AAEM Call to Action: Help Stop Corporate Mergers!

Tue Apr 12 13:16:40 PDT 2022

Apr. 12, 2022 

<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://send.aaem.org/link.cfm?r=JNKVjha_Lg3HjCCRLQiEmw**A&pe=KN-S3U55LP1c6V9__;fn4!!CzAuKJ42GuquVTTmVmPViYEvSg!NbKbvyXYzJXqcMbItwfDoW4qBs5Y5v30uyJPvyH5qZnpfVpQ4mN01ZjxcF_-KCOGfUMQIj_-k86uprMAl5AgjJun$ 
iUxGEwCB6AMbM3e1641G7zJbyZeMoBjlfwBgHmsM_QRSY4fcV8UxGscTNR5qMnPLSbRfCtw~~&t=
HO43fqQ1NbBwmpdYTdvxBw~~> 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) are
requesting feedback on merger guidelines
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://send.aaem.org/link.cfm?r=JNKVjha_Lg3HjCCRLQiEmw**A&pe=jG2CwSgUINs87ZI__;fn4!!CzAuKJ42GuquVTTmVmPViYEvSg!NbKbvyXYzJXqcMbItwfDoW4qBs5Y5v30uyJPvyH5qZnpfVpQ4mN01ZjxcF_-KCOGfUMQIj_-k86uprMAl8LxrKqS$ 
QVtgRvk-grtf_GKHRVCYWdCfEptf5P4XVUVDz-vDd5BepbHyMxjoN_mOFGwppOfFH5s4gnw~~&t=
HO43fqQ1NbBwmpdYTdvxBw~~>  from real people as opposed to corporations.

You can take action by posting a comment on their website.

Your personal stories are important to our efforts to draw the attention of
these agencies to PE in medicine. We believe this will have a significant
impact, as many regulators believe that most physicians are benefiting from
this arrangement rather than being exploited by it.

Read the response by the AAEM Board of Directors.

<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://send.aaem.org/link.cfm?r=JNKVjha_Lg3HjCCRLQiEmw**A&pe=EEyzP3ZWRi-KsZJ__;fn4!!CzAuKJ42GuquVTTmVmPViYEvSg!NbKbvyXYzJXqcMbItwfDoW4qBs5Y5v30uyJPvyH5qZnpfVpQ4mN01ZjxcF_-KCOGfUMQIj_-k86uprMAl6ubrrty$ 
SMChIANbRWWv-56c4oHVZz1EvPU5D2N2202HBNq5rvL6fDR1wmV9hjhxQKIaLdM8HrhcBZA~~&t=
HO43fqQ1NbBwmpdYTdvxBw~~> Learn More

WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP

How to Post a Comment

To post your comment(s), visit
https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.regulations.gov/document/FTC-2022-0003-0001__;!!CzAuKJ42GuquVTTmVmPViYEvSg!NbKbvyXYzJXqcMbItwfDoW4qBs5Y5v30uyJPvyH5qZnpfVpQ4mN01ZjxcF_-KCOGfUMQIj_-k86uprMAl1tlJZzI$ 
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://send.aaem.org/link.cfm?r=JNKVjha_Lg3HjCCRLQiEmw**A&pe=ZjCXCejHT9-8aSP__;fn4!!CzAuKJ42GuquVTTmVmPViYEvSg!NbKbvyXYzJXqcMbItwfDoW4qBs5Y5v30uyJPvyH5qZnpfVpQ4mN01ZjxcF_-KCOGfUMQIj_-k86uprMAl1oo8pbb$ 
elGr4E4ZtfWByXKMUnM9MQ9Dx91PBzNo-0JHshB1b3GJxSzQtBe0yvFY_0hOlc-GHJBzfkw~~&t=
HO43fqQ1NbBwmpdYTdvxBw~~>  and then click on the comment box.

Your comment(s) can be anonymous.They do not have to be long or referenced.
Speak from the heart. We suggest you comment on any of the following you
feel comfortable with:

1.	Dominance of PE in your specialty or area of the country
2.	Financial issues: effects on patients, blinding to what is billed in
your name, worries about upcoding and the pressure to do so, etc.
3.	Suppression of wages: pay and hour cuts
4.	Effects on working conditions: productivity metrics, forced
supervision of NPPs, etc.
5.	Ability to speak up on behalf of patients, denial of due process
6.	Loss of contracts due to joint ventures or cross-subsidy issues
(e.g., ED and hospitalist bundling)
7.	Inability to compete for ED contracts: non-interference clauses,
non-competes

<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://send.aaem.org/link.cfm?r=JNKVjha_Lg3HjCCRLQiEmw**A&pe=AlSSa6RZtHE7CwD__;fn4!!CzAuKJ42GuquVTTmVmPViYEvSg!NbKbvyXYzJXqcMbItwfDoW4qBs5Y5v30uyJPvyH5qZnpfVpQ4mN01ZjxcF_-KCOGfUMQIj_-k86uprMAl70J6XQ2$ 
JTHZwI3rNJ9uH_IbYGsc3-WdKPFg93GCeew_vv6xlBMNx6k-WjeyOzuFo8fkqNy5nPOGq9A~~&t=
HO43fqQ1NbBwmpdYTdvxBw~~> Post a Comment

Sample Comment 
I am a(n) [emergency] physician who pursued my field to help patients during
their most vulnerable moments. Changes in recent years have made it
difficult, if not impossible, for me to deliver high-quality care to my
patients while avoiding causing significant financial harm to them. I am not
allowed to view what is billed or collected in my name without risking
retaliation by my employer, as my contract required me to bypass my due
process rights as a condition of employment. The field of emergency medicine
has gone through rapid consolidation over the past decade, now with an
estimated 50% of emergency physicians employed by private equity-owned
entities that prioritize overleveraged debt and corporate profits over
patient care. The emergency department is effectively the nation's only form
of universal healthcare due to EMTALA, a government mandate that requires,
but does not fund, all emergency patients to be seen regardless of ability
to pay. Corporate interests have exploited this inelastic market for profit
in detestable ways, cutting staffing and replacing qualified emergency
physicians with cheaper, less qualified personnel while driving the
out-of-network billing crisis by suing indigent patients and garnishing
their wages. I did not become a physician to put desperate, unsuspecting
patients into debt. I urge the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a 6B
investigation into the effects of emergency medicine staffing group mergers
and acquisitions by private equity at the expense of American society.

<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://send.aaem.org/link.cfm?r=JNKVjha_Lg3HjCCRLQiEmw**A&pe=-T98K_S_FtWeY1R__;fn4!!CzAuKJ42GuquVTTmVmPViYEvSg!NbKbvyXYzJXqcMbItwfDoW4qBs5Y5v30uyJPvyH5qZnpfVpQ4mN01ZjxcF_-KCOGfUMQIj_-k86uprMAl6G6bW7D$ 
ctFFmiyKWREsOo3CcOuILhptQ7GLZ3ypUWzLyRofu_V0lkG6Rk4rzT2csen-i8PgK-AnGzw~~&t=
HO43fqQ1NbBwmpdYTdvxBw~~>
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://send.aaem.org/link.cfm?r=JNKVjha_Lg3HjCCRLQiEmw**A&pe=zznr6NaR4pdpbl-__;fn4!!CzAuKJ42GuquVTTmVmPViYEvSg!NbKbvyXYzJXqcMbItwfDoW4qBs5Y5v30uyJPvyH5qZnpfVpQ4mN01ZjxcF_-KCOGfUMQIj_-k86uprMAl22vuPch$ 
j5LfuovKBCPFaX0y69xuKeIrIvWMMURG9oQjMX_bBRvRNuKV34-R_nUjfyQSjkDZDCUqi6Q~~&t=
HO43fqQ1NbBwmpdYTdvxBw~~>
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://send.aaem.org/link.cfm?r=JNKVjha_Lg3HjCCRLQiEmw**A&pe=logObNhxC8x8eB7__;fn4!!CzAuKJ42GuquVTTmVmPViYEvSg!NbKbvyXYzJXqcMbItwfDoW4qBs5Y5v30uyJPvyH5qZnpfVpQ4mN01ZjxcF_-KCOGfUMQIj_-k86uprMAl4oKMmye$ 
8bz26DasFip0kZJTrSCrA5Iq2Mb4kJPAdhI5q8cieoHYnjH3VRcCrwoY5hvSwlB_cp0EEZQ~~&t=
HO43fqQ1NbBwmpdYTdvxBw~~> 

Brian Potts MD, MBA
Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service

Contact us at:  <mailto:calaaem.news.service1 at gmail.com>
calaaem.news.service1 at gmail.com

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