MMS Supports Legislation

BOSTON — The Mass. Medical Society (MMS), the 18,000-member statewide association of physicians, testified earlier this month before the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Health Care in strong support of Senate 2145, “An Act for a Caring Commonwealth.”

Drafted by state Sen. Richard T. Moore, Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care, the proposed legislation sets forth three objectives: (1) that there be a health care policy for the Commonwealth, (2) that it be based on clearly defined operational goals, and (3) that a mechanism be established to include all major stakeholders to oversee the implementation of the policy.

The bill further outlines 10 specific goals: patient-centered care; prevention and management; health care for all; strengthening the public health system; preparedness for health emergencies; resource stability; strengthening supporting caregivers; the vital role of health care in the Massachusetts economy; aging with dignity; and compassionate end of life.

The MMS had testified last September and October in support of the legislation at three oversight hearings in Springfield, Worcester, and Waltham. This month’s presentation reinforced and supplemented its previous testimony.

John A. Fromson, M.D., vice president of professional development for the MMS, in offering the society’s testimony, applauded Moore’s efforts as the principal author of the bill, and said the society “stands in strong support of the over-arching purpose of this proposal.”

While presenting written testimony in support of all 10 specific goals, Fromson, in oral testimony, focused on two of the goals: patient-centered care and the strengthening of supporting caregivers.

With respect to patient-centered care, he cited the Medical Society’s long history of concern regarding patient safety, including its participation in the Mass. Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors, the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety and Medical Errors Reduction, as well as its work in developing the nation’s first physician profile system.

He also cited its work with the Board of Registration in Medicine in such efforts as developing comprehensive guidelines for office-based surgery, and most recently, its effort in embracing and promoting new technologies, such as E-prescribing and electronic medical records, to enhance patient safety and reduce the possibility of errors.

In the area of strengthening supporting caregivers, Fromson said while the Society is “greatly concerned about the status of the entire health care workforce in the Massachusetts, we are particularly troubled by the growing shortages of physicians.”

He called attention to a deteriorating physician practice environment, led by soaring medical malpractice premiums, a decade of flat or declining reimbursements, and rising business costs. He said such a situation “has placed physician practices in critical condition, leading to practice closures, early retirements, difficulty in physician recruitment and difficulty in patients being able to find the specialty physicians they need.”

Fromson said that two critical actions that should be the immediate objectives of any proposed health care policy for the state to address the physician environment are the passage of comprehensive professional liability reform legislation, now pending before the legislature, and the establishment of adequate reimbursement rates for Medicaid.

“It would take just an additional $30 million in state funding, along with an equal amount of federal matching support, to bring Medicaid Rates to the level of Medicare reimbursement,” said Fromson. “This would help many physician practices, particularly those serving the patients most at risk, to become more financially stable.

“Both of these actions,” he continued, “would send a heartening message to physicians that our lawmakers are taking steps to resolve this crisis.”