Business Leaders: What Kind of Health Care System Do You Want?

The MMS is speaking out and Massachusetts business leaders are listening! What they're hearing is that the physicians of Massachusetts and the patients who depend on them are at risk.

That is the key message that the MMS is delivering through our State of the State of Health Care initiative. Officially launched in January, the campaign aims to raise awareness of the plight of our physician practices and its implications for patient care.

So far, your officers have taken our message to business leaders in our state's leading industries, including presentations to the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Healthcare Purchasers Group, the Greater Boston and Cape Cod Chambers of Commerce, the Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bankers Association, the Massachusetts Medical Device Industries Council, the Smaller Business Association of New England, and on March 1, the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.

I've found our reception by these groups to be quite positive. As business and professional leaders gain a greater understanding of the severity of the health care crisis and how physician practices are being impacted, they are beginning to grasp the implications for themselves and their employees.

We've found significant common ground in our goals: Both the physician and business communities want high quality health care and broad access to services at an affordable cost. Our challenge now is to find common ground in our solutions.

For the immediate future, we're asking business groups to help us assure the viability of the physician practice by supporting some of our objectives, such as an increase in Medicaid reimbursement following nearly a decade of flat rates. Concurrently, we're inviting them to work with us to secure quality, access, and affordability in health care for the long-term.

In the months and years ahead, we'll continue to speak to business and civic organizations throughout Massachusetts, to foster ongoing dialogue and collaboration among physicians and employers.

If you would like us to present to a particular business group in your community, please contact Marcia Tabenken at (781) 434-7103.

– Virginia T. Latham, M.D.