NEWS FROM ALAO
NOVEMBER, 2009


HOUSE DEMOCRATS PASS HEALTH CARE BILL

  • In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic controlled U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed landmark health care legislation on Saturday night, November 7, 2009.

  • The 220-215 vote cleared the way for the U.S. Senate to begin debate on the issue which has been the focus of Capitol Hill for months. 

  • All Alabama U.S. Representatives voted against HR 3962, the "The Affordable Health Care for America Act."

  • The House legislation would for the first time require every individual to obtain insurance, and would require all but the smallest employers to provide coverage to their workers.  It would vastly expand Medicaid and create a new marketplace where people could obtain federal subsidies to buy insurance from private companies or from a new government-run insurance plan.  Both consumers and companies could run the risk of penalties for defying the government's mandates.

  • Not since the 1965 passage of Medicare and Medicaid has a chamber of Congress approved such a vast expansion of coverage.

  • Nearly unanimous in their opposition, minority Republicans cataloged their objections to the 1,990-page, $1.2 trillion legislation.

  • Missing from HR 3962, is a permanent repeal and replacement of the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula.  HR 3961, the so-called "companion bill" to HR 3962 is a bill that would take these needed steps.  Now that the House has passed its health care reform legislation, it becomes even more imperative that passage of HR 3961 be a priority.


BCBS PMD UPDATE

  • The ALAO Board of Directors have been working with representatives of the various state surgical societies to address the proposed fee schedule changes recently announced by Blue Cross Blue Shield.  We are also meeting with the Medical Association of the State of Alabama (MASA) and the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) in an effort to exhaust all of our options in dealing with this matter.  The Board of Directors would strongly encourage any individual member to write his or her own individual letter to Blue Cross Blue Shield and copy their letter to MASA.  We would ask that you remember to be respectful but firm in the tone of your letters.  The appropriate contacts are shown below.

Edward Harris
Vice-President
Healthcare Network
BCBS of Alabama
450 Riverchase Parkway, East
Birmingham, AL 35244

Jorge A. Alsip, M.D.
President
MASA
19 South Jackson St.
Montgomery, AL 36104

Cary J. Kuhlmann
Executive Director
MASA
19 South Jackson St.
Montgomery, AL 36104


ALAO ELECTS NEW OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

  • As of July, 2009, ALAO has a new President, Vice-President, and 5 new Board Members.  Dr. Britton B. Carter of Birmingham assumed the ALAO Presidency at the S.E. Eye 2009 Annual Meeting at Sandestin.  Dr. Ronald Braswell from UAB in Birmingham is the new ALAO Vice-President. Drs. Scott Dorin (Florence), Matthew Vicinanzo (Birmingham), Chris Walton (Mobile), Brent McKinley (Dothan), and Shelly Gupta (Birmingham-Resident Member) are the new BOD members.  Each officer will serve a two-year term.  Each board member will serve a three-year term

ALAO CO-HOSTS TOWN HALL MEETING AND PRIVATE DINNER

  • ALAO co-hosted with MASA on June 30th in Huntsville, a town hall meeting featuring U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith (D-AL).  The topic: healthcare reform.  The event was well attended.
  • ALAO also hosted a private dinner event with Rep. Griffith on Friday, August 21, in Huntsville. ALAO members, Won Kim, DO; Scott Dorin, MD; Bill Mitchell, MD; John Cox, MD; and ALAO Executive Director, Mike Merrill, represented the Academy.

SE EYE 2010 ANNUAL MEETING

  • Planning for the 2010 SE Eye Annual Meeting is already underway.  The dates for 2010 are July 22-24 at Sandestin, Florida.
  • ALAO welcomes your ideas and suggestions for the 2010 Annual Meeting.  Contact 2010 Program Chairperson, Jim Izer, MD, at 334-277-9111 or jizer@eyes-itec.com.
  • The 2010 Annual Meeting will once again be co-hosted by the Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee Academies of Ophthalmology.

EYECARE ALABAMA

  • ALAO's community outreach program, EyeCare Alabama, has been busy in recent months.
  • On May 30th, ECA and Governor Bob Riley's Black Belt Eye Care Consortium (BBECC) hosted a free eye clinic at the Frazer-Asbury Methodist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. 
  • Over 70 patients received free eye exams with follow-up treatment, free adult eye education, and free eye glasses.  U.S. Rep. Bobby Bright (D-AL) from Montgomery was a special guest of ECA at this event.
  • On August 18, ALAO members, Dr. Roy Hager and Dr. Charles Robbins, hosted a free eye clinic in Montgomery for 15 young orphan girls from the country of Moldova near Romania.
  • On Saturday, September 12, ECA and the BBECC hosted a day-long clinic at the First Baptist Church in Greenville, Alabama.  Over 90 patients received free eye services.
  • ALAO Executive Director, Mike Merrill, attended the Resource Conservation and Development Councils' (RC&D) National Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in June.  The Mid-South RC&D Coalition has adopted EyeCare Alabama as one of its community development projects.
  • ECA also wishes to thank the EyeSight Foundation of Alabama (ESFA) for its generous financial support of our program.
  • All Alabama ophthalmologists are invited and encouraged to participate in our ECA program.  Contact ALAO Executive Director, Mike Merrill, for information.


ALAO 2010 DUES TO BE MAILED IN LATE OCTOBER, 2009

  • Dues statements for 2010 will be mailed in late October of 2009 to all Alabama ophthalmologists.  Many members have requested this for tax purposes in 2009.

ALAO solicits your help with NEWS articles for this section. 

Please send all information to ALAO Executive Director, Mike Merrill.
News