Health Insurer Concentration – Study

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MedChi The Maryland State Medical Society 1211 Cathedral Street Baltimore, MD 21201-5516 410.539.0872 Fax: 410.547.0915 1.800.492.1056 www.medchi.org TO: The Honorable Shane E. Pendergrass, Chair Members, House Health and Government Operations Committee The Honorable Sid Saab FROM: Gene Ransom President DATE: February 20, 2020 RE: SUPPORT – House Bill 1356 – Office of the Attorney General – Health Insurer Concentration – Study The Maryland State Medical Society (MedChi), the largest physician organization in Maryland, supports House Bill 1356, which requires a study by the Office of the Attorney General to examine health insurer concentration in the State to determine competitiveness of the market. Each year, the American Medical Association releases its study on “Competition in Health Insurance – A Comprehensive Study of U.S. Markets,” which focuses on the following questions: Are health insurance markets competitive, or do health insurers exercise market power? Are proposed mergers between insurers likely to maintain, enhance or create such power? These are important questions for public policy makers because the use of market power can harm consumers and health care providers. When an insurer exercises market power in the sale of insurance coverage, premiums may be higher than in a competitive market. When an insurer exercises market power in its negotiations with physicians and other health care providers, payments to health care providers can fall below competitive levels, creating access and network adequacy issues. Therefore, because health insurance concentration can adversely affect cost and access to appropriate health care services, we believe that a Maryland specific study is essential to determine if issues exist and to make recommendations to address them. We urge a favorable vote on House Bill 1356. .

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AAFP Letter to CMS on Prior Authorizations in Medicare
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Secretary of Veterans' Affairs
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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Room 1063B Washington, DC 20420
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Hopkins Medicine Magazine-Summer 2020.Pdf
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Podiatric Physicians
MedChi The Maryland State Medical Society 1211 Cathedral Street Baltimore, MD 21201-5516 410.539.0872 Fax: 410.547.0915 1.800.492.1056 www.medchi.org TO: The Honorable Shane E. Pendergrass, Chair Members, House Health and Government Operations Committee The Honorable Ken Kerr FROM: J. Steven Wise Pamela Metz Kasemeyer Danna L. Kauffman DATE: January 21, 2021 RE: OPPOSE – House Bill 182 – Health Occupations - Podiatric Physicians The Maryland State Medical Society (MedChi), the largest physician organization in Maryland, opposes House Bill 182. House Bill 182 would allow a podiatrist to be called a “podiatric physician.” MedChi believes that current law allowing the use of the term “physician” only by individuals licensed as medical doctors (“M.D.”) or doctors of osteopathy (“D.O.”) is the correct policy, and that this legislation should not be passed. To some, this may seem an unnecessary dispute over a single word. However, the word “physician” has had unique meaning in the policies enacted by the General Assembly and to the public. For its part, the Legislature reserved the term for use by those practicing medicine in Health Occ. § 14- 602 and sought to prevent confusion between podiatrists and physicians when it enacted §16-401, stating that a podiatrist may not use “any word or abbreviation that suggests the licensee is licensed to practice medicine rather than podiatry.” Adding the word “physician” is certainly contrary to this policy. In short, the General Assembly has recognized this important distinction, but this bill reverses course and blurs the line. The general public also assigns special meaning to the term physician, recognizing it to identify a person that has been to medical school.
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