Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians E-NEWSLETTER
January 24, 2020

 
UPCOMING

February 13, 2020

April 17-19, 2020

July 18-22, 2020

Welcome New Members
UMMC Students:
Erin Britt
Andrew Day
Mary Morgan Haire
Rowdy Lee
Andrew Sebastian Van Velsor

WCUCOM Student:
Alexander Mirusky

Mississippi Family Physician Journal

2019 MAFP Membership Directory
MAFP SHOP FOR LOGO APPAREL

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REGISTER NOW FOR CAPITOL DAY - Thursday, February 13
Miss Mississippi Mary Margaret Hyer will join MAFP for Capitol Day on February 13 this year. As MAFP's Tar Wars representative in local elementary schools, Hyer will be there to share her Tar Wars success stories from across the state!

Capitol Day will be Thursday, February 13 from 12 noon - 4 pm. We'll kick things off with a lunch at the State Capitol and then we'll host a meet and greet dessert function with legislators in the Capitol Rotunda. 

There is no registration fee. Capitol Day attendees will receive lunch and Capitol tours will be available.

MEA will be on hand to conduct health screenings in the Rotunda, and in the afternoon, MAFP will offer caricatures by cartoonist Ricky Nobile. As is tradition, legislators who come to our afternoon dessert function will receive a special giveaway.

Register today for Capitol Day Don't miss getting one of our exclusive 'I Chose Family Medicine' buttons (see below) - all registrants will receive one.

Drs. Luke Lampton, left, and Italo Subbarao addressed the Senate Public Health Committee Wednesday.

Mississippi Legislature Update
The Mississippi Legislature is still organizing itself for the coming session. The State of the State address by Gov. Tate Reeves is scheduled for Monday, January 27 at 5 pm on the south steps of the State Capitol.

The Senate Public Health Committee had an organizational meeting Thursday and family medicine was well represented by Dr. Luke Lampton, who presented the history of  medicine in Mississippi to committee members. William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine (WCUCOM) Dean Dr. Italo Subbarao spoke and emphasized the need for primary care doctors and funding for scholarships.

"Dear committee members," Dr. Subbarao said, "you have an incredible opportunity to invest in a healthier MS. The time is now to embrace WCUCOM as a pipeline for primary care physicians and to invest in increased Primary Care Residency Programs, to increase funding for more MS Rural Scholars, and to be inclusive of the DO community to advise Mississippi healthcare policy. These efforts will lead to positive growth in the state."

Committee chairs were announced on the House side this week, with Rep. Sam Mims V (R-McComb) returning as chair of Public Health Committee and Rep. Joey Hood (R-Ackerman) named chair of the Medicaid Committee. We look forward to working with them and their committee members.

You can click here to see what bills the MAFP Legislative Committee is tracking in the Mississippi Legislature now, and you can look at all of our Advocacy information on our website.

Scope-of-Practice Executive Order May Cause Harm, Say AAFP, MAFP
Last week, MAFP gave the wrong deadline date in a communication we sent to members about Scope of Practice, and we sincerely apologize for the error. The deadline to submit a comment to CMS about the proposal was Friday, January 17. 

Although some members may not have had a chance to respond before the deadline, both AAFP and MAFP submitted letters to CMS on behalf of the membership prior to the deadline.
AAFP was writing to CMS about President Trump's Oct. 3 Executive Order, and said, "The AAFP opposes recommendations included in the executive order that seek to eliminate supervision requirements and create parity in payments between physicians and non-physician providers. We strongly disagree that greater collaboration can be achieved through independent practice for  non-physicians." 

Have You Paid Your Dues Yet?
More than 72% of MAFP active members have already paid their dues for 2020! But..that leaves 28% who must still pay to remain a member.

We're working now on our MAFP Membership Directory for 2020. We don't want to leave your name off the list. If you're unpaid, please renew your membership today!

Please take the time to pay online or call AAFP at 1-800-274-2237 to pay by phone today.
To schedule a Lunch & Learn contact Jewell Buckley with MAFP.