clout and more

[george boyer]

OK Rene - it came up.  So here it is for those who don't hit the link.
Look, the time for strong associations with adversarial capability is
NOW!!  George B.

NATIONAL BRIEFS

              Medical Association Decides Against Union

              By REUTERS

                    CHICAGO -- Trustees of the American Medical
Association, which represents about
                    300,000 doctors nationwide, has decided not to
consider forming a union of
                    doctors, despite increasing complaints from members
about problems with managed
              care.

              D. Ted Levers, vice chairman of the association, said in a
statement that the board decided
              against forming a union at a regular meeting last week in
Chicago. But Levers said the matter
              would be debated at the organization's meeting in June.

              In 1998, according to industry figures, 87 percent of
employees in the United States were
              enrolled in managed-care groups. Many doctors complain that
these organizations have
              reduced payments on fees, put pressure on doctors to see
more patients in less time and
              questioned their diagnoses and test orders.





"E. Rene Rodriguez, M.D." wrote:

> George:
> Anyone can read the quoted article in New York Times online.  You don't
> need to scan it. The URL is
> http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/national-briefs.html