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.

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
 

In the News...

American Medical News

• 09/03/2010 06:59 AM
Medical data breaches most often caused by theft
An analysis of HHS information finds the biggest security leaks come from stolen laptops and removable memory technology. The take-home message: Keep devices locked up.

• 09/03/2010 06:59 AM
Child obesity gap widens among minorities
A study advises physicians to measure patients' BMI regularly and take a more active approach to eliminating disparities.

• 09/02/2010 06:55 AM
Specialty societies seek to enter "red flags" lawsuit against FTC
The CMSS contends that formal policies for detecting and preventing identity theft would impose a significant burden on physicians.

• 09/02/2010 06:55 AM
Primary care physicians reluctant to prescribe prostate cancer prevention drug
A new survey says they don't know that finasteride is used for chemoprevention. Urologists fear the drug could raise the risk of tumors.

• 09/01/2010 07:00 AM
Discount health plans under fire from FTC and states
Lawsuits against three companies say customers pay for worthless memberships, leaving them poorer and still without coverage.

• 09/01/2010 07:00 AM
Medicare drug premiums to remain stable in 2011
CMS says a slight rate increase for Part D insurance, combined with discounts required by the health reform law, will make medications more affordable.



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