Iowa Medical Society
www.iowamedical.org

A special message from IMS President Michael Kitchell, MD

August 04, 2009

I have heard from many Iowa physicians in the past few weeks regarding health reform. Many of you are unnerved and even angry over recent health reform developments in Congress. We're seeing movement on several fronts, and the constant media coverage serves only to heighten the anxiety we're all feeling.

A common theme recently is anger over the public option. Some perceive that IMS is supportive of the public option. We have not expressed support for a public option, and here are a couple reasons why:

  1. Some policymakers have discussed making physician participation in a public option virtually mandatory.
  2. Reimbursement for services under the public option has been talked about in terms of a small percentage greater than Medicare. In a state like Iowa, that would devastate our physician practices – it is simply unworkable.

Yes, the language associated with the public option has been improved, but once such an option is in place, the concern is that, within a relatively short period of time, mandatory participation and/or fee schedule problems will make such an insurance product an unfair competitor. While it is not my job to defend the insurance industry, I am profoundly concerned about the impact of such a product on your medical practice and your patients.

I want to assure you that the physician leadership and staff at the Iowa Medical Society have been in regular (nearly constant!) contact with our elected officials in Washington, D.C. and with Governor Culver. We're doing everything we can to make sure your concerns are heard. Just hours ago, our staff was again in contact with Senator Grassley's office expressing this concern.

Many things can and will happen before a bill is signed by President Obama, but we've had some amazing breakthroughs with our advocacy. Our lawmakers are listening, and we have a very real opportunity to get Congressional action to fix the SGR formula as well as address geographic inequities in Medicare reimbursement. The Senate Finance Committee has continued to deliberate about the features of their bipartisan bill, and we remain optimistic that their bill will have more reforms that are acceptable to our physicians and sustainable for our country.

These are big developments, and the situation is changing rapidly. I'll be traveling to Washington next month to reiterate our concerns in person with the Congressional delegation from Iowa.

This battle is far from over. It's much too early to throw in the towel or get disheartened by the developments in Washington. Physicians must stand together and speak with one voice. Now is the time to dig deep and focus on our goals for our patients and our profession.

As always, I thank you for your membership in the Iowa Medical Society. If you have any comments or concerns to share with me, please feel free to . I also want to encourage you to stay informed on the latest news by visiting our Web site or the AMA's Web site at www.ama-assn.org/go/reform.

Finally, you should share your concerns with Senator Grassley, Senator Harkin, and the U.S. Congressman from your district. Their contact information appears at the end of this message.

Sincerely,

Michael Kitchell, MD
President



U.S. Senate:
Senator Charles Grassley
Chuck_grassley@grassley.senate.gov

Senator Tom Harkin
Tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov

U.S. House of Representatives:
Representative Bruce Braley (1st district)
https://forms.house.gov/braley/webforms/issue_subscribe.html

Representative Dave Loebsack (2nd district)
http://loebsack.house.gov/contactform/

Representative Leonard Boswell (3rd district)
rep.boswell.ia03@mail.house.gov

Representative Tom Latham (4th district)
tom.latham@mail.house.gov

Representative Steve King (5th district)
steve.king@mail.house.gov