Punching Above Our Weight Click to Enlarge Colleagues: This has been a big week for our lobbying efforts. Kudos to all who came to DC for the AMA National Advocacy Conference or visited Albany the same days for the Budget Hearings. I would like to
A New Low for UnitedHealth Click to Enlarge Colleagues: One of the benefits of joining the Medical Society is that an organized group of your colleagues can advocate on your behalf when you would otherwise be in danger of retaliation for raising your voice. In
A Call for DOJ Volunteers Click to Enlarge Colleagues:Your MSSNY has been getting the media message out that UnitedHealth and Optum have been gaming the system against physicians and our patients. Consequently, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has reached out to your MSSNY leadership to ask
Food Additives, Cancer, and the FDA Click to Enlarge Colleagues: On January 15, 2025, a long controversial red food dye called FD&C Red No. 3 was finally banned by the FDA. The coloring, which is used in thousands of products, is a synthetic compound called erythrosine. The
Governor Hochul’s Attention on NPs and Workers Comp Click to Enlarge Colleagues: In her State of the State message, Governor Hochul has focused on expanding the ability of New Yorkers to receive needed care, including expanding health plan network adequacy standards and providing stronger incentives
Life is Like a Roll of Toilet Paper Click to Enlarge Colleagues:Andy Rooney once wrote, “life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.” As a Gastroenterologist, I have always appreciated the GI aspect of this
Anthem Reversed Its Policy on Anesthesia Caps: Big Win for MSSNY! Click to Enlarge Colleagues: The historian Tacitus once said, “Victory is claimed by all, failure to one alone.” The truth of this aphorism was repeated this week, when Anthem reversed its ill-begotten policy to cap NY payments
The UHC CEO was Murdered. How are Patients and Physicians Affected? Click to Enlarge Colleagues: UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in what appears to be a targeted attack Wednesday morning in Midtown Manhattan. A message left at the scene of the fatal shooting — “deny,” “defend” and “depose”
Should MSSNY be Bi-Partisan, or Non-Partisan? Click to Enlarge Colleagues: Last week, my Pulse Message generated heated responses from members on both sides of the political aisle. Some emails expressed dismay that by being bipartisan, MSSNY is failing to confront what could be significant public
IMG Recognition Week Click to Enlarge Colleagues: Being ill is no fun, though it does enforce time in bed (or in my case, time on the toilet) to contemplate one’s own physical fragility and mortality. To those of you who noticed there was no President’s
