Welcome to OPSC!
Fight For Your Profession February 4, 2010
On February 4th, more than 100 osteopathic physicians and osteopathic medical students will be coming to the State Capitol in white coats to tell legislators that naturopaths need to be removed from the osteopathic licensing board. Will you be there?
If you want to see the law that added naturopaths to the Osteopathic Medical Board of California reversed, join your colleagues at the “Patients Before Politics” DO Day at the State Capitol on Thursday, February 4 in Sacramento. The event, which will take place 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, includes educational sessions, training on how to effectively talk with legislators and staff, and meetings with state legislators and staff members.
REGISTER for this FREE one-day event TODAY! Call OPSC at 800-638-6772
Fight For Osteopathic Autonomy Continues
OPSC has begun the process of developing legislation to regain osteopathic autonomy, with the goal of separating licensure of naturopaths from the osteopathic licensing board. A legislative author is being sought, and legislative language is being drafted. As a reminder, mark your calendar for the DO Day at the State Capitol to educate legislators on the need for osteopathic autonomy. The march on the Capitol, titled "Patients Before Politics", will be held February 4, 2010. Free registration is available on-line at
http://www.opsc.org/displayemailforms.cfm?emailformnbr=125080&event=283471
The osteopathic profession will also be represented at a strategy meeting on December 16 to discuss implementation of the temporary sheltering of naturopaths. Please check back for updated information on actions being taken to regain osteopathic autonomy, or contact the OPSC office at (800) 638-6772.
ABX4 20 Bill Language
Sample Letter/Talking Points
DO's Now Eligible For Loan Repayment Program
OPSC is pleased to announce that osteopathic physicians are now eligible to participate in the state’s physician loan repayment program.
Previously available only to MDs, the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program (PCLRP) provides for the repayment of student loans up to $105,000 for physicians practicing in medically underserved areas of the State of California. OPSC introduced legislation to correct the inequity against DOs, and enlisted the support of the California Medical Association (CMA) as a co-sponsor. Governor Schwarzenegger signed the legislation, SB 606 (Ducheny) (http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0601-0650/sb_606_bill_20091011_chaptered.html), into law this weekend.
Osteopathic physicians, like our allopathic counterparts, will contribute $25 upon licensure or re-licensure to support the funding of the program. Up to $1 million in additional funding comes annually from fines and penalties paid by health insurance plans.
This new law takes effect on January 1, 2010. The program administrator is hopeful that regulations necessary for implementation will be completed prior to the March 24, 2010 submission deadline for the next application cycle.
For additional information on the PCLRP, visit http://www.oshpd.state.ca.us/HPEF/STLRP.html or contact program administrator, Daniela Reynoso-Miranda at (800) 773-1669.
DO's to be Included in Workforce Analysis
Also signed into law was OPSC-sponsored SB 620 (Wiggins) http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0601-0650/sb_620_bill_20091011_chaptered.html which enables the Osteopathic Medical Board of California to capture information on board certification and other important data about DOs. This information will provide a much more accurate picture of the value that osteopathic physicians bring to California’s physician workforce, information that has been missing from earlier analyses.
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OPSC 49th Annual Convention & Exposition!
When: Feb 10-14, 2010
Where: Palm Springs, CA
Click here for more info
Membership Links
The California DO
Click HERE to view or download the latest issue - Fall 2009.
You may also link to the journal through the Members Portal.
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