‘More challenging every day’ — Advocates call for lawmakers to support independent medical practice

Independent medical practice remains a vital part of the U.S. health care system, both for patient medical treatments and their finances, according to physician advocates who call for fair market competition.

This spring, leaders of the U.S. Women’s Health Alliance (USWHA), its Advocacy Committee, and the health-care-focused law firm Frier Levitt met with members of Congress and their staff to discuss a potential policy solution.

The Independent Medical Practice Sustainability and Patient Access Act would save money on health care at large by assisting physicians in independent medical practice. That in turn would allow patients to have more choices for care, and physicians could treat patients without pressure as employees to refer patients to higher-priced hospital-based care.

The advocates noted they are not anti-hospital. Rather, individual patients and U.S. health care at large would be better served if independent practitioners, employed physicians and hospital leaders worked together to find solutions that benefited doctors and patients in the different practice settings.

This video has discussion with USWHA President Jack Feltz, M.D., and Alliance member Rebecca Herrero, M.D., MBA, FACOG, president and CEO of Women’s Health Associates of Southern Nevada, with attorney Daniel B. Frier, Esq., co-managing partner of Frier Levitt. Feltz and Herrero are affiliates of Unified Women’s Healthcare.