Many Successes Result From Merged, Stronger Kansas City Medical Society

Medicaid expansion in Missouri and Kansas is top priority.

During 2019 and moving into 2020, the Kansas City Medical Society is reaping the benefits of the 2018 merger that created one medical society serving our entire Kansas City metropolitan region.

As this larger, unified, bi-state society, we are now laying the groundwork for organized efforts to support Medicaid expansion in both states. In Missouri, we are joining forces with Healthcare for Missouri, the lead statewide group promoting expansion, to gain signatures to place Medicaid expansion on the November 2020 ballot. In Kansas, we are working with Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, that state’s lead group, to help advocate for expansion legislation. There is much momentum in Kansas for expansion in this 2020 session, with bipartisan support in the Legislature and a proexpansion governor.

KCMS will be creating pro-expansion materials, including physician testimonial videos, for use on our website, social media and other communications, as well as by Healthcare for Missouri and Alliance for a Healthy Kansas. During 2019, our KCMS president sent letters endorsing expansion to the governors and state house and senate members in Missouri and Kansas.

Guiding Priorities

The endorsement of Medicaid expansion originated as a result of our new two-tier governance structure created through the merger. Expansion was among several priorities identified in January 2019 by the KCMS Leadership Council, our 42-member advisory group comprising broad representation of physicians across Kansas City-area hospitals and independent physicians. Our board of directors in May 2019 approved Medicaid expansion as a priority of the Society.

Other priority issues pinpointed by the Leadership Council—all of which will be acted upon in some way by the Society—include:

• Improving access to care for the uninsured and underserved.

• Advocating effectively in the legislative arena as well as with payers and insurance companies.

• Relieving administrative burdens such as prior authorization.

• Addressing mental health care, including a shortage of providers and the integration of behavioral health into primary care.

• Responding to the opioid crisis, including effective addiction treatment, achieving a Missouri PDMP, and a recognition of appropriate use of opioids in chronic pain management.

• Relieving physician burnout.

• Reducing vaping and e-cigarette use by young people.

Donated Care for the Uninsured

Also a result of the merger, the KCMS Foundation now operates a combined charitable care program serving both states. We are among a small number of medical societies across the United States that run charitable care programs. Our members have always believed in the need to preserve access to care for those without resources.

Through this program—known as Metro Care in Missouri and Wy Jo Care in Kansas—local physicians donate specialty care to patients who are uninsured and who could not otherwise afford needed treatment. Services range from cancer surgery and treatment, to orthopedic surgery and diabetes care, all provided at no charge by specialty physicians who desire to help those in need. Hospitals and other partners also donate facilities and services.

KCMS Foundation staff work with local safety net clinics to refer and screen patients, then we provide care coordination to help make sure that any barriers to care are overcome, and the patient’s needs can be met.

During 2019, the KCMS Foundation served 613 patients who received 2,913 donated medical services valued at over $8 million. In addition, 27 specialty care practices joined our network of practices donating care.

We also are very pleased that the Foundation in 2019 received the “Reviewed” designation from the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. This designation provides an endorsement of the integrity and transparency of the Foundation’s operations, and is highly regarded in the Kansas City philanthropic community.

More Highlights

Here are some other highlights of 2019: Our September 26 annual meeting drew more 250 physicians and partners. Our keynote speaker was Vanila M. Singh, MD, MACM, of Stanford University. She served as a chief medical officer in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 2017 to 2019, and chaired a federal inter-agency task force that released a major report on opioids and pain management in May 2019.

Charles B. Wheeler, Jr., MD, JD, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his years of service as a physician in elected office, including two terms as mayor of Kansas City, from KCMS President Mark Brady, MD.

Collecting signatures for the Missouri Medicaid expansion ballot measure are KCMS members Beth Andes, MD, and Michael O’Dell, MD, along with UMKC resident Crystal Brown-Vredenburg, MD. (photo courtesy Healthcare for Missouri)

KCMS priorities identified by the Leadership Council.

We presented our Lifetime Achievement Award to Charles B. Wheeler, Jr., MD, JD, who served two terms as mayor of Kansas City during the 1970s and later as a Missouri state senator. He has been a role model for physicians in elected office.

Our August 21 Summer Social at the home of President Mark Brady, MD, was attended by 16 Kansas state legislators and over 20 KCMS physicians. This event was enjoyed by all as a time for informal networking and relationship-building between physicians and legislators.

Thanks to MSMA for the August 27 “Medicine’s Muscle” presentation in Kansas City that attracted a large audience and helped prepare us as advocates.