to join. It is our responsibility to grow our membership, not the sta ’s!
the federal government passes down through legislation like the Big Beautiful Bill. This year, LSMS successfully passed a series of resolutions. The resolutions will go to our members of Congress from the Louisiana Legislature requesting federal action on prior authorization, AI in healthcare, the corporate practice of medicine, and PBM oversight. Louisiana has done what it can on entities that must follow Louisiana Law, but the very vast majority of the companies we all have issues with follow federal, not state law. We have to nd a way to play ball in Federal Politics because the AMA does not always represent us. Speaking of the AMA, our Executive Vice President, Je Williams, met with 9 other states to share ideas and gure out how to combine resources to take advantage of economies of scale. We have to start thinking outside the borders of our state on how we can bring innovation and resources to our members. We have so many more opportunities en masse! Louisiana now has 5 med schools in this state. If we do not cultivate a relationship with our med schools and the students that are the future physicians in this state, they will not have a society to protect them in the future. I truly enjoy seeing our medical students participate in White Coat Wednesday and this year, it was such an honor to have my daughter at the Capitol for the day. She asked me, “Dad, why were there not more med students present?” I pointed out how wonderfully involved VCOM in Monroe has been in our political advocacy and we talked about how to get the other schools involved. But, how do we think di erently about engagement in our academic colleagues? This is not a 1 size ts all approach. We do not have to do that same thing at every school, but I do think that we need to do something! Please, for those of you involved with medical schools or alums of medical schools in our state, reach out to your contacts to encourage them to bring us in. You are our best ambassadors. This is a great place to start with advisory committees and I would like focus on starting a medical school advisory committee. I feel so blessed to serve with some of the very best physicians in this state. I am grateful for the support from each of you and look forward to working for and with you. I trust you to use your relationships to our advantage. Each of you knows 3-5 physicians that are not members of our society and I am going to challenge you, this afternoon to reach out to them and share why you are a member of the LSMS and convince them
third party payers. With the resulting signi cant monetary settlement that was awarded, these groups chose to create a national 501(C)3 organization that champions physician needs and research across the country. One of the primary priorities of The Physicians Foundation is Physician Wellbeing to address with urgency the immediate and ongoing impediments to physician wellbeing and provide the basis for improved practice environments and professional ful llment. Through the grants that they give and the tool kits that they o er, organizations and states are better able to build these programs. It is my hope that no physician fails to get help when they need it. We are very fortunate to have Dr. Susan Bankston as a National Board Member of this organization. Thank you, Dr. Bankston, for your service to this worthy cause. My priorities this year will be few, but deliberate. As we have seen our membership drop, it is incumbent on us, the Louisiana State Medical Society, to de ne value for our members. Remember the Value Equation in Value Based Healthcare –
squirm when they would receive calls from the spouses of their physicians about this legislation. They masterfully contacted the legislator’s personal physicians and had them call their “patient” and try to in uence them to vote for this important piece of legislation. Anyway, one Senator was the holdout, he refused to meet with anyone to discuss this legislation. Dr. Cooksey, Uncle Harry, and Aunt Mary chartered a plane from the Caldwell Parish Airport and ew to Baton Rouge. Dr. Palmisano said that he, Uncle Harry and Dr. Cooksey were hiding around the corner and watched Aunt Mary work. She approached the Committee Room, opened the door, and motioned for that Senator to come out. Kisses on the cheek and pleasantries ensued, a 30 second discussion and repeat kiss, and the senator returned to the committee room. Aunt Mary made her way back to the hiding physicians. In her signature, raspy voice, she said, “Baby, you got your vote!” The rest is history. HB 1465 came out committee, passed both Houses and was signed by Governor Edwin Edwards on August 4, 1975, to become Act 817. This bill carries immense signi cance and we need to remember and thank those that have in uenced medicine like this. We also need to remember that in the noisy world of social media and the internet, it’s more important than ever to make personal connections. We have seen our profession change so much over the last several years. Despite these changes, so much has stayed the same. In the Year I was born, 1968, The House of Delegates had a 4 Day meeting in May and a special 1-day meeting in November. You will never guess what they were addressing…Hospitals employing physicians. The LSBME reported to the HOD that they were recommending to the LA Legislature an increase in our licensing fees from $10 to $15. There were over 300 delegates in attendance. There were over 23 written and verbal reports from Committees. There were committees for everything with very little sta involvement. I am very interested in bringing back some of these committees that will have far reaching arms and allow you to be better involved in your society. Based on your interest in where to serve and through these committees, we will tap into areas that interest you and better our organization. I graduated from medical school in 1997, and that was the year Dr. Michael Ellis was inducted as President of the Society. His inauguration speech then was Let’s RAPP and although I can assure you that I am not as talented as Dr. Ellis in my rapping skills, his acronym for “Representing Aggressively Patients and Physicians” and his discussion points of Leadership, Membership, Advocacy, and Political Representation are topics that you will hear throughout my address. During that year, Medicaid was facing a de cit, due to a decrease in Federal funds and a “new” 501c3 organization was formed to assist the Physicians Health Program and is still in existence today. Resolution 119 that year, was introduced by the Shreveport Medical Society to authorize $75,000 to the New Physicians’ Health Foundation of Louisiana. This con dential foundation has helped thousands of our healthcare colleagues struggling with mental and physical conditions that are from the real stressors and pressures of being a caregiver for so many of their own patients. This foundation has a very special place in my heart! I have seen, rsthand, the toll that stress from our jobs and caring for others can take on our families and our personal health with the death of my brother-in-law, Dr. Chad Hargon, an oncologist from Shreveport. He was my med school roommate, my friend, and my brother-in-law. I’m so grateful, that as a profession, we’ve dedicated time and energy to removing the stigma associated with our own peers needing help. Today the emphasis on physician wellness continues to evolve across the country. LSMS is also part of that history, as we were one of 19 medical societies who participated in a class action lawsuit against
I want to go back to where I started. I mentioned 1968 and 1997 – the year I was born and the year I graduated from medical school. I shared what they were discussing then which happens to be what we are still discussing now. I guess the saying “what’s old is new again” is true! Back then it was all about politics and advocacy. Today it’s all about politics and advocacy. Please help me make our colleagues care! Friends, we need to go back to 1968 and make some daisy chains. Relationships are key to our success! They are important for us to have with each other. They are equally important for us to have with our legislators. Please get to know your elected o cials. Serve as experts to them. Keep in close contact with them. This is vital because if we are not helping them understand our profession, who will? I repeat, WHO WILL? It won’t be your friend or mine. It will be someone who has political goals that are inconsistent - at best - with ours. I’ve watched Dr. Giglia and the Council on Legislation work more than overtime during session. I would like to recognize Dr. Giglia and the entire COL and thank them for there tireless service to our Society. They meet weekly, and they respond immediately when asked. They are informed, involved and passionate about our profession. I urge you to engage with them and embrace their e orts. Organizations like LSMS o er you many bene ts and opportunities, but at the end of the day, they were built to protect you and your profession from political intrusions. We’re reaching a point where complacency and apathy are causing harm. It’s all hands-on deck for the foreseeable future. Ask Dr. Giglia or Maria to come to your practice, your meeting, your legislative visit. Give them the opportunity to give you the tools to advocate. I have watched our profession change so much, over my career, but I still believe that there is no more noble profession as medicine. To close, I want to reiterate the words you just heard that Dr. Donald Palmisano said at the 40th anniversary of the LA Medical Malpractice Act… “It now is up to the youth in medicine to ght to maintain ethical science-based medicine as well as a fair medical liability system so doctors can continue to advise, heal, and comfort patients in the trusted role of physician. The future is yours. Guard it well.”
Value = Quality/Cost
People will pay for value and not only do we have to de ne that value, through a grass-roots e ort, we have to sell it! As was a topic of discussion in 1968, physician practices have changed over the last two decades with nearly 60%, currently employed. Katrina accelerated this but we are still responsible for our profession and the direction it is taking. Why would we let non physicians and legislators dictate how we practice medicine and how we care for our patients? Passively sitting back and letting others guide our profession is not sustainable and, I believe, is what is contributing to early burnout of Louisiana physicians and the destruction of our profession. Not only in our state society, but locally, in our hospital medical sta s, we are watching physician interest in serving on committees and medical sta wane. This disinterest and complacency are what is tearing down our institution of medicine. One area that I will work diligently is to help Dr. Bankston achieve the rebranding of our Political Action Committee. Remind yourself, “All politics are local” and our members need to work together to remind our elected o cials that WE are the locals! All of us need to know our elected representatives and stay in contact with them. We’re here to help you, but we need each of you to commit to being involved. To make it easier, Dr. Bankston will be sharing how the PAC plans to use a regional concept with advisory groups to give You, our members and contributor some say in how the PAC makes decisions. We will start using these local advisory groups to contribute to your candidates that are friends of medicine in your area. You will be delivering these dollars to these candidates and OUR Reps and Senators will know exactly where this money came from! Within the rst few months, it is my goal to visit each LSMS district so our members recognize the value that the LSMS brings to them. It is so important that I am able to hear their needs rsthand. Please pick up the phone and invite me to events. I want to serve you and LSMS in a very visible way! I believe that we also have to get more involved in Federal Politics. A friend of mine who is a cardiologist says, we all work for the Government. The majority of us have a very large Medicare population in our practice. What is going to happen to us in LA with the One Big Beautiful Bill that just recently passed Congress? In this year’s Louisiana budget, Maria and others fought hard to get Millions of dollars and ensure that doctors in Medicaid are at least able to be paid at 85% of Medicare. Also, the Physician Loan Repayment was quietly funded, due in part, to the advocacy of the LSMS. These items could very easily be cut in future years as Louisiana deals with what
I look forward to serving you this year as your president and I will count it as one of the greatest honors of my career. ■
Payers share data, too! Seven information exchange insights to know. Health Data Management
Please welcome these new practices in 2025: • Pediatric Center of Southwest Louisiana • Pontchartrain Pediatrics • ACT ONE Health
Payers are increasingly participating in Health Information Exchange (HIE). From the payers perspective they are likely already receiving health data from many di erent sources related to managing their quality programs. The ow and maintenance of this data can be costly and time-intensive for them as each data source requires a one-o exchange and integration into their own data warehouse. HIE eases this burden for payers by eliminating the need for many data sources making data integration seamless for payer operations. This also reduces the burden on providers reporting quality measures to payers. The HIE can calculate those quality measures in real time for all parties. Please review the attached article for more insights into the sharing of health care data among payers and be on the lookout for the follow up articles.
HealthSYNC and the LSMS anticipate beginning a Value Based Contracting arrangement with LHCC in the rst quarter of 2025. Scan the QR code below for more insights into the sharing of health care data among payers and be on the lookout for the follow up articles.
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J LA MED SOC | VOL 177 | FALL 2025
J LA MED SOC | VOL 177 | FALL 2025
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