[NPInfo] The UAW and NP/PA services. WE NEED YOUR HELP.

[David Mittman]

Below is information supplied by the Michigan Academy of PAs.
I know Michigan is one state where NPs and PAs have not yet  
established a working relationship on a state organizational level and  
IMHO, it is time to start. They both need to lead on this and I bet  
the physicians they work with are being hurt by this also. A universal  
problem for us all.
Greg Bennett, the AAPA Past President( and a Michigan leader) told me  
one way we could all tackle this new escalation to denial of NP and PA  
services, is by writing to the UAW leadership. It's not just GM cars,  
but the UAW controls all of the auto workers in the USA. So, maybe we  
let them know that we can start buying some nice Korean cars. Hyundai  
just came out with a Lexus clone. In any case, here is one contact  
address for now:
UAW
Solidarity House
8000 East Jefferson Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48214

http://www.uaw.org/about/officers/index.html-Here is a list of their  
officers. There are NO email links I can find. So, take out a few  
envelopes and write them a letter and copy it a few times and mail it.  
I will today.

Remember to be civil as we want to show them what professionals we  
really are.

Let's try something like this:

Dear UAW Leader:


I am a physician assistant (PA) who has treated thousands of people  
over my career. I have treated expectant mothers, soldiers ready to  
deploy, babies and the elderly and most folks in the middle that have  
come in to see me for their medical care. All of them have left  
happier and I sincerely hope, in some way, healthier than before they  
saw me.
I recently found out that you have instructed your insurance companies  
not to reimburse for nurse practitioner and physician assistant  
services to your members. I don't understand why? NPs and PAs are now  
a VITAL part of providing healthcare to the people of America. We are  
officers in the military (three PAs have died providing care in Iraq),  
we can diagnose, treat and prescribe in all 50 states and all 200,000  
of us want to help your members stay healthier. Our record regarding  
providing high quality care is exemplary. I know good care is  
important to you and we provide that good care.  So, why do you not  
want your members to see us?
The US auto industry is in enough trouble as it is. How does it  
benefit you to be the ONLY group in the United States that will not  
allow its members to see us? Is it worth the price of the public  
relations and ill will, let alone the misunderstandings it will cause  
with hundreds of thousands of clinicians, your members, our families,  
their families, our associations and more?
Why not let the patient choose the team of clinicians they want to  
care for them?
I know I am not a member of your union but I am a very smart consumer.  
Please help me understand why the UAW alone across the country refuses  
to let it's members see the two groups of healthcare professionals who  
can and will make a difference in the lives of their members.
Sincerely,
Dave Mittman, PA
Livingston,NJ
President-Elect,
American College of Clinicians
dmittman at comcast.net