Update July 2011

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ACOG District II
152 Washington Ave.
Albany, NY 12210
518.436.3461 (phone)518.426.4728 (fax)info@ny.acog.org (email)www.acogny.org (website)

The New York State legislative session has come and gone - and so have lawmakers. This year, we saw a new Governor - an on-time budget - and several pieces of legislation that District II both supported - and opposed. This special edition of the Update eNewsletter will take a look back at those bills – as we look forward to the future.

I hope that as you review the bills and legislative actions in this newsletter you will not focus solely on the disappointments of our tort reform efforts but appreciate the defeat of bills that would have inhibited our ability to effectively deliver health care to women and those bills that were so regressive that liability increases would have been untenable. As your Legislative Chair, I worked tirelessly these past three years with other members of the Legislative Committee, the Communications Committee, the Executive Board and the ACOG staff to "fight the good fight." Our adversary(s) are formidable but at the end of the day they have never delivered a baby, cured a cancer or counseled a distraught patient.

Throughout my tenure with multiple trips to Washington and Albany, my patients and women's groups have thanked me for taking their issues to the respective legislatures. They are aware that their health and reproductive rights are in jeopardy. If ACOG does not speak for them, who will? Our cause is as noble as motherhood it itself. Continued involvement by ob-gyns and advocacy for our patients is what being a woman's health care provider is all about. Now we will be enlisting our patients with the upcoming Well-Woman Website so that the patients can get involved in the political arena. Sixty percent (60%) of the voting public is female and represents a voice that can knock down doors at election time if properly engaged. Please see the piece entitled Well-Woman Website to Launch to read more about this effort.

I will now be moving on to District II Vice Chair and McCain Fellow which will give me a bigger voice to advocate for the health care of women. In your darkest days go back and read your Hippocratic Oath. If we keep this in mind and are true to this belief we can incrementally affect change. Failure to do so is acquiescence to the destruction of a specialty and disrespectful to the women who have borne us.

Lawmakers may have left Albany for the summer - but District II staff members remain hard at work - looking ahead to next year. If you would like to get involved with legislative efforts, please contact the District II office at info@ny.acog.org or (518) 436-3461.

Albany Connection

As the 2011-12 legislative session approached, the Legislative Committee focused on two issues: mandated maternal mortality reporting and home-birth standards. However, for the first time in 25 years of lobbying for tort reform in New York State, a Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) was formed by the Governor to cut Medicaid costs - with some of that savings coming from medical liability reform. CLICK HERE to read more...

Here is how your Senators voted on the Collective Negotiations Bill

The bill's sponsor is Kemp Hannon (R). Voting in support of the legislation were: Senators Breslin (D), Duane(D), L. Krueger (D), Lavalle (R), and Savino (D). Also voting in favor were Senators: Adams (D), Addabbo (D), Avella (D), Ball (R), DeFrancisco (R), Diaz (D), Farley (R), Flanagan (R), Fuschillo (R), Golden (R), Griffo (R), Grisanti (R), Hassell-Thompson (D), Johnson (R), Lanza (R), Larkin (R), Libous (R), Little (R), Marcellino (R), Martins (R), Maziarz (R), McDonald (R), Montgomery (D), Oppenheimer (D), Perkins (D), Ritchie (R), Rivera (D), Saland (R), Serrano (D), Skelos (R), Smith (D), Squadron (D), Stavisky (D), Stewart-Cousins (D), Valesky (D), Young (R) and Zeldin (R).

[Vote begins at 5:17:57 - last bill taken up on June 22 Session]

Health Exchanges: A Missed Opportunity this Legislative Session

As the legislative session was wrapping up this year many hot-button issues were addressed such as same sex marriage and property taxes. Unfortunately, an important issue concerning New Yorkers was quietly forgotten. Assemblyman Joseph Morelle (D-Irondequoit) and Senator James Seward (R/C/I-Oneonta) introduced a Governor’s program bill that would establish a health insurance exchange where individuals and small businesses would be able to buy coverage starting in 2014. The exchange would be a public benefit corporation that would serve as a market place for the purchase and sale of qualified health plans in the State of New York in accordance with the "Affordable Care Act". Although this bill passed in the Assembly, it failed to pass in the Senate.

District II supports access to comprehensive health insurance coverage and reduction of the number of uninsured people in New York State. We will be following this issue and keep you updated on its progress.

The New York Times published a great editorial on this issue which can be viewed by Clicking Here.

Tort Reform Continues to be a Top Priority at State and National Levels

Robert Stookey, MD, FACOG, Clinical Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Ob/Gyn at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, represented ACOG District II at the annual meeting of the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) House of Delegates in Tarrytown, New York.

"I initially accepted the role of ACOG representative to MSSY in order to learn how business is done in the state society," said Dr. Stookey. "I have made good friends within MSSNY and have come to enjoy providing ACOG input into the deliberations of the House of Delegates. It has been an opportunity to foster closer relations between the two societies. I appreciate the opportunity I have been given to serve this role."

The meeting, held in April, was opened by the New State Health Commissioner Dr. Nirav Shah. Dr. Shah shared the frustration of New York's physicians in the failure of the state budget to include tort reform. He did say that pressure for tort reform from physicians MUST continue.

There was lively discussion of the American Medical Association's (AMA) support for the Federal patient Protection and Accountability Act despite the lack of tort reform. AMA representatives assured the delegates that tort reform, including the $250,000 CAP on pain and suffering remains at the top of the AMA agenda. There appears to be more legislative support for the action than there has been in the past.

Approximately 90 resolutions were reviewed by reference committees and acted upon by the House of Delegates.

 Well-Woman Website to Launch

District II is hard at work on a new website that will not only provide women with useful health information - but empower them take a stand on behalf of YOU, New York's ob-gyns. Look for the launch of the website in the coming weeks. The Well-Woman website encourages ALL women to visit their ob-gyns once a year - every year. It provides a wide range of information for women at different stages of life. In order to access information, women will have to sign up for the Well-Woman Network.

This is where District II's new 2011/2012 med mal campaign comes in. In addition to patient education, the Well-Woman website will eventually include a section dedicated to health care policies of interest - including medical liability reform. District II will utilize the Well-Woman Network to encourage women to reach out to lawmakers via letters, phone calls and petitions – demanding they fix the flawed med mal system.

Look for office posters promoting the Well-Woman Network and business card sized information cards about the website – get patients involved! If you have questions about our efforts, please feel free to contact District II at info@ny.acog.org.

Medical Education

The June 17^th expedited partner therapy webinar entitled, “Expedited Partner Therapy in New York State: A New Tool for Providers to Prevent Chlamydia Re-infection among Adolescents” is now archived on the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's website. You may view the webinar by Clicking Here.

Membership

District II Fellows and Junior Fellows are encouraged to apply for ACOG National Committee service. Committee service begins May 2012. Click Here to find more information, including a committee list and the application form. Completed forms can be printed out and returned to ACOG. The deadline for receipt of applications is September 9, 2011. President Elect James T. Breeden, MD, will make these appointments in November 2011.

Opportunities for

Junior Fellows

Annual District II Meeting

Iffath Abbasi Hoskins, MD Junior Fellow Research Day Contest

Do you have an abstract from your resident or fellow research project you would like to share with nationally renowned physicians? The 2011 Iffath Abbasi Hoskins, MD Junior Fellow Research Day Contest is an opportunity for Junior Fellows of District II to showcase their research projects during this year's Annual District Meeting (ADM) being held October 28-30, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt, New York, New York. All participants will also display their research in the Martin L. Stone, MD Research Day Poster Contest at the ADM. Click Here for more...

2011-2012 Donald F. Richardson Memorial Prize Paper Award - Call for Papers
The Donald F. Richardson Memorial Prize Paper Award "Call for Papers" is currently underway. District II Junior Fellows are encouraged to submit a paper from basic science or clinical research for a chance to win $1,000, plus $750 for travel expenses to attend the 2012 Annual Clinical Meeting. Click Here for additional information and to submit your research. Questions? Please contact the ACOG District II office at info@ny.acog.org.

2011 Junior Fellow Professor of the Year
The District II Junior Fellow Task Force on Awards is currently seeking nominations for the 2011 Professor of the Year. This prestigious teaching award is presented annually to an ACOG Fellow Professor. Junior Fellow residents are asked to submit the name of a professor who has most positively impacted the Junior Fellows of District II. If you have a professor you believe is deserving of this award, nominate him or her today. Click Here to enter your 2011 Junior Fellow Professor of the Year nominee. Questions? Please contact the ACOG District II office at info@ny.acog.org.

Attention Junior Fellows: Remember to Vote for your 2011-2012 District II Officers in the Upcoming Junior Fellow Elections

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