MMA News
MN Physicians Help Set AMA Policy
The Minnesota delegation to the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Annual Meeting in Chicago last month won support in the House of Delegates for three resolutions and influenced national policy on a number of high-profile issues.
One outcome is that the AMA will ask the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study the public health impact of discarded pharmaceuticals and personal care products on the nation’s drinking water supply and develop guidelines for the proper disposal of these products. This new policy is a response to amended Minnesota Resolution 403, which encourages the EPA to work with the AMA, pharmaceutical companies, pharmaceutical retailers, state and specialty medical societies, and public health organizations in developing the guidelines.
In response to Minnesota Resolution 505, the AMA House of Delegates set policy acknowledging that achieving high-quality, cost-effective health care will not be possible unless patients follow their medical treatment plans. The AMA will compile a list of resources to help physicians and patients improve compliance.
The AMA House of Delegates referred Minnesota Resolution 302 to the Board of Trustees. The resolution calls on the AMA to study issues surrounding certification and recertification by specialty boards such as the appropriateness of certification or recertification as measures of competency, the varying methods and criteria used for recertification, and third-party payers’ requirement of board certification as a condition for participation in their networks.
Board of Trustees Report 19, which is a follow-up to Resolution 818 brought by the MMA in 2005, was adopted. The report asks the AMA to closely monitor any new price transparency initiatives unveiled by health plans to determine their impact on physicians. Report 19 requests that the AMA communicate concerns about current price transparency programs to health plans, employers, and patients, and educate them about true transparency. The AMA will continue to educate physicians about the complexities of claims adjudication and payment processes to allow them to more efficiently manage their practices.
The Minnesota delegation signed onto Utah Resolution 114 requesting that the AMA lobby Congress and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reduce geographic disparities in Medicare physician payment rates and restructure rates to improve physician recruitment and retention in underserved areas. Resolution 114 also requested that the AMA make adequate funding of Medicare a legislative priority. The resolution was placed on the reaffirmation calendar, and the AMA’s policy on equal payment was extended for 10 years.
The AMA House of Delegates, which sets policy for the AMA, consists of 544 delegates and 544 alternates representing every state, nearly 100 specialty societies, federal agencies, hospital and clinic staff, resident physicians, medical students, young physicians, medical schools, and international medical graduates.
The Minnesota delegation included chair Frank J. Indihar, M.D., Raymond G. Christensen, M.D.; Kenneth W. Crabb, M.D.; Anthony C. Jaspers, M.D.; Sally Trippel, M.D; John Van Etta, M.D.; and University of Minnesota Medical School student Lisa McGinnis. Alternate delegates were John P. Abenstein, M.D.; Michael Ainslie, M.D.; Gail Baldwin, M.D.; Blanton Bessinger, M.D.; David Estrin, M.D.; David Luehr, M.D.; Paul C. Matson, M.D.; and Benjamin H. Whitten, M.D.
Session Highlights: What Passed, What Didn't
The 2006 legislative session was a good one for physicians and their patients. Here are some highlights.
Passed . . .
• An exemption to the Woman’s Right to Know Act in cases where the fetus is not viable
• Approval for a new hospital in Maple Grove
• A requirement that physicians keep a list of pricing information available for their top 50 procedures
• $40 million for a new biomedical facility at the University of Minnesota
• $5 million for pandemic preparedness
• $1.5 million for implementing electronic health record systems
• A moratorium on the construction of new independent radiation treatment facilities until 2013
• Higher reimbursement rates for psychiatrists
Failed . . .
• Statewide smoking ban in bars and restaurants
• Physical therapists’ bid for unlimited access to patients
• Attempts to spend the bulk of the Health Care Access Fund surplus
• Medical liability reform
• The “Schiavo” legislation that would have ensured that patients receive hydration and nutrition at the end of life unless their advance directive instructed otherwise
• A limitation on the use of vaccines containing thimerosal
• A statewide system of tracking the prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances
• Funding for medical interpreter services
Bessinger Wins Seat on AMA Council
Blanton Bessinger, M.D., M.B.A., was elected to the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Council on Constitution and Bylaws at the AMA’s annual meeting in Chicago in June. The seven-member council considers matters relating to the framework underpinning the administration and governance of the AMA.
Bessinger was endorsed by the MMA, the North Central Medical Conference, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Cardiology, and the Ramsey Medical Society. His campaign committee members were Paul Matson, M.D., Benjamin Whitten, M.D., Kevin Flaherty, M.D. (WI), and J. Michael Gonzalez-Campoy, M.D., Ph.D., FACE
Bessinger described the campaign experience as “incredible,” and appreciated the support he received from members of the Minnesota delegation and the North Central Medical Conference and from colleagues around the country. He said the success of his campaign was mainly the result of their dedication and hard work. “It wasn’t me that got elected, it was Minnesota/North Central,” Bessinger says.
Bessinger says the AMA’s constitution and bylaws affect membership directly and must be functional, fair, and inclusive. He will begin work immediately on upcoming representational issues.
Bessinger, who served as president of the MMA in 2000, is currently an alternate delegate to the AMA House of Delegates. He also has served as speaker, vice speaker, delegate to, and parliamentarian of the MMA House of Delegates. He is a member of the Ramsey Medical Society Board of Directors, a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Cardiology, and a member of the American College of Physician Executives.
As chair of the MMA’s Governance Task Force, Bessinger guided efforts to improve the MMA’s leadership structure, resulting in changes that will take effect later this year.
Mayo AMA-MSS Chapter Honored
The American Medical Association Medical Student Section (AMA-MSS) presented the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine with the second annual chapter of the year award on June 9, 2006, at the AMA-MSS Annual Meeting in Chicago.
The award recognizes outstanding achievement in active membership, community service, advocacy, innovation, and collaboration. Mayo Chapter co-presidents Joy Hardison-Grimes and Nicholas A. Zane accepted the award.
The Mayo chapter has had 100 percent membership in the AMA-MSS for a number of years and greatly expanded the number of public service projects it participated in in 2006. Projects included the 18th Annual Harvest Classic 5K Race, a race and raffle that raised more than $4,900 for the Channel One Food Bank and Food Shelf in Rochester. A second project, Calling for Coverage, was designed to prevent local families-in-need from losing their state health care coverage by helping them fill out their renewal paperwork over the phone. Students also collected and distributed furniture, winter clothes, holiday toys, and other items to assist local families as part of the third annual Holiday Helping Hands initiative. In addition, Mayo medical students refurbished and distributed seven computers to families through the Computers for the Community project. Nearly 20 schoolchildren benefited from the computers.
Two new service projects are being planned for the 2006-2007 academic year. One will involve helping at a free medical clinic; the other will provide medical texts and journals to African medical schools.
The Mayo chapter also showed a strong commitment to leadership, with students chairing national committees, serving on reference committees, and acting as delegates and officers in the Minnesota Medical Association’s Medical Student Section. Chapter members submitted five resolutions to the AMA-MSS, four of which were adopted as policy.