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MAG’s MEP 401(k) – Top Docs Radio

February 12, 2016 by angishields

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MAG's MEP 401(k) - Top Docs Radio

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MAG's 401(k) — Kevin Rainwater talks MAG’s 401(k) plan

MAG’s MEP 401(k)

We continue our series with Medical Association of Georgia, hosting Kevin Rainwater of Atlanta Capital Group to learn about MAG’s MEP 401(k) plan. Kevin Rainwater is a managing partner with Atlanta Capital Group, specializing in retirement planning.

Kevin began his career in the financial services industry more than 16 years ago. He has a passion for helping employees, executives and business owners reach their retirement goals. Kevin provides investment and plan advisory services to companies and individuals throughout the nation.

He relies on his extensive knowledge of qualified plan design and investment offerings to provide business owners and participants with the most competitive retirement plan option available.

MAG member practices can save time and money and retain employees by participating in a MAG-sponsored 401(k) retirement plan that’s available through the Atlanta Capital Group and Transamerica.

The MAG 401(k) Plan is treated like one large plan from a government Form 5500 reporting standpoint. The result is a 401(k) plan with competitive investments, outstanding service, and someone else doing a majority of the plan maintenance leg work. With more than 7,800 members, MAG offers a large, unified plan.

When you utilize the MAG 401(k) Plan, you have all of the advantages and flexibility of a stand-alone plan, while avoiding the expenses and administrative headaches associated with sponsoring a stand-alone plan.

Member benefits include cost savings on the investments; No individual Form 5500 reporting; Minimal plan maintenance; Flexible plan features, including safe harbor; Roth and profit sharing; Customizable 401(k) plan design options involving eligibility, matches, and vesting schedules; No audit at member level.

By participating in the MAG 401(k) Plan, virtually all of the administrative tasks can be offloaded from the practice to Transamerica, ACG, and MAG.

Special Guest:

Kevin Rainwater, Partner, Atlanta Capital Group

BS, Marketing, University of Alabama
Previous Regional Sales Director, First Mercantile
Former Director, National Accounts, The Standard

Georgia Physicians Leadership Academy – Top Docs Radio

February 1, 2016 by angishields

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Georgia Physicians Leadership Academy - Top Docs Radio

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Georgia Physicians Leadership Academy

Wednesday 1/27 was Physicians at the Capitol Day for members of Medical Association of Georgia. I caught up with two MAG members who traveled to the capitol to engage with legislators, Dr. Jim Barber, orthopedic surgeon, and Dr. Bill Clark, opthamologist. We talked about the Georgia Physicians Leadership Academy, an educational offering offered by MAG to nominated candidates each year.

More information soon!

Health Insurance Mergers – Top Docs Radio

November 16, 2015 by angishields

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Health Insurance Mergers - Top Docs Radio

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Medical Association of Georgia — Donald Palmisano Jr.

Health Insurance Mergers

On this week’s episode I continued my monthly series with Medical Association of Georgia. MAG CEO, Donald Palmisano, Jr., and MAG delegate from Bibb County, Dr. John Rogers joined me in studio to talk about the challenges and concerns arising from recently-proposed mergers between large health insurance companies that will significantly reduce amount of competition in the space for Georgians to choose from.

Aetna/Humana and Anthem/Cigna are in the process of merging. At the same time, health insurers are offering insurance policies to the public that do not have adequate coverage resulting in more out of network charges by physicians.

Aetna/Humana and Wellpoint/Cigna have proposed mergers in the health insurance market. If these inadequate policies are being offered in the current environment, MAG is concerned about how patients will be negatively impacted with a further narrowing of the networks and increased physician reliance on out of network charges.

MAG recently sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice to call for it to scrutinize the mergers for antitrust violations.

MAG believes the mergers would reduce competition and place physicians and their patients at an even greater disadvantage as a shrinking number of health insurance companies gain increasingly-dominant positions in the marketplace.

The new Aetna (58 percent) and Anthem (30 percent) entities would control nearly 90 percent of the individual market in Georgia. In the small group market, Aetna would control more than 49 percent, while Anthem would control more than 33 percent. Each new company would control about 26 percent of the Medicare Title XVIII marketplace. And for large group market, Aetna would control more than 12 percent while Anthem would control nearly 55 percent.

Physicians have little-to-no leverage to negotiate contract terms with these multi-billion dollar conglomerates – which are imposing take-it-or-leave it agreements and unilateral, mid-term amendments with growing impunity.

Gone unchecked, a few insurers will be in a position to manipulate the marketplace to institute policies that will exacerbate the physician shortage and undermine the economic viability of the practice environment in the state and limit the accessibility of care and individual patient choice.

Georgia Department of Insurance has expressed concerns that the Aetna/Humana merger would violate Georgia’s standards for competition. Specifically, DOI has shared that the Aetna/Humana merger may violate Georgia’s competitive standard in the individual, small group, and Medicare Title XVIII markets while raising concerns of substantially reduced competition in the large group market.

More than 30 percent of the physicians in Georgia who participated in a survey that MAG conducted in the last several months said that they believe that the Aetna/Humana merger would threaten the long-term viability of their practice.

Special Guests:

Donald Palmisano, CEO, Executive Director of Medical Association of Georgia

JD Law, Loyola School of Law
Board of Directors, Physician Advocacy Institute
Medical Payment Subcommitte Member, State Board of Workers’ Compensation
Treasurer, Board of Directors, Physicians’ Institute for Excellence in Medicine
Former Director, Government Relations/General Counsel/Director, GAMPAC

Dr. John Rogers, Co-Medical Director, Coliseum Northside Hospital

Member, Board of Directors, Bibb County Medical Society
Vice President, American College of Emergency Physicians
Doctor of Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
Residency, Medical Center of Central Georgia

Telemedicine – Top Docs Radio

October 16, 2015 by angishields

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Telemedicine - Top Docs Radio

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Telemedicine

We sat down with legal expert on healthcare matters, attorney, Sidney Welch, of the Polsinelli law firm on our monthly episode with Medical Association of Georgia. What is it? How is it utilized? And, what are the licensing, regulatory, and legal concerns around it?

Georgia Composite Medical Board (GCMB) has stressed that it is essential for telemedicine patients in the state to receive the same high standard of care they would in a traditional office setting. GCMB adopted a number of telemedicine rules in 2014 that “allow the Composite Board to take disciplinary action against licensed physicians and allied health professionals who practice telemedicine if they do not provide the minimum standard of care.”

Georgia’s rules require physicians and other allied health care professionals who deliver care by way of telemedicine to…

Be the ones who provide all of the treatment and/or consultations via telehealth.
Have access to the patient’s medical history if they are providing the services.
Have personally seen and examined the patient if they are referring the patient to a telehealth provider.
Maintain records on the patient’s evaluation and treatment if they are providing a service via telehealth and to provide a copy of those records to the referring physician.
Provide telehealth services only within their specialty.
Give their name, credentials and emergency contact information to the patient when they provide a telehealth treatment or consultation.
Provide the patient with “clear, appropriate, accurate instructions” on follow-up care.

Controlled substances for pain or chronic pain treatment cannot be prescribed through telehealth – but a physician or a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant can order appropriate labs or other diagnostic tests.

The physician who provides the care via telemedicine must make a “diligent” effort to ensure that the patient is seen and examined in person at least once a year by a Georgia-licensed physician or other appropriate health care professional.

Special Guest:

Sidney Welch, JD, of Polsinelli

GA SB 158 – Top Docs Radio

July 18, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

GA SB 158 - Top Docs Radio

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GA SB 158

This week we continue our monthly series with Medical Association of Georgia. I hosted MAG CEO/Executive Director, Donald J. Palmisano, Jr., and Cindy Zeldin, Executive Director for Georgians for a Healthy Future. We talked about the challenges Georgians face regarding the lack of information available to them about how inclusive health plans are regarding what physicians, hospitals, etc., are included in the plans.

Donald talked about how on the healthcare exchanges, patients must review every plan one at a time, checking the physician directories for each one to see if the physician(s) they need are there. In many cases, this means going through as many as 30-80 unique plans.

This is complicated by the fact that in many cases, the listed physician directories are incorrect, or change frequently, leading patients to make their choices based on outdated/inaccurate information.

In the Georgia legislature, the senate is considering SB 158, aimed at addressing the issue of transparency in the health insurance space so patients and physicians can make sense out of this important part of how we access healthcare today.

Cindy joined Donald to talk about how Georgians for a Healthy Future has been advocating on behalf of the state’s citizens to help them get signed up for the newly-available health plans on the exchange. She shared how last year, over 500,000 people gained access to new health plans.

We discussed the need for these patients to get educated about how to

Special Guestsplan for the financial obligations they will face regarding co-pays, co-insurance, deductibles, etc. Folks need to learn what each of these are and have a plan for how to handle them. One such strategy is having a health savings account, which allows them to pay for their healthcare costs with pre-tax dollars out of an account that will grow over time.

We also talked about how important it is for physicians and citizens to engage with their state legislators to talk about how these issues affect them in their daily lives. SB 158 is still in the early stages, with decisions being made on it coming next spring.

Special Guests:

Donald Palmisano, CEO, Executive Director of Medical Association of Georgia

JD Law, Loyola School of Law
Board of Directors, Physician Advocacy Institute
Medical Payment Subcommitte Member, State Board of Workers’ Compensation
Treasurer, Board of Directors, Physicians’ Institute for Excellence in Medicine
Former Director, Government Relations/General Counsel/Director, GAMPAC

Cindy Zeldin, Executive Director, Georgians for a Healthy Future

Master of Arts, Public Policy with focus on Women’s Studies, The George Washington University
Master of Public Health, Public Policy, Emory University
Previous Principal Management Analyst, Healthcare Div., Dept. of Audits, State of Georgia
Former Senior Program Associate, Health Policy Program, New America Foundation

MAG 2015 Legislative Update – Top Docs Radio

May 13, 2015 by angishields

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MAG 2015 Legislative Update - Top Docs Radio

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MAG 2015 Legislative Update

This week we continued our ongoing series with Medical Association of Georgia to get the MAG 2015 legislative update. MAG CEO, Donald Palmisano, Jr. and Director of Government Relations, Marcus Downs came by with Georgia Representative, Rick Jasperse. We talked about several of the health-related issues Rick and his colleagues have been and continue to work on in the Georgia legislature to promote and protect the health outcomes, safety, and access to care for the citizens of our state.

Rep. Rick Jasperse represents Georgia’s 11th district, which includes all of Pickens and parts of Gordon and Bartow counties. He serves on a number of committees in the House of Representatives – and he is the vice chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee. Rep. Jasperse graduated from UGA with a degree in food science. He retired in 2009 after 29 years as a county agriculture agent.

H.B. 416 by Rep. Carl Rogers (R-Gainesville) will require licensed health care practitioners to wear an ID on their “lab coats or similar distinguishing clothing or uniforms” that states their name and license or educational degree. The only exceptions include optometrists, dentists and chiropractors – except those who practice in hospitals and nursing homes. This has been one of MAG’s legislative priorities for the last two years as voted on by MAG’s Board of Directors. A number of other groups also supported the bill, including speech language pathologists, audiologists, respiratory therapists, marriage and family therapists, ophthalmic technicians, registered dieticians, and APRNs.

The FY 2016 budget (H.B. 76) includes some $23 million in additional funds to increase the reimbursement rate for select Medicaid primary care and OB-GYN codes. This included $17.1 million for primary care physicians (i.e., 90 percent of the 2014 Medicare fee schedule for the applicable codes) and $5.9 million for OB/GYN physicians (90 percent of the 2014 Medicare fee schedule for the applicable codes).

The FY 2016 budget also includes $199,000 to maintain the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program in the state.

H.B. 504 by Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) extends the flu vaccine protocol that is in place between physicians and pharmacists and nurses for adults to pneumococcal, shingles, and meningitis. MAG’s Board Directors voted to support this kind of measure given strict limits and notification requirements. MAG worked with Rep. Cooper to ensure that appropriate sanctions are in place for any violations.

S.B. 158 by Sen. Dean Burke, M.D. (R-Bainbridge) would have addressed rental networks, all-products clauses, and other key issues. MAG’s Board of Directors voted to support this measure. The bill evolved into S.R. 561, which is a “study bill” – which means that a group of legislators will develop a report for the General Assembly’s consideration in 2016.

Special Guests:

Donald Palmisano, CEO, Executive Director of Medical Association of Georgia

JD Law, Loyola School of Law
Board of Directors, Physician Advocacy Institute
Medical Payment Subcommitte Member, State Board of Workers’ Compensation
Treasurer, Board of Directors, Physicians’ Institute for Excellence in Medicine
Former Director, Government Relations/General Counsel/Director, GAMPAC

Marcus Downs, Director of Government Relations, MAG

Recipient, 2012, Outstanding Advocate Award, National Association of School Psychologists
National Institutes of Health Research Fellow, 2000
Former Director, Government Relations/External Coalitions/Research, Georgia Association of Educators

Representative Rick Jasperse, Georgia 11th District

BS, Food Science, University of Georgia School of Agriculture
Member, House Committees: Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Appropriations, Human Relations & Aging, Public Safety and Homeland Security
Vice Chair, Health & Human Services Committee
Served on numerous boards: Mountain Conservation Trust Board, Chattahoochee Technical Collegeand Appalachian Cattlemen’s Association’s Board

Medical Reserve Corps – Top Docs Radio

March 12, 2015 by angishields

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Medical Reserve Corps - Top Docs Radio

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Medical Reserve Corps

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has approved MAG’s request to form the nation’s first medical society-sponsored statewide volunteer medical reserve corps (MRC). MAG and the Georgia Department of Public Health would oversee MAG’s MRC. MAG is now eligible for limited federal capacity building funds and has in fact received a 2015 grant for $2,500 – though the MAG MRC will require funding from private sources to fully maximize its vision.

The MAG MRC will train physicians to respond to declared emergencies in Georgia, and it will establish a system to coordinate the deployment of those physicians during any such emergencies. The MAG MRC will supplement the official medical and public health and emergency services resources that are available in the state. MAG MRC units will be capable of setting up mobile hospital systems. And under extreme circumstances (e.g., a shortage of health care providers in a given area), MAG MRC units can be called upon to perform some of the functions that would otherwise be performed by the full-time emergency medical response personnel in the state. MAG formed the MRC as a result of 2013 House of Delegates meeting action.

The MRC is a national network of volunteers, organized locally to improve the health and safety of their communities. The MRC network comprises 993 community-based units and 207,783 volunteers located throughout the United States and its territories. Georgia has 19 approved MRCs.

MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals, as well as other community members without healthcare backgrounds. MRC units engage these volunteers to strengthen public health, improve emergency response capabilities and build community resiliency. They prepare for and respond to natural disasters, such as wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, and floods, as well as other emergencies affecting public health, such as disease outbreaks. They frequently contribute to community health activities that promote healthy habits.

The designated point of contact is the Director of Health Protection with DPH. The MAG MRC may also be activated by MAG MRC leadership team as necessary. The MAG MRC Unit will supplement the State of Georgia Public Health Emergency Preparedness’ and Response Unit. The unit will not replace or supplant the existing emergency medical response system or its resources including locally based MRC units.

Special Guests:

John S. Harvey, M.D.

Chief of Surgery, Gwinnett Medical Center
Acting Colonel and Command Surgeon, Georgia State Defense Force
MAG’s President-elect.
Missions have included the Katrina/Rita hurricane and Haiti earthquake victim airlifts. He dealt with the Centennial Park bombing that took place during the 1996 Olympics as a medical command officer.
Doctor of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia

Susan Moore

Susan Moore has been MAG’s Director of Health Policy and Third Party Payer Advocacy since 2013. She helps MAG members resolve third party payer claim disputes and grievances. She has spent 30 years in the health care industry – more than half of those focused on patient safety and health care quality. Moore has a degree in nursing from the Emory University School of Nursing and a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the Yale School of Public Health at Yale University.

Paul Hildreth

Paul Hildreth is the emergency management coordinator/grant coordinator for REMS for the Fulton County School District. He has 14 years of experience in emergency response and crisis management. He is a certified emergency manager and master certified emergency manager. He has been an integral part of the Georgia State Defense Force for 10 years. He has a degree in business operations from DeVry University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

Medical Association of Georgia’s 2015 Legislative Priorities – Top Docs Radio

January 14, 2015 by angishields

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Medical Association of Georgia's 2015 Legislative Priorities - Top Docs Radio

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Medical Association of Georgia’s 2015 Legislative Priorities

This week I sat down with Dr. Michael Green and Marcus downs of MAG to discuss Medical Association of Georgia’s 2015 legislative priorities. We talked about several issues that have a serious impact on both patient outcomes as well as Georgia physicians’ ability to provide care. Some key areas of focus this year include Physician Autonomy/Scope of Practice relating to physician-extending providers such as optometrists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, Third Party Payers, Tort Reform, and Patient Access to Care/Physician Shortage.

Dr. Greene and Marcus shared important information about how the year’s priorities are decided upon from how they’re raised as issues, to how they are elevated through committee to final discussion/determination. They also talked about how valuable it is to have active participation in the process by the members of MAG. We discussed the ways that MAG members are able to contribute input on the process and identification of issues for the association to consider.

Marcus and Dr. Greene also talked about some important legislative issues MAG has been able to provide input on that helped shape or revise laws affecting how physicians provide care within the state of Georgia.

Special Guests:

Dr. Michael Greene, Chairman, Council on Legislation, MAG

Doctorate of Medicine, Mercer University School of Medicine
Former President of MAG, 2003-’04
Board Member, Secure Health Plan of Georgia
Practicing Family Practice Physician, Macon, GA

Marcus Downs, Director of Government Relations, MAG

Recipient, 2012, Outstanding Advocate Award, National Association of School Psychologists
National Institutes of Health Research Fellow, 2000
Former Director, Government Relations/External Coalitions/Research, Georgia Association of Educators

International Medical Graduates – Top Docs Radio

December 10, 2014 by angishields

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International Medical Graduates - Top Docs Radio

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International Medical Graduates

In our ongoing series with Medical Association of Georgia, we discussed International Medical Graduates on this episode. Today, we continue to extend the age to which we humans live. This, coupled with the large post-war baby boomer population that is now entering the elderly population, compounds the effects of the period 2-3 decades ago where it was thought we possessed a surplus of physicians. During that time the creation of new medical colleges and expansion of residency programs was limited. These factors combined to bring us to the situation we find ourselves in today: an expanding shortage of physicians in the US.

The ECFMG (Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates) reports that since its inception in the 1950’s it has examined and certified over 320,000 foreign-trained physicians for acceptance to train in US medical colleges and residency programs. Recent statistics show as many as 25% of practicing physicians in the US are foreign-trained graduates. And they play a vital role in the delivery of healthcare in our country. I sat down with Kate Boyenga, Director of Membership and Marketing with Medical Association of Georgia and current MAG president, Dr. Manoj Shah, himself a foreign medical graduate.

We learned about some of the reasons why Medical Association of Georgia is experiencing its largest membership with over 7500 members statewide. And Dr. Shah shared excellent information about the steps required to study in medical school abroad with the ultimate goal of practicing medicine in the US. He talked about the tests one can expect to take, challenges they may face while making application to schools/residencies in the US, and possible solutions for them.

Special Guests:

Kate Boyenga, Director of Membership and Marketing for Medical Association of Georgia