It was my pleasure to see and meet with so many of you at the recent TCMS Inauguration and Retiree Dinner at Southern Hills Country Club. It was indeed a wonderful night! Sharon D’Souza, MD, a lifetime and founding member of the organization, Physicians for Patient Protection, was our guest speaker and shared with us the importance of physician-led care and medical training. Several of our retirees reiterated Dr. D’Souza’s points, and I also emphasized, during my inaugural address, the danger of replacing physicians with non-physicians in clinical settings.
That night, we celebrated fifteen physicians retiring physicians including:
Gary T. Denslow, MD Darwin D. Olson, MD
Scott J. Dunitz, MD Jane Purser, MD
Eric D. Engles, MD Richard A. Reinking, MD
Robert M. Gold, MD W. Craig Sanford, Jr., MD
Edward E. Gustavson, MD Jerry A. Sims, MD
Merlin J. Kilbury, III, MD Jack M. Sommers, MD
Lora J. Larson, MD Paul Stanton, MD
Frederick McNeer, MD
Nine of the retirees present gave brief addresses to the audience and touched on experiences during their careers. They were truly inspiring to us all. Everyone at TCMS wishes them the best in their much-deserved next phase! Grateful appreciation was also expressed to our outgoing president, Dr. Stephen Bruns who led our organization successfully this past year.
Last month, I traveled to Washington DC, along with other OSMA members to attend the American Medical Association’s National Advocacy Conference. Its primary theme was “Fix Medicare Now”. On January 1, 2025, the 2.8% Medicare physician payment cuts took effect. Failure to reverse these cuts will be harmful to the continued viability of physician practices and their ability to care for patients. We are entering the fifth consecutive year of payment cuts for Medicare services. We strongly urge Congress to quickly pass legislation to reverse these cuts and add a 2% increase.
The Oklahoma State Medical Association was well represented at the conference. Dr. Sharon D’Souza and I represented Tulsa County, and the following made up the rest of the OSMA attendees:
Edgar Boyd, MD, Muskogee (OSMA President)
Wes Glinsmann, Yukon (OSMA CEO)
Brady Iba, DO, Edmond
Matthew Jared, MD, Edmond (Oklahoma County Medical Society Past-President)
Woody Jenkins, MD, Stillwater (OSMA Board Chair)
Bradley Margo, MD, Oklahoma City (Oklahoma County Medical Society President)
Sumit Nanda, MD, Oklahoma City (OSMA President-Elect)
Michael Preston, Washington Representative
During our time in Washington, we made two trips to Capitol Hill to meet with the Oklahoma Congressional members. We met with Lauren Ketchum, Health Legislative Assistant to Representative Cole, Representative Lucas, Representative Bice, Cambridge Neal, Health Policy Adviser to Senator Lankford, Senator Mullin and his Health Legislative Staffer, Audrey Trussell, and Representative Hern. Our primary focus was to address Medicare physician reimbursement and, particularly, its effect on rural communities. We also discussed the importance of physician led care/scope of practice issues. We think we made a good impression, and the Congressional members expressed understanding of the devastating effects these cuts are making throughout the state of Oklahoma, but they also expressed concern about passing bills to increase government spending, at this time. Let’s hope they listen to us, truly understand the issue, and carry through with legislation that positively impacts Oklahomans!
Ondria C. Gleason, MD
TCMS President
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