MINNEAPOLIS, July 17, 2008—The MMA Board of Trustees took action on several resolutions referred to it by the 2007 House of Delegates at its July 12 meeting in Roseville. It also reelected Michael B. Ainslie, M.D., to another term as chair of the Board of Trustees.

The board decided not to adopt Resolution 101, Excessive Physician Executive Pay, calling on the MMA to declare that physician executives have a moral and ethical responsibility to consider the social impact of accepting excessive compensation packages. The committee had concerns about the lack of definition of the term “excessive” and questioned the correlation between executive compensation and negative social impact. Based upon this discussion, the board agreed to not adopt this resolution. 

The board did not adopt Resolution 201, Enrollee Access to Insurance/Health Plan Provider Agreement Details, which called for access of patients to all provisions of agreements between insurers and providers that affect their care. It also called on clinics and provider organizations to disclose their policies on salary contingencies and pay-for-performance bonuses. The board concluded that current law addresses the issue of enrollee access and, after some discussion, decided that payment disclosure might negatively affect the physician-patient relationship.

Similarly, Resolution 202, Prospective Online Enrollee Insurance Benefit and Medication Formulary Details, called on the MMA to advocate that insurers and health plans make available to enrollees information about coverage and drug benefits before and during the doctor visit. Following discussion, the Board adopted the following in lieu of the original resolution:

"The Minnesota Medical Association shall advocate that health plan/insurance companies make readily available to their enrollees specific, user-friendly detail online about the individual enrollee's health coverage and pharmaceutical benefits, and that the Minnesota Medical Association delegation to the American Medical Association submit a similar resolution to the AMA House of Delegates."

In lieu of Resolution 208, Support for Quality of Care in Supervisory Agreements, the board approved the following statement:

"The Minnesota Medical Association strongly encourages physicians to utilize written agreements when entering into collaborative management plans with advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs). To assist physicians, the MMA will provide specific educational materials and resources for physicians who enter into collaborative practice with APRNs." 

The board deferred consideration of Resolution 314, Equality in Marriage and its Health Benefits, which calls for the MMA to work to reduce the disparities in health outcomes suffered because of unequal treatment of martial status for same-sex partners in Minnesota by supporting equality in laws which affect that status. The resolution also calls MMA to ask the AMA to reduce such disparities and study the issue.  The board deferred consideration because the AMA is considering a similar resolution.