Membership

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
watching out for physicians’ best interests in Albany and Washington D.C.

SOCIOMEDICAL ECONOMICS
monitoring the payers and helping you cope

LEGAL
keeping you advised on the law
taking medicine’s fights to the courts

Why should you be a member?

As economic challenges intensify, you need more than ever to stand with your colleagues and fight for what’s fair. If you don’t belong, you SERIOUSLY jeopardize MSSNY’s ability to represent YOUR interests.

• Working with the AMA, MSSNY helped derail the scheduled 2003 Medicare reimbursement cuts of 4.4%, and won instead an increase of 1.6%. The difference: about $3500 per NY physician in 2003; more than $77,000 over the next ten years.

• MSSNY has prevented liability premium increases of 10-20% year after year, and is working through coalitions in an all-out effort to pass major corrective legislation.

• MSSNY has secured funding for the free second layer of malpractice coverage in the bare bones state budget, so your personal assets are not at risk every time you see a patient.

What do you get out of membership?

• A PRACTICAL ADVANTAGE - Information, services and opportunities to help you comply with laws and regulations, handle administrative challenges and advance your career.
• CONFIDENCE - Knowing you’ll get the right answers, when you need to be right.
• A TEAM OF EXPERTS - working for you. Ask MSSNY’s health law experts about your latest contract; or ask MSSNY’s Ombudsman to resolve your contested insurance payments.
• A WAY TO VENT -- CONSTRUCTIVELY - Your opinion will count. Most improvements in physician-related health policy originate in ideas proposed at Medical Society meetings.
• SHARE IN AWARDS - MSSNY has hired top attorneys to sue HMOs for unfair business practices on behalf of all our members. If your income has suffered due to bundling, downcoding, or other tactics, this is how you can recover what you’ve been denied unfairly. NONMEMBERS WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE to share in any awards.
• NETWORKING - Become active and meet influential physicians from around the state and country.
• SATISFACTION - Knowing you’re doing something meaningful about the healthcare issues that concern you – even if it’s just by paying your dues.

What is membership worth?

Consider what’s at stake: your reputation, your livelihood, your patients’ health, your family’s health, your professional autonomy. You can’t put a price on these. But for what amounts to pocket change each week, you can be a member and feel good about taking purposeful action to safeguard them. What else does this “pocket change” buy?

• 6% differential in Medicare reimbursements, thanks to our 2003 victory (average $3,500 – this year alone.)
• Similar effects in reimbursements from other payers, as they follow Medicare’s lead
• Four-fold increase in Medicaid rates, won in 2001
• Avoidance of a 10% increase in your medical liability premiums through defeat of the bill to repeal the limits we won years ago on the portion of malpractice judgments lawyers can claim as their fees .
• PLUS savings to the average physician of about $10,500 per year through defeat of bills that would expand your liability.

Consider the benefits!

• In-depth and up to the minute information on subjects you need to know about
• Extensive HIPAA resources and answers to all your medical-legal questions
• Reimbursement experts to advise your staff and take on your battles with insurers
• Medical Directory of New York State, a $140 value, FREE to members
• Pre-paid legal services in case of investigation by government agencies
• Billing, claims processing and practice management systems improve cash flow and reduce costly errors
• Insurance programs for you, your family and your staff
• Home study courses, free on-line CME, healthcare management certificate program
• Preferred rates on home mortgages; savings of up to $300 on auto insurance
• Special credit card rates for members; professional services accounts
• Endorsed collection and answering services; travel programs; magazine discounts