I am much honored to begin my year as president of the Medical Society. I follow in the footsteps of a very professional group of physicians. These are very challenging times for both patients and physicians. Health care costs continue to escalate while services for patients continue to be denied. Never before have physicians been under such scrutiny of their treatment decisions and recommendations and “quality of care” at the same time as reimbursement rates remain stable or increase minimally. Uninsured rates also continue to increase as now 46 million US citizens are without healthcare coverage of some sort. And while a number of these are young people who don’t feel the need to have health insurance, many more are adults who either cannot afford health insurance or have been “downsized” and are now in positions that do not offer health benefits. All of these factors, primarily the cost and limited access to healthcare, have contributed to the urgency for health care reform. Several groups, even in Indiana, are looking at this issue, trying to find a way to provide “universal” healthcare. Unfortunately, most of the meetings I have been to have speakers that represent insurance companies, some hospitals, and patients that have had bad experiences with the healthcare system. Very few physicians, practicing clinical medicine, have been involved – and it shows in the comments and recommendations that are being made. We need to have a voice in this critical discussion, but we also need to be informed to make recommendations that are thoughtful, reflect the best interests of the patients, and also reflect an understanding of the associated costs. My goal this year is to provide physicians and other providers opportunities to understand the issues associated with healthcare reform. I would like to provide three or four seminars, hopefully with CMEs, that address the most critical aspects of this issue. I understand how busy we all are and the number of family commitments we all have, but I sincerely hope that you will make a commitment to attend at least one or two of these seminars. We need to play a significant role in what the future of healthcare looks like. Remember, the first thing that most people, including public officials, believe can be adjusted to lower costs is reimbursement. And you and I cannot see any more patients per day nor have less staff than we already have to adjust for lower reimbursement. We need to present a consistent and informed perspective to these discussions. Please feel free to email me any ideas for these seminars you might have at ddebmcmahan@aol.com. I look forward to serving you over the coming year.