MMA Viewpoint
The MMA Wants to Hear from You
As an MMA member, you have a chance to shape the policies that guide our organization. This is a time of change in health care. Decisions are being made by the Legislature that could have a profound impact on your practice.
We want to make sure that you know about the ideas being proposed and have a chance to tell us what you think. Our aim is to reflect our members’ opinions in our advocacy efforts on health care reform, the state’s budget deficit, and other important issues. That’s why we’re conducting surveys, meeting with physician groups, and holding informational events such as the recent Health Care Home Summit.
Perhaps you attended the summit and had an opportunity to comment on the proposed standards for certifying health care homes that the Minnesota departments of Health and Human Services are developing as part of the 2008 Health Care Reform Act.
If you were there, you were one of the first people to see the recently drafted criteria and have a chance to provide feedback to the MMA and the other cosponsors—the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians, the Minnesota chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Minnesota chapter of the American College of Physicians.
Most attendees expressed enthusiasm about the health care home concept but concern about the complexity of the criteria. They want the standards to be flexible enough to allow smaller practices to become health care homes. Their comments were included in the MMA’s report to the commissioners of Health and Human Services, who will draft the rules for health care homes.
The MMA also has asked for guidance from members on how to address the state’s budget deficit. In January, we conducted a poll asking members their opinions about various options. The results showed that most members support a combination of tax increases and budget cuts and would rather see the state cut benefits for public programs than eligibility. Respondents supported raising the alcohol and tobacco taxes but not the provider tax.
After listening to members, our MMA board set policy in favor of balancing the budget with a combination of budget cuts and new revenues. Health care should not bear the sole brunt of the cuts; everything should be on the table. Eligibility for safety-net programs should not be cut. People continue to get sick when they lose their insurance; they just don’t get medical care at the right time and in the right place. We also oppose cuts to Medicaid physician payments, which are not keeping pace with the cost of running a medical practice.
On the revenue side, we support increasing the tobacco and alcohol taxes because an increase would discourage use of these harmful substances. The MMA also will oppose any efforts to increase the provider tax. We have long argued that a broad-based tax instead of the provider tax should fund MinnesotaCare. If the state is going to continue to tax health care services, however, we might support a tax on all services as a matter of fairness.
We appreciate your willingness to fill out surveys and email us comments and ideas. We take your opinions very seriously and find they are a great help in our decision-making process.
Ours is a member-driven organization, and we need to constantly improve our communications. Please let us know if there are better ways to reach you or solicit your input. We hope you will continue to respond to our surveys and call or email us with your thoughts.
Communication is the key to the future. We need to hear from you; you need to hear from us.