Physicians face increasing public scrutiny, legal attacks, cuts in reimbursements and legislative efforts to micromanage practices. When physicians unite through organized medicine, they become powerful and effective advocates for patients and the medical profession.

The Fresno-Madera Medical Society (FMMS) and the California Medical Association (CMA) –along with the American Medical Association (AMA) – provide powerful advocacy for physicians and patients alike. Through these interlinked organizations, physicians have a strong voice at every level in government.

FMMS and CMA are a combined membership entity. While FMMS offers a series of direct-member benefits on the local level, the CMA offers additional benefits on a higher level, which are simply impossible or cost prohibitive to carry out at the local level.

Membership Benefits include:

LOCAL LEVEL: FRESNO-MADERA MEDICAL SOCIETY

Practice Management Programs:

• Medical Office Managers Forums:
  • Reimbursement
• Health Information Technology Programs:
  • EMR's, e-prescribing
• Leadership Skills training

Peer Review:

• Medical Review Advisory Committee (MRAC):
  • Reviews alleged medical malpractice cases being defended by NORCAL insureds
• Professional Relations:
  • Reviews and mediates patient vs. physicians and physicians vs. physician Complaints
• Wellbeing of physicians:
  • Monitors and assists physicians with wellbeing issues

Legislative Advocacy - Meets with local, state and federal representatives to:

• ensure passage of medicine-friendly bills
• derail egregious bills
• beat back attempts to cut reimbursements

Community Health Involvement:

• FMMS works with the Fresno County EMS system to insure hospital coverage in the event of an emergency
• Provides a Speaker’s Bureau for schools and community Obesity Prevention and Air Quality
• Participates in the Fresno County Office of Education Science Fair
• Answers media inquires for interviews and information
• Maintains a Medical Museum: Preserves the history of FMMS and medicine in the Central Valley
• FMMS Scholarship Foundation: provides medical school scholarships
• Provides Health Tips

Goods and Services Discounts:

• Monthly publication, Vital Signs, provides updated and current medical information
• Free classified ads in FMMS publication Vital Signs
• Discounted display ad in Vital Signs
• Free copy of FMMS Pictorial Directory
• Discounted price on additional FMMS Pictorial Directories
• Free and discounted fees for CME activities
• Discounted cost for membership mailing labels

STATE LEVEL: CALIFORNIA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

Legislative Advocacy: In constant negotiations with major players in California’s health care system making sure that the interest of physicians and their patients are well represented.

• Averts legislative attempts to expand the scope of practice of allied health professions, including psychologists, optometrists , acupuncturists and nurse practitioners
• Tort Reform: Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA):
  • Limits malpractice awards for non- economic losses to $250,000. CMA continues to protect California’s MICRA, which saves each California physician an average of $67,000 a year in annual malpractice premiums
• Fights insurance company abuses:
  • Filed complaints with state regulators to stop Blue Cross of California’s request for physicians to provide new patient information that the insurer could use to cancel the patient’s medical coverage
  • Got the state Legislature to pass a bill protecting patients from having for-profit health insurance companies retroactively cancel patient policies after authorizing critical medical care
  • Enforces the civil racketeering (RICO) lawsuit against for-profit HMOs in California
  • Has successfully beat back Medi-Cal cuts for more than five years through lobbying and legal means
• In constant negotiations with Congress to come to an agreement on a long-term fix to the Medicare payment problems, including a fix of the inequitable and outdated Medicare geographic payment formula

Discounted Goods and Services

• Prescription Pads
• Auto Insurance
• Magazines
• Epocrates Subscription
• CME Certification

Practice Management:

• On-Call Documents: free access to medical-legal, regulatory and reimbursement information through CMA’s online library
• Contract Review
• Reimbursement Help Line

Community Health:

• CMA Foundation: Develops innovative programs to engage the healthcare community and address pressing public health issues including obesity, diabetes, antibiotic awareness, cervical cancer and ethnic disparities in health care