Medigram, the Society’s electronic newsletter for physicians, features timely news, upcoming events, answers to frequently asked questions and all the information you need to know to make your practice run more efficiently. Topics include legislative updates, legal information, practice management information, government regulations, and much more. Published weekly, Medigram is delivered via email on Thursdays.

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Miller and Westergaard honored at April Board of Directors meeting
The Wisconsin Medical Society (Society) honored the accomplishments and contributions of two outstanding physicians during the Board of Directors meeting held virtually on April 17. The 2021 Director’s Award and Presidential Citation were presented to honor physicians who have made a difference to the Society and the profession of medicine.

Less than two weeks to 2021 Doctor Day!
The details for the eighth annual advocacy day are set for Wednesday, May 5, 2021. This is our first virtual Wisconsin Doctor Day (hoping next year’s will be in person!), and it won’t be any less engaging and worthwhile.

Society joins pediatricians in warning about increase in kids’ COVID-19 cases
The Wisconsin Medical Society (Society) joined with the state’s pediatricians, the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and Children’s Hospital in raising concerns about an alarming rise in the number of youth suffering from COVID-19, including the number of kids who have needed hospitalization.

Medical Examining Board weighing chaperone requirement for physicians giving sensitive exams
The state of Wisconsin Medical Examining Board (MEB) is considering creating a regulatory requirement that a chaperone be present in an exam room whenever a physician is performing a breast, genital or rectal examination on a patient.

Term life insurance – it’s not all the same
Kelly had just suffered a life-threatening stroke at 57 years old. Her prognosis was uncertain, and she had months of recovery ahead. She took comfort in the fact that she had purchased a one-million-dollar term life insurance policy when she was 37 years old to protect her family.

Thanks to all physicians who volunteer!

Miller and Westergaard honored at April Board of Directors meeting

The Wisconsin Medical Society (Society) honored the accomplishments and contributions of two outstanding physicians during the Board of Directors meeting held virtually on April 17. The 2021 Director’s Award and Presidential Citation were presented to honor physicians who have made a difference to the Society and the profession of medicine.

Director's Award

Miller

The Director's Award was presented to Michael Miller, MD, Madison. Established in 1928, this award is the Society’s highest honor, given to recognize outstanding physicians who have served the medical profession with integrity and honor and who have made numerous and substantial contributions to the profession and the community.

Throughout his career, Dr. Miller has been involved with the Society in many ways, most notably as Speaker. Dr. Miller has also had longstanding commitment as an AMA Delegate/Alternate along with involvement in the AMA Council on Science and Public Health. He has also served as President and Board Chair of his national specialty society (ASAM), President and Board Chair of his county medical Society (Dane County) and as a Director of his specialty board (ABAM).

Presidential Citation

Westergaard

The Presidential Citation was presented to Ryan Westergaard, MD, PhD, MPH, Madison. The award was established in 1959 to recognize an individual who has made a significant contribution to medicine and to the public’s health.

Dr. Westergaard is the current Chief Medical Officer and State Epidemiologist for the Bureau of Communicable Diseases, Division of Public Health, at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Dr. Westergaard has been honored for his leadership in addressing the pandemic of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, exhibited by his communication with both Public Health Agencies and physicians, keeping them abreast of the most current scientific evidence, guidance and resources.

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Less than two weeks to 2021 Doctor Day!

Doctors at the capitol

Doctors at the capitol

The details for the eighth annual advocacy day are set for Wednesday, May 5, 2021. This is our first virtual Wisconsin Doctor Day (hoping next year’s will be in person!), and it won’t be any less engaging and worthwhile. Physicians will still come together to learn and discuss issues that affect their profession. Of those who attended last year’s event, 99% said they would “highly recommend.” 

This year’s Doctor Day will include breakout sessions focusing on health equity, public health and legal updates. The keynote speaker is American Medical Association President Susan R. Bailey, MD. This year’s Policy and Politics Panel will include members of the powerful budget writing Joint Committee on Finance. Attendees will also virtually meet with legislators and key staff.

Visit widoctorday.org to register and see all the up-to-date details!

Please contact Heidi Green with any questions.

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Society joins pediatricians in warning about increase in kids’ COVID-19 cases

The Wisconsin Medical Society (Society) joined with the state’s pediatricians, the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and Children’s Hospital in raising concerns about an alarming rise in the number of youth suffering from COVID-19, including the number of kids who have needed hospitalization. The statewide press release publicizes how juveniles account for the most new COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin over the last few weeks and references a recent study published in JAMA showing that juvenile cases of COVID-19 can be as severe as cases among the adult population. The latest Wisconsin COVID-19 data, including reports by age group, is available on the state’s Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 data website.

"What's happening now is a major threat to the careful, thoughtful, collaborative work we've done, and will undo the hard-won progress made," said Society member Dipesh Navsaria, MD, president of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "Over the last year pediatricians, public health professionals and so many throughout our state have worked to keep our children safe and get them back in school. We need your help, your care, your love and your work to protect children and communities throughout the state."

The Society’s COVID-19 Task Force has continued to meet regularly throughout the pandemic to help inform policymakers about the latest pandemic-related information, as well as finding ways to harness the Society’s expertise and statewide reach to better inform the public about smart COVID-19 behaviors. The most recent example of proactive work on the latter point is this public service announcement that can be co-branded by county medical societies to promote COVID-19 vaccines.

Contact Society Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer Mark Grapentine, JD for more information.

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Medical Examining Board weighing chaperone requirement for physicians giving sensitive exams

The state of Wisconsin Medical Examining Board (MEB) is considering creating a regulatory requirement that a chaperone be present in an exam room whenever a physician is performing a breast, genital or rectal examination on a patient. Failure to have a chaperone present or documenting why a chaperone was not utilized during these types of exams would be considered unprofessional conduct under the MEB’s administrative code.

The language discussed during Wednesday’s MEB meeting is available here. The language defines “chaperone” to mean a clinical staff member who meets certain basic competency requirements and cannot be a patient’s family member. The language also provides exceptions to the chaperone requirement, including the need to “adequately” counsel patients about utilizing a chaperone and documenting in the patient record “detailed reasons” for any patient declination.

The MEB’s discussion occurred virtually on Wednesday; it was the first time the MEB had possible language to consider after briefly discussing the chaperone issue at its March meeting (see this Medigram story). While members of the MEB expressed support for the reasoning behind a rule that could help prevent or identify cases of inappropriate physician conduct during an exam, many physicians raised questions about how such a rule could be implemented without creating significant challenges for daily health care operations.

After more discussion the MEB decided to continue the chaperone rule conversation at its May meeting. If the MEB decides to officially pursue the idea as an addition to the unprofessional conduct chapter of the MEB’s administrative code, there will be opportunity for public comment before any final decision is made.

Contact Society Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer Mark Grapentine, JD for more information.

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Term life insurance – it’s not all the same

Wismedassure.org

Kelly had just suffered a life-threatening stroke at 57 years old. Her prognosis was uncertain, and she had months of recovery ahead. She took comfort in the fact that she had purchased a one-million-dollar term life insurance policy when she was 37 years old to protect her family.

Comfort turned to despair when she discovered her policy was non-renewable at the end of the term period of twenty years. In fact, her coverage would end in one month; the month of her birthday. Through perseverance and focused determination, she would fight to recover to her former self, both physically and mentally. However, because she was now uninsurable, there was nothing she could do about not having life insurance.

Like many consumers, Kelly purchased her life insurance protection from a large brokerage firm where the prevailing perception was all policies are the same. This meant price was the predominant factor in choosing a policy and Kelly thought, “Why not go with the cheapest?”

Term life policies are not at all the same
Modern term insurance policies come with a variety of conditions and riders and each of these variables must be considered when choosing a policy.

Renewability and convertibility are two options that can be extremely important. If Kelly’s policy was “guaranteed renewable,” she could have paid the adjusted premium at the end of the initial 20-year term and kept her policy in force.

A policy that is “convertible” can be changed to a permanent insurance plan, within a designated timeframe, or at any time within the initial term period.

These options can make a term life insurance policy slightly more expensive. There are also times when insurance companies offer guaranteed renewable and convertible term life insurance that is less expensive than their competitors. At WisMed Assure, as your financial partner for life, our job is to research these contracts thoroughly when advising you on finding the very best coverage for your needs. Our loyalty is to you, and not to the insurance companies.

Riders: pay more to get more  
While shopping for a term life policy, there are many additions, or “riders,” to consider. Some of the more popular include disability waivers, disability income protection, accidental death protection, children’s insurance and living benefits or long-term care protection.

If the insured becomes disabled, a disability waiver will no longer require them to pay insurance premiums, and disability income protection can provide a monthly payment to the policyholder throughout a period of disability. Children’s insurance can place life insurance protection for one’s children under the same base policy, and an additional insured or other insured rider will place life insurance coverage in force on an added named individual. If death occurs as a result of an accident, the accidental death rider will increase the base amount of coverage. In many instances, the base amount will be doubled.

Due to the exploding costs of long-term care, many modern policies now make a percentage of the life insurance benefit available to assist in paying these costs. Qualification is usually contingent on the inability to perform two or more activities of daily living or to be cognitively impaired for life.

Living benefits are also very popular, where benefits can be paid while the insured is alive, upon sustaining a life altering health condition such as a cardiac event, cancer or a stroke.

A convertible policy works
Larry and his wife Dawn came into WisMed Assure’s office the other day. Dawn said, “Tom there is something we think you should know. Larry has been forgetting things lately, so we talked to our doctor, and Larry has early stage Alzheimer’s.” 

After sharing comfort and empathy, our focus shifted to Larry’s life insurance policy. Since the policy was “convertible,” we decided to convert the coverage to a permanent plan which would be in force for Larry’s lifetime. We also discussed the policy’s living benefits rider, which, if Larry’s condition became too severe, benefits would be paid out while Larry was still alive to help Dawn in caring for Larry.

Not all term life insurance policies are created the same. In fact, it can be an intensive effort to design a policy for one’s budget that will provide needed benefits during a time of crisis. At WisMed Assure, our team of professionals are here for your well-being.

Article originally posted here.

Tom Strangstalien
WisMed Assure Insurance Advisor
tom.strangstalien@wismedassure.org

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