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By Julie L. Novak, Executive Director
Michigan State Medical Society

If there’s one thing you can count on in the healthcare industry, it is unpredictability. Not only does healthcare delivery evolve on a daily basis as a result of advanced scientific knowledge, but it is also affected by countless other factors. Technology, insurance, legislation and regulation, pharmaceuticals, bioethics, state and federal economy, medical student loan debt, geography and even social media affect the way healthcare is delivered and received.

So, rather than trying to predict what may come our way in 2011, the Michigan State Medical Society has been working tirelessly to bring a little predictability to a very unpredictable industry. With its 16,000 members and incredible physician leadership, MSMS has been at the forefront of several momentous events in Michigan’s healthcare system this past year.

Rather than predicting how many thousands of people would die in 2011 from exposure to secondhand smoke, MSMS led the charge to help pass Michigan’s smoke-free workplace legislation, which went into effect in 2010. According to the American Cancer Society, secondhand smoke is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States, killing 38,000 to 65,000 nonsmokers every year. The “Dr. Ron Davis Smoke-free Air Law,” named after the late Ronald M. Davis, MD, a longtime smoke-free air advocate, protects Michigan employees from dangerous carcinogens.

Rather than predicting how much worse our physician shortage would get as a result of an ill-conceived, job-killing “doctor tax,” MSMS mobilized hundreds of physicians from across the state for a “White Coat Rally” at the Capitol and stopped this dangerous legislation dead in its tracks. Michigan, like many other states, is already facing a considerable physician shortage and is in direct competition with other states for recruiting and retaining the highly skilled, highly educated professionals. Physicians, who already pay considerable income and small business taxes, would have been driven from the state with an additional tax on their profession, putting access to care in jeopardy for all Michigan patients.

And rather than predicting how many millions of dollars would be sucked from Michigan’s health care system because of out-of-control malpractice lawsuits, MSMS was instrumental in the re-election of Justice Robert Young and the election of Mary Beth Kelly to the Michigan Supreme Court. These two political victories are colossal in terms of keeping Michigan’s liability climate stable and protecting healthcare professionals from judges who may be more inclined to “legislate from the bench.”

However, as proactive as MSMS is, we understand that with each year comes a new wave of unforeseen changes to the healthcare system. But because of the partnerships and communication networks we’ve built over several decades, MSMS is well positioned to respond to these issues as they emerge.

New federal rules and regulations spinning out of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), along with sweeping federal healthcare reform passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama earlier this year, will most certainly have a considerable impact on healthcare in this state and across the country. MSMS continues to analyze the bill and follow the legislative debate on behalf of our physicians.

From a new federal long-term care insurance program and increases in health savings account withdrawal penalties that take effect on January 1, 2011, to the Medicare payroll tax hike that will hit most physicians on January 1, 2013, and the mandate that every American citizen purchase healthcare by January 1, 2014, MSMS is tracking the new federal law and keeping doctors and their staffs across in the know so they can focus on what they do best-providing their patients with the best medical care. We must also prepare physicians to deal with possible delay or change in the law as well, since the political debate continues on.

In addition, over five-dozen new faces will be arriving in the Michigan legislature on January 1. So, as we help physicians navigate the new healthcare reform legislation—in whatever form it ultimately takes—MSMS will continue to build strong relationships with lawmakers to ensure that the Capitol makes decisions that help protect the physician-patient relationship. Doctors are not only experts in medicine; they also represent a tremendous resource on the healthcare issues of the day that members of the legislature rely on regularly. Many are also small business owners, leaders in their community and people, who in the course of seeing patients have contact and conversations with a dozens of voters every day. Physicians bring a unique and important perspective to the Capitol, one that is desperately needed and almost universally respected.

We understand that the only real solutions to healthcare challenges in Michigan will come from working together, seeing the problems from different perspectives, and looking at new approaches. Physicians play a critical part in that discussion, and each and every day, MSMS helps them to tell their stories, build on important collaborations that exist in Michigan and prepare to handle whatever the world, the state or Congress throws at them.

As the saying goes, “Success always comes when preparation meets opportunity.” Over 140 years of experience and preparation has made MSMS one of the most successful and influential state medical societies in the nation. So, regardless of what 2011 brings to MSMS or what MSMS brings to 2011, we will face it together, as one unified voice for physicians, their patients, and a healthier Michigan.