Volume 7                                                                       Issue 2
Southeast News
News from the Southeastern Delegation to the AMA

Dear Colleagues

Welcome to Spring 2018 and our Southeastern Delegation April Newsletter.

This issue is our traditional Washington Update. We feature important articles from AMA's Richard Deem and two members of the US Congressional leadership. We also continue our Business Corner series with Dr. Asa Lockhart, this issue writing on the growing problems with Pharmaceuticals.

We hope you will enjoy.

Next month, it's our Convention edition as we review the June AMA Annual Meeting in Chicago along with our important candidates for AMA leadership.


Bill Clark, MD (GA), Chair, SE Delegation to AMA
Claudette Dalton, MD (VA), Chair-elect, SE Delegation to AMA
Greg Cooper, MD (KY), Immediate Past Chair, SE Delegation to AMA
Stephen Imbeau, MD (SC), Newsletter Editor


Donald C. Barton, MD of Corbin, Kentucky, passed away on April 7th. Dr. Corbin served as Chair of the Southeastern Delegation from 1995 to 1997. He also served as president of the Kentucky Medical Association from 1987 to 1988. We extend our condolences to his wife, Joan, and their children and family.

You can read Dr. Barton's obituary here.

A BETTER APPROACH TO HEALTH CARE
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina)

Obamacare is not working and is unlikely to ever work. It was designed as a rigid, one-size-fits-all health care system which hands money, control, and decision-making on health care to bureaucrats in Washington.

It ignores the fact that doctors, hospitals, and health care providers in a town, community or state generally know the needs of their patients better than even the best-intentioned bureaucrat in our nation's capital.

I believe it is time we change that dynamic.



Congressman Tom Rice (R-SC 7th District)

America used to be known far and wide as the ‘land of opportunity.’ We earned this nickname because of laws that empowered a workforce to achieve the American Dream. Our policies reflected the ideal that with a little hard work and determination, anyone could achieve their goals. Over the years, as our government has expanded and our bureaucracy has thickened, the American Dream became out of reach. I came to Washington to work on policies that will revive the American spirit and restore our nickname as the land of opportunity.




AMA Advocacy Update
Richard A. Deem
AMA Senior Vice President, Advocacy

The AMA is pleased to provide the following advocacy update for the Southeastern Delegation to the AMA. We continue to make progress on key issues for physicians and patients, and truly value our collaborative partnership with the Southeastern Delegation in these efforts.


BUSINESS CORNER
The Pharmaceutical Conundrum
Asa C. Lockhart, MD, MBA
Principal, Golden Caduceus Consultants

Your patients may ask you why their medications are so expensive or why they are having a difficult time obtaining them. Physicians ask why are the costs of my patient's medications escalating so rapidly, why drugs that used to be relatively inexpensive are now prohibitive, and why are there so many drug shortages? The answer is complex and often shrouded in mystery and nuance.


For the latest information on issues, meeting dates, helpful resources and pictures from past events make sure to visit the SE Delegation to the AMA's website!
Southeastern Delegation to the AMA, Inc.
Karen A. Foy
Executive Director
4250 A1A S, F-32
St. Augustine, FL 32080
405-410-7191