Conference on how American auto industry's future could affect UAW patients

Sep 15 2009

A conference to explore how the future of the American auto industry could affect United Auto Workers (UAW) patients and their physicians and dentists will be presented by the Michigan State Medical Society and the Michigan Dental Association on Thursday, Sept. 17, from Noon to 4:30 p.m. at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi.

Conference speakers will discuss the forecasted condition of the auto companies and how that forecast could affect UAW members in the VEBA as well as the physicians and dentists who provide their care.

Attendees will include physicians of all specialties, dentists, administrators, executives, and other health care professionals.

The basics of a VEBA system will be presented by employee benefits attorneys Robert Stevenson and Andrew Stumpff of the Stevenson Keppelman Association in Ann Arbor and George Kipa, M.D., Deputy Corporate Medical Director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Reviewing the outlook of the auto companies will be George Magliano, Director of Automotive Research for North America at Global Insight in New York City. Suzanne Paranjpe, Ph.D., Executive Director of AEPC in Bloomfield Hills will discuss the future of Michigan's physicians and the health care system.

"The financial status of the American auto industry and how that affects the UAW VEBA impacts thousand of our patients and the entire health care system," said Detroit obstetrician/gynecologist Richard E. Smith, M.D., president of the 16,000 physician-member MSMS. "We need to take a serious look at the forecasts to be prepared."

Source: http://www.msms.org