the profession of medicine, not by the government or other third party payers; and (3) that medical liability reform is essential.

All for the Patient

Another group that is discontent with the current situation in medicine is the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc. (AAPS) established in 1943, a non-partisan professional association of physicians. Their motto, Omnia Pro Aegroto,” means “All for the Patient” and their aim is “to preserve the sanctity of the patient-physician relationship and the practice of private medicine.” On March 26, the group filed a suit in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. in an effort to stop the federal health bill claiming that forcing people to pay money to insurance companies is unconstitutional. They have been gaining support as they organize “doctors’ tea parties” across the country.

My point is that the AMA and MSSNY should be responsive to their membership’s views on healthcare. The perception that organized medicine and/or leadership is out of touch with the average physician member has led to the dissatisfaction and splintering in the house of medicine. That being said, since the politicians are making long-term plans, and rules and regulations for us, we can no longer take a “wait and see” attitude. We can’t keep going along to get along. We have to decide what we want and make sure we get it. We did not bang the table hard enough when the current administration was cementing the laws that affect our healthcare future and that of our patients.

We should bang the table harder in Albany, too. We need tort reform; we need to be allowed to collectively negotiate; we must stop expansions of the scope of practice for non-physicians that risk the health and safety of patients; and we should not tolerate mandates that interfere with the patient-physician relationship. Let’s streamline our agenda, come together on those items on which we can all agree and let’s be more militant with our simplified message.

Leah McCormack, MD

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