MSSNY PULSE

Share Your Medical Expertise with MSSNY

Friday, September 18, 2026

Share Your Medical Expertise with MSSNY

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Colleagues:

Your expertise is precisely what your fellow physicians need most right now.

Every day, decisions are made that affect how we practice medicine, care for our patients, and sustain our profession. Public health, reimbursement, prior authorization, physician autonomy, scope of practice, medical education, professional ethics, and countless other issues continue to evolve. The physicians most qualified to help shape our response are those who experience these challenges firsthand.

That is why I am asking you to consider serving on a MSSNY committee.

MSSNY’s committees bring together physicians from different specialties, practice settings, career stages, and regions of New York. Those differences matter. A physician practicing independently may see an issue differently than a physician employed by a health system. A surgeon may approach a policy question differently than a pediatrician, psychiatrist, radiologist, or family physician. Thoughtful disagreement strengthens organized medicine because better policy emerges when physicians with different experiences are willing to listen, deliberate, and work toward a common purpose.

Committee service gives you an opportunity to bring your knowledge and perspective directly into that process. It is where ideas are examined, priorities are established, policies are developed, and much of MSSNY’s work on behalf of New York physicians begins.

We are especially interested in recruiting members with expertise in specific areas to serve on MSSNY committees, including Infectious Diseases, Physician Wellness, Employed Physicians, Preventive Medicine and Family Health, Private Practice, Workers’ Compensation, HIT committee/AI Task Force, and Addiction and Psychiatric Medicine, so that when the media or political leaders call on us for experts, we have members ready to answer the call.

Our profession faces significant challenges, and physicians cannot afford to leave the decisions affecting medicine entirely to others. Participation matters. Perspective matters. Your voice matters.

I encourage you to answer the Call for Volunteers and consider where your experience can contribute most effectively to MSSNY and your colleagues across New York. (If the hyperlink does not display or work, copy and paste this link into your browser: https://mssny.imiscloud.com/MSSNY/Forms/Committee-Volunteer-Form.aspx)

Organized medicine is strongest when physicians do more than belong to it. It is strongest when physicians help shape it.

Thank you for your commitment to medicine, your patients, and our profession. I hope you will join us.

All the best,

Mark J. Adams, MD, MBA, FACR
MSSNY President

Physician Practice Survey: Emergency & On-Call Coverage

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New York State made significant changes this year to how out-of-network payment disputes between physicians and health plans are resolved — including removing Medicaid Managed Care from the Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process and creating a new payment standard for NYSHIP / Empire Plan claims.

This brief survey asks about your practice’s emergency and on-call work and how it is paid, so that policymakers have real data on physician participation and coverage as these changes take effect. (If the hyperlink above does not display or work, copy and paste this link into your browser: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VMLZRMW)

It should take about five minutes. Your responses will be combined with others and reported only in aggregate — no individual practice will be identified. Aggregated results will be shared with the State Legislature and state agencies during the upcoming budget and legislative session, for the purposes of alerting key policymakers about the impact of this new law on patient access to care, with the goal of pushing for needed changes.

Advocacy in Action

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Dr. Moore with Assemblymember Brian A. Cunningham, who represents the 43rd Assembly District in Central Brooklyn, including Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and Flatbush.

Dr. Moore with the event’s honorary guest, Attorney General Letitia James.

Physician Input Needed for 2027 NYS Legislative Session

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As MSSNY gears up for the 2027 New York State legislative session, we need your help!

To help inform our 2027 legislative policy agenda, please take a few minutes to complete the following survey and tell us which of the issues included you think are most important to physicians right now: Take the 2027 Legislative Survey! (If the hyperlink above does not display or work, copy and paste this link into your browser: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/66LSXSV)

Thank you in advance for your help and participation. We will share the results in future MSSNY publications.

Big Five Coalition Urges CMS Administrator to Withdraw Dangerous Medicare Payment Proposal

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In a recent letter to Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) the elected leadership of the medical societies of California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania, known as the Big Five Coalition, expressed strong opposition to the proposed CY 2027 reduction in the Medicare physician conversion factor and urged the proposal be dropped. Together, the five states represented by the coalition are home to more practicing physicians than any others in the country: over 400,000 physicians, nearly 40 percent of the entire U.S. physician workforce.

This proposal is the continuation of a policy failure that has been in effect for over three decades. Considering inflation, Medicare physician payment has collapsed 53 percent since the advent of the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS) in 1992, a decline without parallel anywhere else in American medicine, and one that no other sector of the economy would tolerate for a single year, let alone thirty. Physicians are still the only participant in the Medicare program with no statutory mechanism to keep pace with inflation. Hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and Medicare Advantage plans all receive built-in, predictable updates. Physicians do not, but are expected to treat more patients, absorb higher practice costs, and put patient access at risk.

The group is urging CMS to do the following:

Withdraw the proposed CY 2027 conversion factor reduction and replace it with a positive update reflecting the Medicare Economic Index.
Establish a permanent, statutory link between the physician conversion factor and the Medicare Economic Index, ending the annual cycle of cuts and temporary congressional patches.
Eliminate the site-of-service payment differential, which pays more for identical care simply because it is billed by a hospital-owned outpatient department rather than a physician’s office. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that expanding site-neutral payment across hospital outpatient departments, imaging, and drug administration would save Medicare more than 170 billion dollars over ten years, with no reduction in the care beneficiaries receive. This is a proven, scored source of federal savings that does not require cutting physician payment to achieve.

To send a letter to your member of Congress about this critical issue, go to MSSNY’s Grassroots Action Center (GAC). MSSNY will continue to monitor this critical issue and share updates as they develop.

Childhood Vaccine Exemptions Are Rising Nationally

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Key Point: KFF reviewed CDC data on kindergarteners with exemptions for at least one state-required vaccine.
Why it Matters: Thirty states reported exemption rates above the national average of 4.2%.
New York Context: New York was among five states with exemption rates below 1%; all five restrict non-medical vaccine exemptions.
Practice Impact: Vaccine uncertainty can affect patient conversations, school readiness, and community protection.

A new Advisory Board Daily Briefing highlights KFF data showing that childhood vaccine exemption rates are rising in many states. Using CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases data last updated August 17, KFF reviewed the percentage of kindergarteners in each state with exemptions for at least one vaccine required by the state.

The findings show a wide national gap. In total, 30 states reported vaccine exemption rates above the national average of 4.2%. Idaho recorded the highest exemption rate at 17.5%, more than four times the national average.

New York’s position was notably different. The article reports that California, Connecticut, New York, Maine, and West Virginia had vaccine exemption rates below 1%, and that all five states restrict non-medical vaccine exemptions.

For physicians, these numbers matter because exemption trends are not just school statistics; they affect community immunity, outbreak risk, pediatric care, and patient counseling. They also come at a time when several major medical groups have issued vaccine guidance for the upcoming respiratory virus season, including recommendations related to COVID-19, RSV, and influenza.

The practical message is clear: physicians remain trusted messengers in a confusing environment. Every conversation about vaccination is an opportunity to answer questions, address risk perception, and help families make informed decisions.

MultiPlan Litigation Update August 2026

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MSSNY is a plaintiff in in re MultiPlan Health Insurance Provider Litigation, a federal antitrust case alleging that MultiPlan and major health insurers colluded to suppress out-of-network reimbursement rates paid to physicians and other providers.

At the August 14 case management conference, the court addressed several developments in the ongoing litigation, including updates related to the DOJ’s civil investigative demand seeking discovery produced in the litigation, as well as case filings, and other court materials. The court also addressed pending motions to amend or correct defendants’ answers, directing those defendants to file amended answers as separate docket entries.

Respiratory Season Immunization Recommendations for NYS & Webinar hosted by the AMA

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The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene have fully endorsed new fall vaccination recommendations for influenza, RSV, and COVID-19, covering all ages.

Background: On September 2, the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Vaccine Integrity Project (VIP) released an evidence review drawing on nearly 300 studies, analyzing vaccine effectiveness and safety by age and risk group. Specialty medical associations used this review to update their recommendations for the specific populations they cover:

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) – children aged 0–18
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) – adults 19+ and healthcare personnel
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) – pregnant patients
Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) – immunocompromised patients

Where to find the recommendations:

Full recommendations: www.spreadthefacts.org
A concise patient/provider summary handout is also available (link in the NYSDOH/NYC Health notification)

Routine immunization schedules: NYSDOH and NYC Health continue to endorse the AAP and ACOG routine schedules and are now also extending endorsement to the AAFP routine immunization schedule.

Webinar: The AMA is hosting a joint webinar with VIP, AAP, AAFP, ACOG, and IDSA on September 23, 12:00–2:00 PM to walk through the updated recommendations. Register here.

Upcoming MSSNY Webinars Support Physicians Across Every Career Stage

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MSSNY is offering upcoming webinars designed to help New York physicians, residents, medical students, and practice teams navigate timely clinical, legal, contractual, and reimbursement challenges. Register for the programs most relevant to your patients, your practice, and your professional future.

September 24, “The No Surprises Act Explained: What Every New York Physician Needs to Know,” will help practicing physicians better understand how the law affects out-of-network reimbursement. Fernando J. Valencia of Callagy Recovery and Thomas Lee, MD, MBA, Executive Vice President of MSSNY, will explain when the law applies, how the Independent Dispute Resolution process works, and how physicians can identify opportunities to avoid systematic underpayment.

September 29, “Leadership Pearls from Business School & Life Experiences,” will explore business and leadership skills physicians can apply to contracts, practice decisions, organizational leadership, and long-term career development.

October 20, “Physician Employment Agreements: What to Know Before You Sign,” is designed for residents and early-career physicians preparing to evaluate employment offers. The session will cover compensation, wRVU targets, contract terms, termination provisions, call schedules, restrictive covenants, non-competes, malpractice tail coverage, and strategies for negotiating with confidence.