AOA is Next
This is getting fun. IP4PI founder, Craig M Wax, DO, a long time follower of Authentic Medicine, and others are suing the American Osteopathic Association to “recover millions of dollars in annual membership fees that the doctors have been forced to pay for years to the organization. The money is paid as a condition of obtaining and maintaining physicians’ board certification in any advanced medical specialty. The physicians—who have filed the suit as a class action—contend that the requirement that they purchase memberships is illegal, has no reasonable connection to the advanced certification and violates the antitrust laws”. I have heard about this from my DO brethren for years. They feel they are being extorted to keep certified. Even the AMA doesn’t do that. Sure, they do nothing but that is besides the point. I fully support these docs. Go get them!
Thank goodness that I, a DO, did a dually accredited (ACGME/AOA) residency, so I took the allopathic pediatric boards and “only” have to do MOC. My wife did an osteopathic-only OBGYN residency, had to take the osteopathic boards and indeed has to pay the AOA dues anually in order to maintain her board certified status.
Think the AAFP will encourage its members to start a class action suit against the ABFM?
We’re at the bottom of the medical care dung heap, not many get paid the inflated teaser rates
that are quoted on production and one cannot see and “process” as many patients as in the past.
Think the ABFM should cost less and have straight forward requirements? If a Dr. is going to pay they might as well be in a better compensated specialty to make it worth it. I’m surprised FP is surviving as it is. It will eventually come back to haunt the groups as I’m seeing younger and newer physicians getting ticked off at this specialty. Eventually the word will filter down. Kurt
I’m not a lawyer, thank God, but I think a case can be made that AOA is also violating the RICO statutes.