MMA News
MMA in Action
- MMA Policy Counsel Karolyn Stirewalt, J.D., is representing the MMA on a group working to protect vulnerable adults. In September, she attended a meeting hosted by Aging Services of Minnesota to discuss legislation to protect this population.
Stirewalt also recently hosted a meeting at the MMA to discuss disseminating information about Minnesota’s Prescription Monitoring Program. Attending were representatives from the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians Foundation; MAPS Medical Pain Clinics; PriCara, a division of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy.
- MMA Director of State and Federal Legislation Dave Renner gave a presentation about the next steps for health care reform to physicians at Essentia Health’s Duluth Clinic on October 7.
- Leaders from the MMA and Twin Cities Medical Society (TCMS) recapped the 2011 legislative session and previewed the 2012 session with Southdale Pediatrics Associates’ board of directors in October. The group also discussed the MMA’s new goals and efforts related to health plans and electronic medical records. Among those attending were MMA Board Chair David Thorson, M.D.; TCMS President-elect Peter Dehnel, M.D.; MMA Manager of State Legislative Affairs Eric Dick; and MMA Marketing Director Terry Ruane.
- Minnesota Medicine’s Kim Kiser received the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ 2011 Philip S. Weintraub Media Award for her article “Sleeper Career” (March 2011, p. 6). The article highlighted the need for anesthesiologists in rural communities and differences between rural and urban anesthesiology practices. It showcased the work of Mark Gujer, M.D., at Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby, Minnesota.
- MMA Manager of Quality Improvement Rebecca Schierman received an award from the Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety (MAPS) for her work to improve patient safety in Minnesota and for being a founding staff member of MAPS. In October, Schierman also gave a presentation about quality measures and pay for performance to the University of Minnesota OB/GYN faculty.
- MMA Past President Benjamin Whitten, M.D., and MMA members Lisa Mattson, M.D., and Kenneth Crabb, M.D., spoke to University of Minnesota medical students about the value of organized medicine at a lunch-and-learn session in October. Mattson represented the Twin Cities Medical Society and Crabb represented the American Medical Association.
- Dennis Kelly, director of the MMA Foundation, presented the MMA’s Medical Student award to Shayla Wilson for her service to the MMA Medical Student Section, the MMA Minority and Cross Cultural Affairs Committee, and the MMA Ethics Committee.
- MMA CEO Robert Meiches, M.D., and Janet Silversmith, MMA director of health policy, met with Minnesota’s Commissioner of Health Ed Ehlinger, M.D., and Assistant Commissioner Ellen Benavides October 17 to discuss MMA concerns with the state’s provider peer grouping project and methodology.
- Representatives from the MMA and the Minnesota Council of Health Plans met October 17. Included in that meeting were MMA Board Chair David Thorson, M.D.; MMA Secretary-Treasurer, David E. Westgard, M.D.; MMA Trustee Roger Kathol, M.D.; MMA CEO Robert Meiches, M.D.; and MMA President Lyle Swenson, M.D.
- MMA CEO Robert Meiches, M.D., and Janet Silversmith, MMA director of health policy, attended the Sanford Health Policy Summit September 26-27 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Nearly 200 participants from South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota attended the conference, which highlighted health insurance exchange development and Sanford Health initiatives.
Medicare Cut to Cost Minnesota Physicians $270 Million
The Medicare payment cut to physicians scheduled to take effect January 1 will result in Minnesota losing $270 million for the care of elderly and disabled patients in 2012, according to research by the American Medical Association (AMA).
On average, the 29.5 percent cut will reduce 2012 practice revenues by $19,000 per physician in Minnesota.
“If these cuts go forward, I am worried that clinics will have to make some difficult business decisions that may result in reduced access to care for Medicare patients,” says Lyle Swenson, M.D., MMA president. The AMA is working with members of the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction to include a fix to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, a much-criticized calculation that determines Medicare payment rates, as part of its efforts to reduce federal government spending by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years.
In October, the MMA asked members of Minnesota’s Congressional delegation to sign onto a letter urging members of the committee to address SGR as part of their larger deficit reduction strategy. U.S. Reps. Keith Ellison, DFL-Minneapolis, and Tim Walz, DFL-Rochester, signed onto the letter.
Impact of the Cuts
The MMA conducted a survey in 2010 and found that 27 percent of the physicians who responded said they would close their practice to new Medicare patients if the proposed 23 percent cut planned for that year took effect, and about 12 percent said they would be forced to stop treating existing Medicare patients. Congress stopped the cut from taking place at the last minute.
Since 2001, Medicare physician payments have only increased a cumulative 5 percent; during that same period, the cost of providing care (as measured by the Medicare Economic Index) has gone up nearly 25 percent. Minnesota has 775,930 Medicare enrollees and 64,522 TriCare beneficiaries (for whom payments are tied to Medicare rates).
MMA Explores the Challenges of Independent Practice
An 11-person task force has been convened by the MMA to examine the issues facing Minnesota’s independent medical practices and to develop strategies to address the needs of these groups.
The Independent Practice of Medicine Task Force met last month for the first time. Its work will include defining “independent practice” and determining the number, size, and location of independent groups in the state. The task force is planning a special event that will bring together physicians from around the state and give them the opportunity to express their opinions and concerns and share their ideas about independent practice. Ideas generated at the event will be reviewed by the task force and presented to the MMA Board of Trustees.
Members of the task force include: Kevin Donnelly, M.D., St. Cloud Medical Group; John English, M.D., Minnesota Independent Practice Association; Thomas Flynn, M.D., Minnesota Oncology; Adam Kim, M.D., Minnesota Gastroenterology; Maria Loerzel, M.D., Family Practice Medical Center of Willmar; David Luehr, M.D., Raiter Clinic, Cloquet; Richard Morris, M.D., Allergy and Asthma Care; Jeff Shackor, HealthLink Minnesota Management Group; and T. Michael Tedford, M.D., The Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic and Hearing Center. Providing MMA staff support are MMA CEO Robert Meiches, M.D., and Terry Ruane, director of marketing and communications. For more information contact Terry Ruane at truane@mnmed.org or 612-362-3742.
Op-Ed Presents Facts about Physician Pay
In a recent opinion piece published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, MMA President Lyle Swenson, M.D., countered claims that doctors’ salaries are a chief cause of rising health care costs in this country.
Swenson’s letter, which was published on September 26, noted that for every dollar spent on health care in Minnesota in 2009, only about 20 cents went toward physician services. Of that 20 cents, approximately half was used to cover practice expenses such as support staff salaries, malpractice insurance, and overhead costs. He added that the other 80 cents goes toward inpatient and outpatient hospital services, prescription drugs, long-term care, and insurance companies’ administrative costs and earnings.
Swenson wrote that “solving the complex problem of the high cost of health care warrants a comprehensive approach and will require multiple solutions.” He suggested cost- cutting efforts supported by the MMA including:
- Implementing programs to prevent the onset of expensive, complex, chronic conditions;
- Empowering patients to better manage their health—for example, to take their prescribed medications and exercise regularly;
- Eliminating administrative waste;
- Fighting fraud and abuse;
- Providing appropriate, not unnecessary, care; and
- Supporting care-delivery models that pay for good outcomes.
MMA Launches Well Physician Blog
MMA Immediate Past President Patricia Lindholm, M.D., is going to continue blogging about the issue of physician health and well-being. Her “Well Physician” blog will include posts from other contributors as well. Read the latest post and subscribe to the Well Physician blog at http://wellphysician.blogspot.com/.
Doctors To Push for Further Restrictions on Tanning Bed Use
Earlier this year, California became the first state to prohibit people younger than 18 years of age from using tanning beds. The MMA will attempt to follow California’s lead by introducing similar legislation in Minnesota in 2012.
One of the resolutions passed by the MMA House of Delegates at its 2011 Annual Meeting called on the MMA to support legislation that would prohibit minors from using tanning beds (R209).
Previously in California, children as young as 14 years of age were able to receive services at tanning salons if they had parental permission. Minnesota requires parental consent for minors age 16 and younger.
Although most states regulate minors’ use of tanning facilities, California’s recently enacted restrictions are the most stringent, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The California law goes into effect on January 1, 2012.
In 2009, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified UV- emitting tanning devices as “carcinogenic to humans.” Reviews of more than 20 epidemiological studies found that a person’s risk for skin cancer increases 75 percent if they start using a tanning device before age 30.
Register for FluSafe
Minnesota hospitals and nursing homes have until December 1 to join the state’s 2011-2012 FluSafe campaign. The campaign recognizes facilities for having a high percentage of their employees immunized against influenza.
The MMA encourages physicians to urge their organizations to participate in FluSafe, which was implemented by the Minnesota Department of Health in the fall of 2010 to boost influenza vaccination rates among health care workers. Participating hospitals and nursing homes enter their employees’ influenza vaccination data into the Minnesota Immunization Information Connection registry. The registry is used by the Department of Health to calculate influenza vaccination rates.
In its inaugural year (2010-2011), 137 organizations participated in FluSafe; of those, 27 achieved 90 percent or greater vaccination rates. The Department of Health acknowledges facilities that have a vaccination rate of 70 percent or greater by sending them a certificate and poster that can be displayed to show their commitment to patient safety. The program’s goal is to achieve a 100 percent vaccination rate for all health care workers. Learn more at mnmed.org/flusafe.