Anatomy of a Raid and Challenge for Action

The Raid: Diversion of funds from the Mcare Fund and HCPRA to balance the state budget.

The Challenge: Work together to protect the medical practice environment in Pennsylvania 

Dear Colleague,

  

I recently had a considerable amount of money taken from me. I had paid my medical liability insurance bills, confident they would use my money as intended to help injured patients. But a highly sophisticated organization suddenly took it all and said they needed it for something else.

Who took it? Our state government. The money I lost—we all lost? Our share of $100 million of Mcare Fund money that was raided to balance the state budget.

But it’s more than the money. Pennsylvania physicians have a lot to lose if we can no longer trust state government to protect our patients and to work with us to improve the practice environment. The last thing we need is more hurdles to recruit new doctors.

I hope the recent raid on physician Mcare assessments was a much-needed wake-up call to all Pennsylvania physicians.

I’m writing to you now because we have time to make changes during the coming year.

I know you’re busy and have a million requests for your time. But we either work together or things stay the same.

I want to fix the broken medical liability system to protect Pennsylvania physicians and Pennsylvania patients. I challenge you to help me do this.

Please look inside this toolkit to learn more about the Mcare raid and decide what challenges you will accept.

Sincerely,
James Goodyear, MD
President, Pennsylvania Medical Society

Instructions: Toolkit for Action
We are building a network of physicians across Pennsylvania to ensure that our lawmakers are committed to preserving Pennsylvania medicine. You have three quick and easy opportunities for immediate action:
  • Challenge 1: Learn more about the future of Mcare and medicine, the history of Mcare, and Mcare legal actions.
  • Challenge 2: Members can sign up for updates on the 2010 grassroots campaign. Non-members can join the Medical Society or email us to sign up for updates on the 2010 campaign.
  • Challenge 3: Thank your legislators who voted to preserve the Mcare money.

Add Your Comments


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Comments: 1


I am 38. I was born here, trained here, and practice here. I am chief of the Department of Medicine at my hospital. I feel the MCARE raid was really the last straw. I am thinking long and hard about moving out of state. If I didn't have family and deep roots here I'd be long gone and even still I may move. Why on earth would a young physician start a practice in PA when they could go anywhere else? Your comment that this raid should serve as a "wake up call" is a little ironic to those of us who know good and well what our PA leaders have been doing and continue to do to destroy our practice environment in this state. In essence many of us "woke up" a long time ago but there is little we feel we can do other than vote with the moving van.

anonymous at 1/18/2010 11:08:24 AM

Last Updated: 11/19/2009
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