VITAL SIGNS
 Weekly e-News of the Western Carolina Medical Society 
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March 8, 2017
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In This Issue:
Sponsor Message: Membership Now Open to PAs (Left)
2017 WCMS Dues - Stay with us!
Results from last week's Weigh In
Weigh In on Senate Bill 175 (STOP Act)
Sona Pharmacy Drug Take Back Event 3/18/17
Register Now: Women in Medicine Affinity Group 3/23/17
Register Now: Rural Medicine Affinity Group 3/28/17
Register Now: Physician Assistant Welcome Event 4/12/17
Register Now: Healthy Healer - Mindfulness in Medicine Retreat 4/22-23
The Physicians' Voice in the News
Bowtie Briefing for 3/3/17
Examining The House Republican ACA Repeal And Replace Legislation
GOP ACA Bill has Massive Medicaid Changes, No CBO Score
The Healthy Healer
WCMS Job Board
2017 WCMS Dues - Stay with us!
If you haven't already, please pay your 2017 dues! 

This is a big year for legislative advocacy. Stay with us to:
* Keep legislation out of the physician-patient relationship and exam room
* Make your voice heard about patient safety issues
* Fight for patient access to high quality health care

And we're building up our Healthy Healer program. Will include:
* Discounts on counseling/coaching
* Mindfulness in Medicine Retreat, April 22-23
* Large event with renowned speaker, November 4

There's a lot happening at WCMS - check out our full 2017 Strategic Plan.

Not sure whether you've paid? 
Results from last week's Weigh In
Last week we asked you to let us know what you thought about Rand Paul's bill to replace Obamacare. A handful of you weighed in. Here's the results:
2 in favor of the bill
5 against the bill

Here's a comment from one of your WCMS Colleagues:
"The plight of the poor will remain unhelped, and once again, the competitive marketplace, which has failed our citizens since the beginning of health insurance, will continue unrestricted." - Anonymous

***
Note from WCMS CEO - Our intention for this effort is to garner physician input on various health care policy issues so that we can advocate appropriately. We are not endorsing one policy over another; we are looking for input and dialog from a diverse physician community so that we can appropriately focus our efforts on what's most important to the majority of our physicians without losing the voices (or membership) of physicians who may dissent with the prevailing opinions of the day.

See below for this week's opportunity to have your voice heard!
Weigh In on Senate Bill 175 (STOP Act)
The STOP Act (Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention) Act is legislation aimed at curbing the state's opioid abuse epidemic. We have an opportunity to provide feedback to legislators about making improvements to the bill. What questions or concerns do you have about it?
UPCOMING EVENTS 
 
Sona Pharmacy Drug Take Back Event 3/18/17
Sona is teaming up with the Buncombe County Sheriff's department to host a drug take back event to help combat the opioid crisis in Asheville. March 18th from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. @ 805 Fairview Rd. Asheville, NC 28803 
Register Now: Women in Medicine Affinity Group 3/23/17
"The Two Sides of Money"

Join us for the first Women in Medicine affinity group of 2017! 
Laura Webb, CFP will be leading a presentation and discussion. 

Register Now: Rural Medicine Affinity Group 3/28/17
The Rural Medicine Group will be meeting to discuss a variety of community partnerships happening throughout the region.

Topics to include:

* New Rural FQHCs
* FQHCs joining ACOs
* Pending grants to expand Project Access beyond Buncombe
* Medserve
* Legislative update
Register Now: Physician Assistant Welcome Event 4/12/17
Attention PAs!
Please join us on April 12 at Thirsty Monk, Biltmore Park! This will be an excellent opportunity to connect with other PAs and learn about the benefits of membership at WCMS! We encourage you to come with any questions or ideas to boost growth of our PA membership base! 
Register Now: Healthy Healer - Mindfulness in Medicine Retreat 4/22 & 23

This 2-day retreat is part of our Healthy Healer program and will focus on these topics:
* Mindfulness
* Resilience
* Narrative Medicine
* Appreciative Inquiry

Earn 13 hours CME. Click here for more information and to register. 
LOCAL NEWS
 
The Physicians' Voice in the News
WCMS is proud to announce another high quality addition to the series of
"The Physicians' Voice," a series of media presentations for the general public that showcase physicians' world-class medical expertise and focus on patient/community health.

Dr. Caton is a native of North Carolina and attended UNC Chapel Hill as an undergraduate and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. Family experiences with colon cancer and inflammatory bowel disease helped focus his practice and drive the compassionate care that he strives to provide for all patients. He is accepting patients at Blue Mountain Surgery and is a member of the Western Carolina Medical Society.
The article is titled "Cutting Colorectal Cancer Risk"
Excerpt: 
When it comes to our health, we often can feel overwhelmed or confused about the diseases our doctors attempt to explain. Even the most in-depth internet search can lead you to conflicting information and can cause frustration.
Click here to read full article. 
STATE NEWS
 
Bowtie Briefing for 3/3/17

NATIONAL NEWS
 
Examining The House Republican ACA Repeal And Replace Legislation
On March 6, 2017, the House Republican leadership introduced Affordable Care Act repeal and replacement budget reconciliation bills in the Ways and Means (W&M) (summary) and Energy and Commerce (E&C) (summary) committees. The bills, collectively titled the American Health Care Act, are the committees' responses to the instructions they received in the Budget Resolution passed by both houses of Congress in mid-January to prepare budget reconciliation legislation to repeal the ACA.
Click here to continue reading. 
GOP ACA Bill has Massive Medicaid Changes, No CBO Score
The text of the long-awaited Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was released Monday evening and included tax credits to help people buy coverage based somewhat on income, instead of just on age as previous drafts obtained by Politico had suggested.

It also eliminates the cap on employer-sponsored health insurance tax breaks, which had been in previous draft bills. The Cadillac tax on high-end plans would remain but be further delayed until 2025.

Medicaid would be turned into a block grant program with a per capita cap for each state. States that expanded Medicaid eligibility under the ACA would be forced to freeze extra enrollment and beneficiaries already enrolled could stay on until 2020.
Click here to continue reading. 
ITEMS OF INTEREST
 
The Healthy Healer
Scott MacGregor is a licensed clinical therapist and stress reduction educator with over fifteen years of meditation practice including retreats for mindfulness, meditation in medicine and research, insight meditation, and spiritual reflection. 
Scott will be one of the instructors for our upcoming "Healthy Healer Retreat: Mindfulness in Medicine."


WCMS Job Board

If you are a 100% Member Practice, posting job openings here is FREE! 
Click here for more information. 
WCMS is a thriving 700+ member professional association of the physicians of Western North Carolina, and a chartered component medical society of the NC Medical Society and the AMA. WCMS is an organization run by physicians, for physicians. In 2017, WCMS opened membership to physician assistants.

Our Mission
WCMS Association: WCMSA is the physicians' voice advocating for the health of the physician, the patient, and the community, through strengthening the physician-patient relationship.

WCMS Foundation: WCMSF is the physician and community-led charitable arm of the medical society improving access to quality healthcare, decreasing disparities in health, and promoting health & wellness.

Our Vision
To be a dynamic physician community dedicated to a healthy, vibrant Western North Carolina.
 
About WCMS
The purpose of WCMS is: 
  • To strengthen the voice of WNC physicians in advocating for the health of the medical profession, the health of the patient, and the health of our region
  • To inform, educate and prepare physicians for rapidly occurring changes in health care at national, state, and local levels
  • To share legislative and policy information and advocate on behalf of physicians in areas of mutual interest
  • To share available resources in areas of mutual interest
  • To promote physician-to-physician communication and dialogue in an open, honest and safe environment
We hope you enjoy our weekly e-Newsletter. If you have questions or suggestions please feel free to contact me.  
Sincerely,
Photo: Miriam Schwarz, WCMS CEO
Miriam Schwarz

 
Miriam Schwarz signature



 
Miriam Schwarz, MPA
WCMS CEO/Executive Director