History - 2003

MMGMA Administrative Year

The administrative year for the Minnesota Medical Group Management Association (MMGMA) is October through September and is structured this way to coincides with the national Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) annual conference, which is held in October of each year.

State, National and World News

The year 2002 was the final year of the four year term for Minnesota Governor Jessie Ventura ("The Body" Ventura) who won the 1998 Governor's race on the Reform Party ticket. A Republican, Tim Pawlenty, succeeded Governor Ventura in 2003. Also of significance in 2002 was a 5.4% reduction in Medicare reimbursement due to the Medicare payment (the sustainable growth rate) formula (SGR formula). Also at the national health care level was implementation of the compliance deadline for HIPAA privacy requirements on April 14, 2003. At the world level, the Iraq war officially began on March 19, 2003 when U.S. troops invaded Iraq.

MMGMA Highlights

Conferences

·        Anne Symington chaired the 2003 MMGMA Winter Conference, February 27 and 28, 2003 at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. Her committee included Jennifer Nelson, Jon Rauen, Nancy Swenson, and Sue Weber. The theme was "Resiliency: Mastering the Elements." The theme was based on the premise, "We are not able to control or change what is occurring in our world but how we react and deal with the events each day and our attitude regarding these events are things we can control." There were a record number of business partners in the exhibit hall.

·        Jennifer Nelson chaired the 2003 MMGMA Summer Conference, July 30 – August 1, 2003 at the Duluth Convention Center in Duluth. Her committee included David Berg, Mike Flicker, Chris Morgan, Jon Rauen and Anne Symington. The theme was "Setting Sail for Success." There were a record number of registered attendees and business partners. There were 230 registered attendees and 62 business partners with booths in the exhibit hall. The evening social event, which was quite successful, was held at the Great Lakes Aquarium.

Committees

·        A new MMGMA committee, the Communications Committee, lead by Co-Chairs Dawn Lunde and Brendan Cassidy, developed and implemented a new MMGMA web site. They also defined the best way to distribute information to MMGMA members. The quarterly MMGMA newsletters were eliminated and replaced by a paperless communication method of regular e-mail updates to members.

·        Paul Louiselle and Tim Hunt lead the MMGMA Government Affairs Committee (GAC) through a challenging year that included self-referral legislation, Workers' Compensation potential reimbursement reduction, and fair contracting legislation. The Minnesota State Legislature decided in 2003 to increase the provider tax for Minnesota Care beginning January 2004 from 1.5% to 2%. The GAC committee was very active in 2002 – 2003 and Paul, Tim and the other members of the GAC committee did a great job.

·        Jim Tierney and Barb Daiker were Third Party Liaisons and represented MMGMA in meeting with various health plans, the Minnesota Council of Health Plans and the Fair Contracting Coalition.

·        The Education Committee Tri-Chairs, Diane Zoeller, Diana White and Bonnie Bina, organized a number of one-day workshops throughout the State and helped MMGMA grow its relationship with Stratis Health, the Minnesota Quality Improvement Organization for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS).

·        Membership was 614, which was down significantly from the previous year. Terry Mitchell and Mel Sullivan lead the Membership Committee in understanding reasons for the reduction in active members. They launched a campaign to get membership growing and made recommendations for changes in membership categories to enhance membership growth and retention.
Relationships with the Hennepin Medical Society, the Ramsey Medical Society and the Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) were strengthened through the work of the MMA Liaisons, Brad Montgomery and John Whisney. MMA hired a new CEO, Dr. Bob Meiches, who began his new role in 2003.