With growing concern about unprecedented legislative efforts to dictate medical care from statehouses, most recently with regard to women’s health services, the National Physicians Alliance has adopted the following policy resolution.

Women must continue to have appropriate and meaningful access to all legal reproductive health services. This includes access via private insurance (if this is the dominant means of coverage), access via a broader government-provided program (if available) or through other mechanisms that could facilitate this access.

To date, legislators have introduced 944 provisions related to reproductive health and rights in 45 of the 46 legislatures that have convened this year. Fully half of these provisions would restrict abortion.*

If you agree that treatment decisions should be made by doctors and patients, rather than by state legislators, we need your voice. Please support this resolution by adding your name and forwarding widely. We will be strongest with multiple signatures from each of the 50 states.

The NPA also resolves to:

• Publicly oppose any and all laws that require physicians to provide medically unnecessary care
• Publicly oppose any and all laws that require physicians to provide patients with inaccurate information
• Publicly oppose any and all laws that require patients to undergo unnecessary medical testing—especially laws that remove the need for women to consent to said testing

Thank you.

*Laws Affecting Reproductive Health and Rights: Trends in the First Quarter of 2012

“When the meatpacking industry sells us pink slime, what really angers American consumers is the feeling of being cheated:  that the corporations’ profit is more important than the quality of their product.  We are left with a feeling of being deemed unworthy of better treatment or more dignified consideration.  We should be similarly outraged when our members of Congress try to cut corners in policymaking, especially when it comes to the health care of our fellow Americans struggling in (or near) poverty.  Turning Medicaid into a block grant system is an inadequate policy product for addressing our country’s federal deficit, and would be disastrous for the health care of millions of children, seniors, and the disabled.  Pink slime is intolerable, whether it is in our children’s school cafeterias, our grocery stores, or in the halls of Congress.”

The NPA represents supporters throughout the country, with physicians from more than 36 specialties.  We want to hear from all of you.

Please take 5 minutes to help us achieve a solid, representative response to this critical survey: Click here for survey.

We greatly appreciate your participation!

• The first call, Leading the Way to Conflict-free Medical Education, was held on February 22nd and featured discussion of AMSA’s PharmFree Scorecard.
• The second call, Dealing with Conflicts of Interest in Academic Medical Centers, was held April 18th and featured case studies illustrating the practical challenges that institutions face when developing COI policies.

Click here to listen to these calls or read summaries.
The next call is scheduled for late June.

For more information please contact Ann Woloson, NPA Director of Education at ann.woloson@npalliance.net

NPA hosts these calls in conjunction with our work related to The Partnership to Advance Conflict-free Medical Education (PACME) a joint project of the National Physicians Alliance, the American Medical Student Association Foundation, Community Catalyst, and the Pew Charitable Trusts. The project aims to create both external and internal pressure for medical schools and academic medical centers to adopt and enforce strong conflict-of-interest policies.

This partnership and related materials were made possible by a grant from the state Attorney General Consumer and Prescriber Education Grant Program which is funded by the multi-state settlement of consumer fraud claims regarding the marketing of the prescription drug Neurontin.

Understanding Emerging Trends in
Industry-Academic Relationships

A presentation on the benefits of academic-industry relationships, the potential for conflicts of interest, and how such relationships may affect research at universities and future medical practice problems

Featured Speaker: Eric G. Campbell, PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Director of Research at the Mongan Institute for Health Policy

Thursday, May 31 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm (Eastern)
at the  University of Connecticut, School of Medicine

Sponsored by the National Physicians Alliance, the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Community & Continuing Medical Education and Academic Affairs & Education

Learning Objectives: Participants will (be able to):
1. Gain knowledge about general body of research regarding industry relationships and COI
2. Understand benefits of industry-academic relations
3. Identify the potential for conflicts of interest and understand how such conflicts may or may not influence research outcomes or practice patterns
4. Gain knowledge of tools and other policy initiatives aimed at reducing conflicts of interest, which may affect research or practice patterns

REGISTER to VIEW this live event online via webcast

RSVP to attend this event in person

As we mark the second anniversary of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) now is a good time to have what in medical parlance is called a “time out” and reflect on how far we have come and where we need to go.

Some states are challenging the legality of vital provisions such as Medicaid expansion and the mandate for all Americans to carry health insurance.  Candidates vying for President Obama’s job vow a complete repeal of the ACA.  Not surprisingly, polls show a confused public wondering what the health law means for them and the health plan they have now.  Despite this, the obfuscations cannot hide the reality that tens of millions of people have already been served by the initial phases of ACA.

* 54 million people with private health plans had at least one new free preventive service in 2011.
* 32.5 million Medicare seniors received at least one free preventive benefit in 2011.
* 2.5 million young adults under 26 years of age now have health insurance through their parents.
* As of this year, health insurance companies must spend 80-85% of your health insurance premiums toward health care rather than administrative costs.  It is estimated that 9 million people will even get a rebate check.

Here is a report on the impact on Californians specifically.

Lets not stop there. Here is get a glimpse of where this train is headed -because the really good stuff is just around the corner…

Click here to read the full article

This excerpt is from an article originally published in San Francisco Chronicle Blog, 3/23/2012.  It was  written by Ricky Choi, MD, San Francisco area pediatrician and NPA Board Member.

• Click here to listen to the oral arguments heard by the Court on Monday 3/26.
• Click here to listen to the oral arguments on the “Individual Mandate”
  heard by the Court on Tuesday 3/27.
• Click here to listen to the oral arguments “Severability” heard by the Court on Wednesday 3/28.
• Click here to listen to the oral arguments on ACA expansion of Medicaid coverage on states on Wednesday 3/28.

NPA members are at the Supreme Court defending
the Affordable Care Act on Monday 3/26.

Dr. Trudy Singzon, NPA Local Network Leader, San Francisco, CA

Dr. Ari Silver-Isenstadt, NPA Copello Fellow, Laurel, Maryland

Dr. Basim Khan, NPA Board of Directors

Listen to Dr. Alex Blum, NPA Vice-President of Membership, talk about the importance of the benefits in the Affordable Care Act for children with pre-existing conditions, young adults, women and seniors on the Jack Rice Show live today from Radio Row at the Supreme Court rally.

Watch Dr. Ari Silver-Isenstadt speak to Fox Business News about the Affordable Care Act from the steps of the Supreme Court today.

For a deeper understanding of the issues that the Court is considering this week, we offer the following resources—

• For a link to the written transcript of arguments:
  • Monday 3/26 – click here
  • Tuesday 3/27 – click here for part 1;  click here for part 2
  • Wednesday 3/28 – click here for part 1 on “Severability”;  click here for part 2 on expansion of Medicaid coverage in states
• A Guide to the Supreme Court’s Review of the 2010 Health Care Reform Law – Kaiser Family Foundation
• Supreme Court Watch
  
• Amicus Brief Submitted to US Supreme Court re Minimum Coverage Provision of ACA

See more photos of NPA members at the Supreme Court in the NPA Flickr Feed at the bottom of the page at this link.

On Monday March 19th, 2012, NPA President Dr. Valerie Arkoosh sat down with Martha Stewart to share information about the Affordable Care Act with a broad television audience.
Watch the segment here.

The planned topics for the chat:

1. The PPACA has already enacted a number of reforms that are popular on both sides of the political spectrum (PDF link). Given that the individual reforms are popular, why has public approval of the PPACA itself lagged?
2. The individual mandate to purchase health insurance is consistently unpopular on all surveys, but is often considered necessary to expand necessary insurance coverage to all.  If the mandate to purchase insurance is removed from the PPACA, is there a way to ensure coverage or access to care?  Would any of the proposals discussed here be equally effective?
3. If the PPACA as a whole is repealed, or the Supreme Court finds the entire law unconstitutional, then the nation will face the same lack of accessible and affordable care that gave rise to the law’s reforms.  Given that the PPACA’s opponents have not proposed a plan to replace the ACA–if the PPACA is repealed, how should we address these issues of access and affordability?  Are there other plans that would lead to the same level of insurance coverage and/or access that the PPACA is attempting to reach?

Please join us and be part of this important conversation.