Federalization of MOC program and Choosing Wisely is moving closer to reality

Dr. Wes on his blog gives an update on the alarming progress ABIMF and fellow travelers have made in their program to exert control of medical practice.

 The folks associated with ABIMF have told us what they want to do and now it looks like they are making alarming progress towards those goals.

\
On the ABIMF blog ,former CEO of ABIMF, Dr. John Benson made these comments,telling us what they want. ("The Necessity of Stewardship"Feb.20.2014)

"The time is well past exhortation. The issue has been recognized for decades. Hard choices and penalties must go beyond training the next generation. 2020 is closing in."

He continues

" CMS, which has the ultimate negotiating position in the form of reimbursement for Medicare services, could only accept negotiated bundled charges. It could also refuse payment for non-compliance with the Choosing Wisely recommendations."  (note the current President of ABIM and ABIMF is Dr. Richard Baron who left a post at CMS through the revolving door to assume his duties at ABIM and ABIMF)

and it gets worse

" ABIM could require candidates to achieve a perfect score on questions related to costs and redundant care as a requirement for admission to secure exams for initial certification or MOC." (Maintenance of Certification)

 Benson seems to want Choosing  Wisely to literally become the law of the medical land and recent events at the federal level should give him satisfaction.Very alarming developments.