10 September 2009
Dear Colleague,
Last night President Obama spoke to a joint session Congress and reaffirmed the need to move from the status quo to a health care system that ensures access to quality care for all Americans. The president’s current proposal has an estimated price tag of $900 billion over ten years, most of which he said will be paid for by proposed reforms and economies in the system. In terms of the concerns outlined by the Medical Society of Virginia (MSV) in its letters to the AMA and the Virginia Congressional delegation, it was encouraging to hear the president elevate the issue of liability reform in his speech and recognize it as an important element of a reform package.
Earlier this week, the Senate Finance Committee Bipartisan Six met and released a framework for reform. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont) put forward the proposal which calls for an alternative to a public plan consisting of nonprofit co-ops.
As we’ve previously reported, until a bill is brought to Conference Committee, the specifics of a proposal will remain unclear. However, the efforts of physicians are making a difference in the process. MSV members took advantage of the recent congressional recess to meet with their legislators to talk about health care reform, participate in town hall meetings and share opinions and feedback with MSV staff and leadership.
MSV will continue to monitor this process and keep members updated through our weekly E-News and Web site. MSV leadership and staff have planned a visit with the Virginia Congressional delegation later in September to reinforce our concerns and areas of support, such as a SGR fix.
I encourage you to continue to actively participate in this process. Your communication with your legislators has significant impact and increases our ability to influence health care for all Americans.
Sincerely,
Thomas W. Eppes Jr., M.D.
President, Medical Society of Virginia
Link:
AMA reaction to President Obama's address on health system reform (ama-assn.org) |
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Contact Information:
newsdesk@msv.org
http://www.msv.org
800 | 746-6768 |