EDITOR'S NOTE: Yesterday, the Michigan House of Representatives Health Policy Committee heard testimony on two Maintenance of Certification (MOC) bills, created by the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS). MSMS was well represented with physicians testifying in support of HBs 5090 and 5091. Introduced by Representative Edward 'Ned' Canfield, DO, testimony was given by Megan Edison, MD; Martin Dubravec, MD; and Jayne Courts, MD.
Read the testimony of Representative Edward 'Ned' Canfield, DO >>
Read the testimony of Megan Edison, MD >>
Read the testimony of Martin Dubravec, MD >>
Read the testimony of Harold Moores, MD >>
Below is an article which published in MIRS News on May 16, 2016. For more on MIRS News, please visit http://mirsnews.com.
Bills designed to stop insurance companies from requiring an out-of-state recertification as a reason for payment received its first hearing today in a House committee, but its future is uncertain due to opposition from the hospitals and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan.
HB 5090 and HB 5091 are supported by the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) and other physicians out of concern that a certification from the American Board of Emergency Medicine doesn't improve the quality of medicine (See "Doctor Want State To Defrock 'Onerous,' 'Irrelevant' Recertification," 1/26/16). Rather, it becomes an expensive and cumbersome paperwork exercise.
"If you talk to any medical professional today about the state of their practice you will probably hear the same thing," said Dr. Jodie SENGSTOCK, a West Bloomfield podiatrist.
Kristen KRAFT, the director of state relations Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan, wrote in testimony today that her company believes the bills would "eliminate the ability of health plans to establish their own reasonable credentialing standards.
"We believe it would be a mistake to remove this widely recognized national standard at this time," she wrote. "We are spending less and less time with patients and more time riddled with bureaucracy."
Dr. Janet ENG, a Lansing McLaren emergency room physician, testified against the bills as a board examiner for the American Board of Emergency Medicine.
"Michigan would be set apart for winning the race to the bottom," Eng said.
House Health Policy Committee Chair Mike CALLTON (R-Nashville) said he wasn't sure when the bills would be taken up again and if a vote would be taken. However, Callton expressed support for the general idea of finding ways to keep experienced doctors on the job as long as possible.
Advocates for the bills argued that some physicians end up retiring earlier as opposed to going through the expensive national board certification process.