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

If you have a Medigram story idea or would like to offer feedback, please email us or call 866.442.3800.

GO PAC GO second annual campaign opens with a strong first quarter
Our second annual GO PAC GO fundraising campaign kicked off last week with an email from the WISMedPAC board encouraging physicians to strengthen the physician voice at the Capitol by contributing to WISMedPAC.

Be a part of the Wisconsin Science Festival, October 10-16
The Wisconsin Science Festival is a statewide celebration of science and a great opportunity for physicians to engage with their communities and spark the curiosity of young people to consider careers in health and medicine. The Wisconsin Science Festival brings science, arts and more to communities across the state through the University of Wisconsin system.

Open enrollment
We’re rapidly approaching autumn and it’s time to start thinking about your open enrollment. Many companies to fail to properly do an open enrollment. Whether it’s your first time or you just need a refresher, WisMed Assure can help.

Student loan forgiveness and payment extension
On August 24, President Biden announced major changes to federal student loans. These new rules only apply to federal student loans and not private loans.

Survey regarding access to medicines
The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) is conducting a survey regarding pharmacies denying or delaying access to medications for patients with substance use disorder, including buprenorphine.

Roundtable on youth leadership in population health
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is presenting ‘Exploring the Power of Youth Leadership in Creating Conditions for Health and Equity’ via webcast from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on September 19. The roundtable on population health improvement will explore how young people are engaging in and leading efforts to improve the social, economic and environmental factors that influence the health and equity of communities.

 

MEB-approved Opioid Prescribing CME - discount for WisMed members

GO PAC GO second annual campaign opens with a strong first quarter

GO PAC GO - QTR 1
Scoreboard

Our second annual GO PAC GO fundraising campaign kicked off last week with an email from the WISMedPAC board encouraging physicians to strengthen the physician voice at the Capitol by contributing to WISMedPAC. The first quarter is now complete, and the second quarter is underway (each quarter is a week long; Wednesday to Wednesday).

Paul Wertsch, MD, from District 2 is the current MVP and quarter one prize winner, leading his district team! Congrats District 2 and Dr. Wertsch! District 1 is in second, District 6 is in third and District 7 comes in fourth. Thank you to everyone who contributed this week!

Help your district team and the Wisconsin Medical Society's political action committee (PAC) by contributing today! There are three quarters to go and we're hoping the final score is $25,000 for our PAC! If you're still on the bench, give Heidi Green a call at 608.358.6116 to get your name on the scoreboard or contribute here.

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Be a part of the Wisconsin Science Festival, October 10-16

Photo of Wisconsin Science Festival Volunteers

The Wisconsin Science Festival is a statewide celebration of science and a great opportunity for physicians to engage with their communities and spark the curiosity of young people to consider careers in health and medicine. The Wisconsin Science Festival brings science, arts and more to communities across the state through the University of Wisconsin system. Last year, even in the pandemic, there were more than 43,000 attendees at over 300 events in more than 90 communities.

The Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation is excited to once again co-host a booth with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health’s Doctors Ought to Care student group at the festival’s Madison location. The booth is staffed by student and physician volunteers and offers visitors an opportunity to see and touch human organs such as the heart, lungs, stomach, intestines and more. We need you to make this a success. If would like to volunteer for this great opportunity to inspire kids at the Discover Expo in Madison on Wednesday, October 12 or Saturday, October 15, 2022, please contact elizabeth.ringle@wismed.org.

County medical societies and health systems can get involved by hosting activities to be advertised as part of the festival. Since 2017, the Tri-County Medical Society (Eau Claire-Dunn-Pepin counties) has organized and sponsored several fun and successful science and health-related activities in the Eau Claire area for children and adults. To learn about hosting an event in your community please visit wisconsinsciencefest.org/host.

To learn more about the Foundation’s work to encourage youth in Wisconsin to consider careers in health and medicine, visit our website or contact Foundation Executive Director Elizabeth Ringle at elizabeth.ringle@wismed.org

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Open enrollment

We’re rapidly approaching autumn and it’s time to start thinking about your open enrollment. Many companies fail to properly do an open enrollment. Whether it’s your first time or you just need a refresher, WisMed Assure can help. They had their HR OnDemand professional create this checklist to help you make sure you don’t miss anything.  

Also, WisMed Assure clients have access to the following resources:

  • Employee Benefit Book creation and updating
  • Open enrollment paperwork creation
    • waivers, election forms, rate sheets
  • HR OnDemand 

To learn more about open enrollment or employee benefits, contact Chris Noffke, GBDS, CSFS, WisMed Assure Vice President of Employee Benefits, at 608.442.3734 or email chris.noffke@wismedassure.org.

WisMed Assure

WisMed Assure is the Wisconsin Medical Society’s insurance agency – profits earned support the mission of the Medical Society.

Originally posted in The Antidote, August 19, 2022

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WisMed Financial - Meet your advisor

Student loan forgiveness and payment extension

Student loan debt forgiveness

On August 24, President Biden announced major changes to federal student loans. These new rules only apply to federal student loans and not private loans.

Key points we know from the announcement:

  • Loan payments that were scheduled to restart after August 31 have been automatically postponed through December 31.
  • Up to $10,000 of federal loans will be cancelled for borrowers making less than $125,000 for individual and $250,000 for married couples or heads of household. For those with Pell Grants, up to $20,000 of loan cancellation is available. The cancellation amount is capped by the amount of student loan debt.
  • An additional income-driven repayment plan will become available, reducing future loan payments from 10% of discretionary income to 5% of discretionary income. Also, the amount of income considered discretionary will be reduced. Discretionary income is currently the amount that exceeds 150% of the federal poverty guideline. This is changing to the amount exceeding 225% of the federal poverty guideline. Also, for borrowers with an “original loan balance of $12,000 or less,” the balance will be forgiven after 10 years, even if they don’t qualify for PSLF. Finally, if your monthly payment does not cover your loan interest, unpaid interest will not accrue.
  • For 8 million borrowers, loan cancellation will be automatic based on income data the government already has about the borrower. For everyone else, an application will become available in coming weeks. To receive an alert when the application is open, sign up here.
  • The temporary changes to the public service loan forgiveness program are still available through October 31, 2022. Anyone who made monthly payments, but those payments were not considered qualifying payments for various reasons like being enrolled in a non-qualifying repayment plan, can have their record updated and corrected. Complete the Temporary Expanded PSLF form here.

Key points we don’t know:

  • What is considered income for the $125,000 individual / $250,000 married? Is it adjusted gross income, which can be manipulated with pretax contributions to IRAs, 401(k)s, and 403(b)s, gross income before any above the line deductions or some other income definition?
  • If you file taxes as married filing separately, do you combine your income for purposes of $250,000 married threshold? This may not matter in Wisconsin since spouses equalize their income when filing separately. But in other states, each spouse reports their own income so they may qualify under the individual limit, but not the married limit.
  • If you switch to the new income-driven repayment plan, will your unpaid interest capitalize (be added to principal) as it does when you switch between existing plans?
  • Is the “original loan balance of $12,000 or less” determined as each individual loan, the total of loans when repayment starts or the balance at the end of 10 years? What about consolidation loans that exceed $12,000, but are made up of loans under $12,000?

What other questions need to be answered? Join the conversation thread here.*

Webinars exclusively for WisMed members: Medicare, Retirement, Tax Planning, Social Security

Don’t miss the upcoming online educational sessions presented by WisMed Financial exclusively for Wisconsin Medical Society members. Session topics include retirement planning, social security and tax planning. Learn more and register here.

For personalized help eliminating debt, investing smart and securing retirement, please contact Mark Ziety, CFP®, AIF® 608.442.3750.

WisMed Financial
Mark Ziety

Mark Ziety, CFP®, AIF®
WisMed Financial, Inc. part of the Wisconsin Medical Society.

 

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Now through 9/11/22, WisMed members receive exclusive discounts up to 68% on Lenovo’s huge portfolio of award-winning tech, as well as top brands like Fitbit wearables, Logitech headsets, and more.

Now through 9/11/22, WisMed members receive exclusive discounts up to 68% on Lenovo’s huge portfolio of award-winning tech, as well as top brands like Fitbit wearables, Logitech headsets, and more.

Survey regarding access to medicines

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) is conducting a survey regarding pharmacies denying or delaying access to medications for patients with substance use disorder, including buprenorphine. ASAM began conducting the survey in 2020 and has received results from 19 states. Preliminary results indicate more than 100 incidents of pharmacies denying care.

The survey can be found here.

Please contact ASAM’s Corey Barton at cbarton@asam.org with any questions.

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Roundtable on youth leadership in population health

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is presenting ‘Exploring the Power of Youth Leadership in Creating Conditions for Health and Equity’ via webcast from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on September 19. The roundtable on population health improvement will explore how young people are engaging in and leading efforts to improve the social, economic and environmental factors that influence the health and equity of communities.

The workshop will include presentations and discussions that:

  • highlight case examples from select areas in which young people engage (e.g., education, climate justice, community safety)
  • consider the types of civic infrastructure and resources that support youth participation and leadership of change efforts
  • explore the available evidence on how young people themselves (and society at large) benefit from being involved in this kind of work

Click here for more information, including registration.

The Wisconsin Medical Society and Foundation are committed to increasing health equity and access and supporting a strong and diverse physician workforce. For more information on the Wisconsin Medical Society’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, or if you are interested in joining the task force, please email membership@wismed.org.

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