Solutions Law Press, Inc. is delighted to share the following reprint of An Open Letter To Andly Slavitt, Acting Administrator, CMS e from Michael Koriwchak, M.D., Vice President, The Docs 4 Patient Care Foundation
“Many of us physicians reacted like starving prisoners when the Commandant announces that there will be extra cockroaches for dinner.”
An Open Letter to Andy Slavitt, Acting Administrator CMS
Feb 18, 2016 07:50 am | By: Dr. Michael Koriwchak
Mr. Andrew Slavitt
Acting Administrator
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Washington, D.C..
Dear Mr. Slavitt:
No doubt you were surprised at the strong, widespread reaction to your comments regarding the Meaningful Use Program as part of your speech to the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference several weeks ago. Your quote regarding the hearts and minds of physicians was particularly noteworthy. After decades of Federal regulatory hostility towards physicians, some of us doctors were pleasantly surprised – even shocked – to hear you acknowledge:
– physicians exist beyond just being another cog in the healthcare machine.
– physicians actually have hearts and minds.
– physicians’ opinions might have value to you.
– programs that are poorly designed distract physicians from patient care.
– CMS aspires to a “cultural focus on listening and learning”
Many of us physicians reacted like starving prisoners when the Commandant announces that there will be extra cockroaches for dinner. Though the news was small, many of us were overjoyed.
But most of us (60% by a recent survey) reacted differently. The majority of us understand the political savvy of saying something controversial about your enemy. Such a move can create a useful distraction, driving the enemy to argue amongst themselves while you continue with work that you would rather we didn’t notice…and that is exactly what has happened. Like an octopus squirting ink into the water you have created an effective smokescreen to let you spend the next few months coding Meaningful Use into MACRA without any interference from us.
So the purpose of this letter is to ask the question: Which of the above interpretations of your comments is correct? What are your intentions?
If your comments are sincere then consider this letter a warm introduction to the group of rapidly growing, grass-roots full time practicing physicians whom this letter represents. Over the past few years we have acquired the policy expertise and political skills to be effective leaders and collaborators with you to bring truly meaningful improvements to America’s health care. Realize that the leaders of organized medicine with whom you currently work – including the AMA , whose membership represents less than 15% of practicing physicians – do NOT represent the “hearts and minds” of physicians that you profess to seek. If you mean what you say then we are reaching out to you.
If, on the other hand, your comments are nothing more than political subterfuge, then this letter serves as a warning. We are not buying the political offal that you are selling. This physician group will use all of its intellectual, financial and political resources to make it far more difficult for you to destroy what is left of health care in America.
The choice is yours. We look forward to hearing from you.
Michael Koriwchak, M.D.
Vice President, The Docs For Patient Care Foundation
About Project COPE: The Coalition On Patient Empowerment & Coalition on Responsible Health Policy
What do you think about the status and direction of the U.S. health care system and its reforms? Do you share Dr. Koriwchak’s concerns? Have other concerns? Do you have ideas about how to improve the understandability of medication warnings or research findings for patients or other ideas about how to improve healthcare or health care policy? Share your ideas in the PROJECT COPE: Coalition On Patient Empowerment LinkedIn Group. If you have knowledge, experience or other resources that could help patients, families, communities, or the government better understand or cope with Asperger’s or other health care conditions, costs of care, or other challenges affecting Americans and the American health care system, we encourage you to get involved and share your insights.
As American leaders continue to struggle to deal with these and other mounting problems impacting the U.S. health care system, the input of individual Americans and businesses and community leaders is more critical than ever. Get involved in helping to shape improvements and solutions to the U.S. health care system and the Americans it cares for by sharing your ideas and input through the Coalition For Responsible Health Care Policy and exchanging information and ideas for helping American families deal with their family member’s illnesses, disabilities and other healthcare challenges through PROJECT COPE: Coalition On Patient Empowerment.
Sharing and promoting the use of practical practices, tools, information and ideas that patients and their families, health care providers, employers, health plans, communities and policymakers can share and offer to help patients, their families and others in their care communities to understand and work together to better help the patients, their family and their professional and private care community plan for and manage these needs is the purpose of PROJECT COPE.
The Coalition and its PROJECT COPE arise and run on the belief that health care reform and policy must be patient centric and patient empowering. The best opportunity to improve access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans is for every American, and every employer, insurer, and community organization to seize the opportunity to be good Samaritans. The government, health care providers, insurers and community organizations can help by providing education and resources to make understanding and dealing with the realities of illness, disability or aging easier for a patient and their family, the affected employers and others. At the end of the day, however, caring for people requires the human touch. Americans can best improve health care by not waiting for someone else to step up: Step up and help bridge the gap when you or your organization can. Speak up to help communicate and facilitate when you can. Building health care neighborhoods filled with good neighbors throughout the community is the key.
The outcome of this latest health care reform push is only a small part of a continuing process. Whether or not the Affordable Care Act makes financing care better or worse, the same challenges exist. The real meaning of the enacted reforms will be determined largely by the shaping and implementation of regulations and enforcement actions which generally are conducted outside the public eye. Americans individually and collectively clearly should monitor and continue to provide input through this critical time to help shape constructive rather than obstructive policy. Regardless of how the policy ultimately evolves, however, Americans, American businesses, and American communities still will need to roll up their sleeves and work to deal with the realities of dealing with ill, aging and disabled people and their families. While the reimbursement and coverage map will change and new government mandates will confine providers, payers and patients, the practical needs and challenges of patients and families will be the same and confusion about the new configuration will create new challenges as patients, providers and payers work through the changes.
We also encourage you and others to help develop real meaningful improvements by joining PROJECT COPE: Coalition On Patient Empowerment and by sharing ideas, tools and other solutions and other resources. The Coalition For Responsible Health Care Policy provides a resource that concerned Americans can use to share, monitor and discuss the Health Care Reform law and other health care, insurance and related laws, regulations, policies and practices and options for promoting access to quality, affordable healthcare through the design, administration and enforcement of these regulations.
You also may be interested in one or more of the following other recent articles published on the Coalition for Responsible Health Care Reform electronic publication available here, our electronic Solutions Law Press Health Care Update publication available here, and/or our HR & Benefits Update electronic publication available here.
You also can get details about how to arrange for your employees or other communities to participate in training on “Building Your Family’s Health Care Toolkit,” using the “PlayForLife” resources to organize low-cost wellness programs in your workplace, school, church or other communities, and other process improvement, compliance and other training and other resources for health care providers, employers, health plans, community leaders and others here.
NOTE: This article is provided for educational purposes. It is does not provide legal advice, establish any attorney-client relationship or provide or serve as a substitute for legal advice to any individual or organization. Readers must engage properly qualified legal counsel to secure legal advice about the rules discussed in light of specific circumstances.ANY STATEMENTS CONTAINED HEREIN ARE NOT INTENDED OR WRITTEN BY THE WRITER TO BE USED, AND NOTHING CONTAINED HEREIN CAN BE USED BY YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON, FOR THE PURPOSE OF (1) AVOIDING PENALTIES THAT MAY BE IMPOSED UNDER FEDERAL TAX LAW, or (2) PROMOTING, MARKETING OR RECOMMENDING TO ANOTHER PARTY ANY TAX-RELATED TRANSACTION OR MATTER ADDRESSED HEREIN. ©2016 Cynthia Marcotte Stamer, P.C. Non-exclusive license to republish granted to Solutions Law Press. All other rights reserved.