Congratulations 2020-2021 WMS Officers
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President
David Wheeler, MD, PhD
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Vice President
JJ Chen, MD, MBA, MPH
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Past President
Lisa Finkelstein, DO
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Sec/Treasurer
Kris Schamber, MD
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Open Trustee
Betsy Spomer, MD
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WMS Trustees-At-Large
David Armstrong, DO
Dean Bartholomew, MD
Kristina Behringer, MD
David Fairbanks, MD
Kelly McMillin, MD
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Thank you for your leadership and your continued dedication to the success of the Wyoming Medical Society!
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Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Summary
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On May 29th, after 11 hours of agency reports, testimony and discussion, the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee advanced two bills to move forward in the legislative process.
$15 million in grant support for community health centers, community mental health centers and rural health clinics
: LSO working draft
20LSO-0716
authorizes the WY Dept. of Health to award individual grants of up to $400,000 to community health centers, community mental health centers and rural health clinics. This money is allocated from a total appropriation of $15 million to be deducted from any COVID-19 related federal funds administered by the state.
Insurance-mental health and substance use parity
: requires parity for mental health and substance use disorder insurance coverage by prohibiting any insurance policy or contract providing mental health and substance use coverage to deny coverage for mental health or substance use services delivered remotely, charge a copayment for telehealth services that would be higher than that of the same copayment for an in-person visit, or reduce any payment or reimbursement to a qualified health care provider utilizing telehealth/remote services to provide care.
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Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act
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S. 3599 and H.R. 6788: The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act sponsored by Senators Perdue, Durbin, Young and Coons and Reps. Schneider, Cole, Finkenauer, and Bacon, respectively, are mirror bipartisan bills that aim to help retain thousands of doctors and nurses currently working in the United States on temporary visas who are stuck in the green card backlog. These physicians are serving our communities but face many limitations due to their temporary status.
One-sixth of the American healthcare workforce is foreign-born. Immigrant nurses and doctors play a vital role in our healthcare system, especially in areas across Wyoming who are medically-underserved. S. 3599 authorizes the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to recapture up to 25,000 immigrant visas for nurses and 15,000 immigrant visas for physicians. USCIS would also recapture immigrant visas for the families of these medical professionals.
WMS will continue to monitor this issue and advocate for its passage at the request of our WMS members who need this bill's passage to remain in our Wyoming communities. We have been in conversation with the Wyoming Hospital Association and will likely partner in supporting this effort.
For more information about the bill from co-sponsor Congressman Tom Cole (R- OK),
CLICK HERE.
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WMS Statewide Membership Meeting - June 13, 2020
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Join WMS leadership
June 13, 2020, at 12:30 PM
for a virtual statewide membership meeting. This meeting is typically held at the WMS Annual Meeting, which was postponed this year due to the pandemic.
WMS leadership will provide finance and membership updates as well as facilitate a policy town hall.
Join Zoom Meeting
June 13th - 12:30 PM
Meeting ID: 953 2700 3244
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WYOPAC, the Wyoming Medical Society’s Political Action Committee, fights for Wyoming physicians by helping to elect state and federal candidates who support the WMS’ policy agenda.
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By electing legislators who will reduce the cumbersome regulations that inhibit the practice of medicine, WMS lobbyists are equipped with the political muscle to enact meaningful reforms for the health care industry.
By contributing to WYOPAC, you will substantially enhance the WMS’ advocacy efforts at the Wyoming State Legislature. WYOPAC promotes and strives for the improvement of government by encouraging and stimulating physicians to take a more active part in government affairs.
The 2020 election will be an important one! The deadline to file to run for office closed Friday, May 29. The final listing of Wyoming primary candidates can be viewed
HERE.
Fore more information or to contribute today click below.
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Tuesday Provider Connect Rescheduled
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WMS Provider Connect sessions - first Tuesday of each month at noon.
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WMS is partnering with TDC to generate upcoming education sessions. Content will touch on liability concerns specific to Wyoming, reopening guidance and more.
WMS will not be hosting the Tuesday Provider connect June 2, 2020, but will resume these noon zoom meetings once content and accreditation is lined out.
If you have suggestions for future topics and speakers, or would like to personally present, please contact the WMS office at info@wyomed.org or 3070-635-2424.
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Wyoming Business Council Business Relief Grants
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Gov. Gordon signed
a bill
on May 20 that created three grant programs to distribute
$325 million
of Wyoming's $1.25 billion allocation from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to Wyoming small-business owners who have experienced hardship related to the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Wyoming Business Interruption Stipend - $50 million in grants of up to $50,000 to independent Wyoming businesses that employ fewer than 50 people.
- The Coronavirus Business Relief Stipend - $225 million in grants of up to $300,000 for independent Wyoming businesses that employ fewer than 100 people. The Legislature set aside $50 million of this funding for businesses explicitly closed as a result of state orders.
- The Coronavirus Mitigation Stipend - $50 million for reimbursement of up to $500,000 in expenses incurred for the health and safety of Wyoming employees and to comply with public health guidelines as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Special thanks to Chairman Sue Wilson (R-Cheyenne) and members of her committee for their leadership in championing physician issues through the legislative deliberations related to the state's response to COVID-19. Many of the opportunities being proposed, discussed and potentially afforded to medicine within telehealth, loan repayment, and stipends are due in large part to their vision and advocacy efforts.
Thank you to our legislators who understand and openly recognize the valuable role our medical professionals play in Wyoming communities that go far beyond the direct care they deliver to patients.
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CyberWyoming has issued current scam alerts, please be advised.
If you use Apple products, be sure the software updated.
MS-ISAC Apple Products Patch Now Alert: The Multi States Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) posted an alert about updating software on Apple products affecting the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, the Apple Watch, Safari web browser, iCloud, Windows Migration Assistance, and the Apple operating system. Make sure your Apple systems get the update.
If you are a medical or healthcare professional, be really careful about World Health Organization emails.
Google Alert:
Google’s Threat Analysis Group say new ‘hack for hire’ firms impersonating the World Health Organization (WHO) using Gmail Accounts and You Tube Videos. Scams are targeting healthcare medical and healthcare professionals. (
reuters.com
)
Phone Scams for Stimulus Checks:
Because some people have not received their stimulus checks, there is a new phone scam offering to ‘help’ in return for a fee. Please note that these calls are scams and if you want to see what is happening with your stimulus check you can go to the IRS’s website at
https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment
.
REAL Texts coming from
COVID.survey@census.gov
:
If you receive a text from the US Census Bureau asking for help understanding the coronavirus impact, it could be real. If the link is
https://covid.census.gov
, then it is more likely to be legitimate.
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Wyoming Leaders In Medicine
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Schedule Changes Announced for the 2020-2021 WLM year.
The WLM program will be changing formats and hosting a portion of the courses via webinar for the 2020-2021 year. This will significantly reduce travel burden for the class and will ease challenges created by accommodating for COVID-19 related changes.
WMS has been working with FutureSync, Int. (course facilitators) to ensure that the WLM program will move forward, even if COVID-19 complications resurface next year.
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NEW 2020-2021 Course Schedule
September 11-12 - Jackson
October 9-10 -
Online
November 13-14 - Sheridan/Laramie (TBD)
December - HOLIDAY BREAK
January 8-9 -
Online
February 12-13 - Cheyenne
March 19-20 -
Online
April 23-24 - Evanston/Park City
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We are prepared to pivot at any juncture along the way and adapt to a safe online learning environment to ensure the success of the WLM Class of 2020-2021.
If you have any questions about the
2020-2021 Wyoming Leaders in Medicine
program please reach out to WMS at 307-635-2424 or email
info@wyomed.org
.
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A WORD FROM JOSEPH HORAM M.D.
Chief Medical Officer – BCBSWY
COVID-19 Testing
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming (BCBSWY) would like to recognize you and your colleagues for your efforts in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. As we know, it is an unprecedented global and national public health crisis that has strained health systems around the world and here in Wyoming. It has caused extraordinary economic upheaval.
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Thank you Friends of WMS!
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