Final Action on Resolution 2: Adopted as Amended.
2 Requirement for Nurse Practitioners to Disclose Identity of Primary Collaborating Physician
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association advocate for regulation at the nursing board and also at the Mississippi legislature for the requirement for the nurse practitioners to post or verbalize as indicated publicly on any clinic-related media, advertisements, and printed materials. Also, post prominently within their place of business who their primary collaborating physician is; and be it further
RESOLVED, that nurse practitioners be required to disclose who their collaborating physician is to any entity when directly asked and include the name of their primary collaborating physician on all referrals.
Final Action on Resolution 3: Adopted as Amended.
3 Reinstituting the Nursing Board Quality Control Requirements for Practicing Nurse Practitioners as well as Trainees
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association advocate the Mississippi legislature to require the nursing board to re-institute the monitored practice hour requirement of the nurse practitioner to work directly with a physician or other qualified healthcare provider prior to any patient care.
Final Action on Resolution 4: Adopted.
4 Expanding Telemedicine to Deliver Physician-Led Care to Rural Mississippians
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association actively advocate for increased access to medical care in rural areas and specifically advocate for increased telemedicine access in these areas; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association work with all interested stakeholders to build on the recent broadband internet expansion to develop a robust telemedicine network which is affordable and of high-quality and will extend access over Mississippi statewide to physician-led care via telemedicine, and be it further
RESOLVED, that all interested stakeholders work together to make sure this is the highest quality medical care and not be limited to telemedicine only and that stakeholders will work to make sure that telemedicine is utilized as robustly as possible to meet the needs of as many Mississippians as possible; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association continue to advocate for fair payment for telemedicine services with an end goal of improving healthcare access and quality of care statewide; and be it further
RESOLVED that telemedicine health literacy and advocacy for access to services be part of this initiative.
Final Action on Resolution 5: Adopted.
5 Developing Public/Private Partnerships to Augment the Delivery of Telemedicine and Other Public Health Services in Mississippi
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association advocate for innovative ways to support public health in Mississippi including advocating for increased funding of the health department as has historically been our work, but further to engage other interested stakeholders including those in the private community to build partnerships to deliver telemedicine services statewide in conjunction with the Mississippi State Department of Health. The services via public and private partnership would not necessarily need to be limited to telemedicine and could also involve the use of the traveling physician model to integrate the on-site medical care of a physician into rural areas on a temporary basis to meet that need and also could involve public transportation to more urban areas for conditions warranting such, and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association advocate for all of the above and funding for such.
Final Action on Resolution 6: Adopted.
6 Addressing Food Insecurity in Mississippi
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association engage interested stakeholders to advocate to decrease food insecurity in the state of Mississippi, to decrease food deserts, to increase access by all means possible to high-quality, nutritious food, and to advocate for or against the underlying contributors not limited to those already listed herein.
Final Action on Resolution 7: Referred to the Board of Trustees for further study.
7 Implementing of an Awareness Campaign to Encourage Physicians to Utilize Clinical Protocols Within Outpatient Practices to Diagnose and Treat Common Acute Illnesses
RESOLVED, that the Association develop examples for the membership to be widely distributed and consider basing these on protocols already in existence at the university and other academic and community practices and then encourage their use.
Final Action on Resolution 8: Adopted.
8 Implementation of an Educational and Awareness Campaign of Stakeholders Regarding the Detrimental Effects of Inefficient Utilization of Electronic Health Records Causes to Patient Care
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association vehemently engage all interested stakeholders and provide education and awareness of the impact of the electronic health record usability on the significant public health crisis of physician burnout, and engage with key stakeholders to improve electronic health record usability through physician-led efforts as well as increasing physician support and optimization in their use of the electronic health record to decrease time spent documenting and increase patient facing care and clinical care related decision making.
Final Action on Resolution 9: Referred to the Board of Trustees
9 Promoting Competition in the Mississippi Health Insurance Industry and Allowing Insurance Choice by State Plan Participants
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association advocate for increased competition in the health insurance market in the state of Mississippi and advocate directly against the intrusive practices of Blue Cross Blue Shield that caused these detrimental effects to occur, and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association will advocate for legislation to be crafted to directly address the monopoly-effect of Blue Cross Blue Shield and for participants in the state plan to have their choice of insurance carrier to administer the plain, all in the name of patient safety and the relief that competition would provide to patients.
Final Action on Resolution 10: Adopted.
10 Adding Penalty to Mississippi Code 83-9-36 and Recovering Losses on Behalf of Patients and Prescribing Practitioners from Insurance Companies Who Have Ignored the Law
RESOLVED, that MSMA advocate to open code section 83-9-36 and add an appropriate penalty to those not in compliance with current state law, and be if further;
RESOLVED, that MSMA advocate for the Insurance Commissioner and all interested parties to make sure the subscribers who have been affected financially or medically by insurance companies operating out of compliance are provided some mechanism by which they are made aware of the damages and are able to apply for reimbursement for their hardships, and be it further;
RESOLVED, that MSMA advocate for the Insurance Commissioner and all interested parties to ensure all prescribing practitioners are given a mechanism to be reimbursed for time spent paying staff to complete onerous paperwork and phone calls to get patients the medicine that has been illegally denied to them.
Final Action on Resolution 11: Adopted.
11 Require Incarceration Facilities to Carry and Allow Usage of Buprenorphine and Other MAT Medications as Needed for Patients with Opioid Use Disorder and/or Patients in Acute Opiate Withdrawal
RESOLVED, Incarceration facilities are to have a designated physician with sufficient expertise in the field of substance use treatment that is able to assess patients complaining of withdrawal symptoms and able to dispense proper medications for such patients; and further be it,
RESOLVED, if a facility does not, or is unable to, have such designated provider, they are to retain a community provider or providers that are available for consultation on treatment recommendations and/or available to assess the patient physically; and further be it,
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi Department of Corrections Medical Division and the Mississippi Sheriffs Association be encouraged to require incarceration facilities to carry and allow usage of Buprenorphine and other MAT medications as needed for patients with opioid use disorder and/or patients in acute opiate withdrawal, in similar manner to treatment of alcohol/benzodiazepine withdrawal.
Final Action on Resolution 12: Adopted.
12 Honor and Recognition of the Service of Paul Byers, MD
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association House of Delegates extends its deepest gratitude and appreciation to Paul Byers, MD, for his exceptional service and leadership in the field of public health, recognizing his remarkable achievements over the span of his distinguished career; and be it further
RESOLVED, that this resolution be presented to Paul Byers, MD, in honor and recognition of his invaluable contributions, particularly highlighting his selfless dedication and countless hours of service during the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a token of the profound respect and admiration.
Final Action on Resolution 13: NOT Adopted.
13 Geographic Rotation of the President Elect Nomination
RESOLVED, the Nominating Committee adopt a regional rotation of candidates for the MSMA President Elect position in the order of North, Central, South starting in 2024 to provide regional diversity as well as popular engagement and be it further
RESOLVED, if a well-equipped candidate from the appropriate region is not willing, able, or found that the nominating committee considers candidates from throughout the state for that particular year and return to the rotation the following year. For example, if no candidate from the North is found at the time of their year, then candidates from both South and Central should be considered and regardless of which region holds the office the rotation would resume the following year as Central, South, North.
Final Action on Resolution 14: Adopted.
14 JMSMA Senior Editor Status
RESOLVED, the JMSMA Editor may invite past Editors or Associate Editors of JMSMA who have been elected at least twice to their positions by the House of Delegates to “senior” status. Past Editors would be termed “Senior Editor” and past Associate Editors would be termed “Senior Associate Editor”. And be it further
RESOLVED, the Editor and Managing Editor would oversee and assign duties to the senior editors and be it further
RESOLVED, this senior status is entirely ad hoc in nature and can be discontinued at any time at the will of the Editor should the status no longer felt needed for the Journal.
Final Action on Resolution 15: Referred to the Board of Trustees.
15 Certificate of Need (CON) Policy
RESOLVED, that MSMA research and develop policy regarding removal of the existing CON laws that restrict and stifle innovation.
Final Action on Resolution 16: Adopted.
16 Honor and Recognition of the Mississippi State Medical Association Alliance in Celebration and Commemoration of its 100th Year Anniversary
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association House of Delegates extend its deepest gratitude and appreciation to the Mississippi State Medical Association Alliance for its commitment to the family of medicine through service and leadership over its 100 years of existence; and, be it further
RESOLVED, that the Mississippi State Medical Association House of Delegates encourages all spouses of Mississippi physicians to become members of the outstanding organization that is the Mississippi State Medical Association Alliance.
Final Action on Resolution 17: NOT Adopted.
17 Clarifying House of Delegates’ Desire for Geographic Rotation of President Position
RESOLVED, that the MSMA House of Delegates ask its honorable and respected Nominating Committee to adopt a regional rotation of candidates for the MSMA president position in the manner of North, Central, South, Open rotation, which should provide regional diversity while also allowing popular engagement and flexibility.
Final Action on Resolution 18: Adopted as Amended.
18 Food is Medicine Initiative in Mississippi
RESOLVED, that MSMA advocates for policy seeking to advance the Food in Medicine interventions through Medicaid and further be it,
RESOLVED, that MSMA advocates for the MS Division of Medicaid to provide guidance to enrollees regarding FIM interventions that are already available and further be it,
RESOLVED, MSMA advocates for a section 1115 waiver that includes FIM interventions as traditional benefits offered to Medicaid enrollees.
Final Action on Resolution 19: Adopted as Amended.
19 Reintroducing Mississippi State Drivers’ License Test
RESOLVED, that MSMA advocate for legislation reinstating the Road Test for first time drivers, excluding license transfers from other states, for a Class D, Class R and other types of drivers’ licenses, and be it further,
RESOLVED, that MSMA advocate for mandated drivers’ education programs to be mandated in schools.
Final Action on Resolution 20: Referred to the Board of Trustees.
20 Requiring Government Agencies to Contract Only with Not-For-Profit Insurance Companies
RESOLVED, that government-owned health agencies such as Medicare and Medicaid be required to contract only with not-for-profit insurance companies or cooperatives;
RESOLVED, that those not-for-profit insurance companies or cooperatives receiving public revenues must allocate profits to reserves, investments in improving the quality of care in the system, or returned in the form of lower premiums for patients or the health agency;
RESOLVED, that this be utilized not only in Mississippi, and enacted by the MSMA via the legislature at a state level, but also at a national level and therefore taken to the AMA as a resolution for enactment at a national level.
Final Action on Resolution 21: Adopted as Amended.
21 Requiring Payments for Physician Signatures and/or Peer to Peer Review
RESOLVED, that insurance companies be required to pay a physician for any required physician signature and/or peer to peer review which is requested or required outside of a patient visit; and that this be taken to the MSMA for statewide enactment and also as a resolution by Mississippi to the AMA for enactment at a national level.
Final Action on Resolution 22: Adopted as Amended.
22 Joining the Effort to Promote Immunizations in Mississippi
RESOLVED, that the MSMA join in the existing effort to create an Immunization Coalition to promote immunizations to all Mississippians.
Final Action on Resolution 23: Adopted.
23 Ethical Pricing Procedures that Protect Insured Patients
RESOLVED, that the MSMA petition the AMA to advocate for policies that limit the cost of a medication to an insured patient with medication coverage to the lower range of prices that a non-covered patient can achieve at cash price either before or after application of a non-manufacturer’s free discount card (such as GoodRx); and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the MSMA petition the AMA to write a letter to lawmakers and other pertinent stakeholders describing the ethical dilemma of the medication pricing process and how it adversely affects insured patients.
Final Action on Resolution 24: Adopted.
24 Revising the MSMA Bylaws to Allow for Discounts on Membership Dues
RESOLVED, that the Chapter 1, Section 4 of the Bylaws of the Mississippi State Medical Association be revised as follows:
Dues and Assessments: Annual dues and assessments shall be prescribed in amounts determined by the House of Delegates. Each active member shall pay the prescribed dues to the Association. New members joining after July 1 shall pay half dues. Medical students and interns/residents/fellows may be assessed a nominal membership fee. Such amounts shall be set by the Board of Trustees. The House of Delegates, upon recommendation from the Board of Trustees, may assess a nominal fee on exempt members to cover administrative and overhead costs associated with providing Association publications and services. Dues shall include a subscription to the Journal of the Association, which shall be made available to medical students and interns/residents in electronic format. The Board of Trustees may establish a membership dues discount program applicable to Active memberships only, to the extent financially responsible and in the best interest of MSMA.