by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Dr. Cecil Wilson, president-elect of the American Medical Association, was the keynote speaker at Monday’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Jacksonville. He began his medical career as a U.S. Navy flight surgeon and has been in private practice in central Florida for more than 30 years.
Wilson began his remarks by saying health-care reform remains a hot topic since legislation was signed in March. He said more needs to be done in terms of reform, particularly when it comes to the government’s financial relationship with health-care providers.
Before he concluded, Wilson said the AMA supported health-care reform on a national level, but also predicted that if Congress refuses to increase Medicare payments, physicians will change careers and become veterinarians because “they can make more money treating a patient’s dog.”
Wilson said Medicare reimburses doctors for only 51 percent of their costs involved with patient care, which is causing physicians to limit, and in some cases even reduce, the number of older patients they are treating. That will become an even bigger issue as the population ages and more people enter the Medicare system.
Wilson also cited AMA data that led to Florida being identified as one of 21 states where access to Medicare treatment is “in jeopardy” based on the ratio of 15 doctors per 1,000 Medicare patients.
The AMA has been vocal about tort reform, Wilson said. “Caps on damages and limits on contingency fees will result in lower insurance premiums,” he said, and also will reduce the amount of “defensive medicine” doctors practice.
The AMA supports tort reforms, including the creation of “safe harbors” that would render a physician immune to malpractice litigation, provided that “accepted scientific principle” is followed in caring for patients. “We will continue to fight for caps” on malpractice awards, he said.
Also at Monday’s meeting, Sean Mulholland, chair of the club’s projects and screening committee, announced the recipients of this year’s Rotary Charity Foundation grants. The club is donating more than $75,000 to eight local community service organizations:
• $15,000 to L’Arche Harbor House to complete the purchase of a specially equipped van to transport disabled citizens.
• $15,000 to the United Service Organizations to improve communications media so families can communicate with military personnel deployed overseas.
• $12,000 to the Sanctuary on 8th Street to assist in the purchase of a van to transport children to events.
• $11,000 to Girls Inc. to fund the renovation of a damaged roof on its center.
• $10,000 to the Child Guidance Center to provide funding for expansion of the organization’s outpatient facility.
• $6,500 to Volunteers in Medicine to provide funding to assist the clinic in the transition to Electronic Medical Records.
• $4,500 to the Family Nurturing Center to pay for installation of a privacy fence to improve supervised visitation.
• $1,100 to the DePaul School to provide funding for purchase of enhanced media components.
Mulholland said in his 17 years as a Rotarian, he has served on a lot of committees, but this one was a new experience. After the site visits that were part of the evaluation process, he said, “some people came back in tears when they saw the work these organizations do.”
The 2009-10 Rotary Charity Grant recipients will be the club’s guests at its May 17 meeting.
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