Category: Advocacy
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Florida’s Physician “Gun Gag” Overturned on Appeal
The full panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit struck down the Florida law restricting physicians from speaking to patients and families about the risks of guns in the home. The case, Wollschlaeger v. Scott, was filed on June 6, 2011, challenged the Florida law, which could censor, fine and revoke…
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Physicians Call for Prior Authorization Reform
The Medical Association has joined a coalition of physicians’ groups, hospitals, medical groups, pharmacists and other health care organizations to urge health plans, benefit managers and other groups to reform prior authorization requirements imposed on medical tests, procedures, devices and medications. The coalition is responding to what has been deemed unreasonable hurdles for patients seeking…
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Between Doctors & Patients: Prior Authorizations
Physicians face various regulatory and administrative hurdles in a day, but few are as frustrating, or as expensive, as prior authorizations, or PAs. Commercial insurance companies, Medicaid, Medicare and other third-party interests use PAs to reduce costs. This leaves physicians and their staff wondering when the practice of medicine became more about the dollars and…
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The Medical Association Is On Call For You
The Medical Association’s Board of Censors met and approved the Association’s 2017 State and Federal Agendas. These agendas were developed with guidance from the House of Delegates and input from individual physician members. As the Alabama Legislature and Congress begin their work for 2017, additional items affecting physicians, medical practices and patients may be added…
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Opinion: All Americans Need Access to Affordable, Quality Care
Editorial contributed by John Meigs Jr., M.D., president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, member of the Medical Association Board of Censors, and a family physician in Centreville, Ala. Editorial reprinted by permission. Since Election Day, health care analysts have tried to forecast the fate of our health care system. Much remains uncertain, but…
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Medical Association Applauds U.S. Rep. Tom Price, M.D., for HHS Secretary
MONTGOMERY – The Medical Association of the State of Alabama applauds the nomination of U.S. Rep. Tom Price for secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Congressman Price is a strong advocate for preserving the patient-physician relationship, which includes fighting for patients’ rights as well as preserving physician autonomy,” said Medical Association…
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Injured? Dial 1-800-4-MED-MAL
Legislation Threatens Decades of Medical Tort Reforms If 1-800-4-MED-MAL sounds like a personal injury firm advertisement, think again. But if proponents of a radical new alternative medical liability system get their way, 1-800-4-MED-MAL could be an avenue for turning every persistent migraine, bout of acute pain and post-operative bruise into cash payments. This radicalized approach…