Ransomis chief executive officer of physician activist group MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society.
What is MedChi?
It’s been around since 1799. We represent physicians, their patients and the public health of Maryland. We have a number goals related to keeping our malpractice rates low and making sure we have an adequate physician supply, especially given the challenges of health care reform.
When did you start working for MedChi?
Ironically, I started working for the society right out of law school and I’ve been working here for 15 years now. I was just applying for jobs and I started in the peer review department and worked my way up the food chain.
What has kept you at MedChi all these years?
It’s really great to be advocating for physicians and their patients. Health care is a really complex and interesting topic and physicians are really at the center of it. If we don’t have an adequate physician supply and we don’t have good doctors to serve all of us, we have nothing. It’s like they say, when you enjoy your job it’s not hard to go to work.
Has health care reform kept you busy?
It’s been very exciting. But a lot of the reforms have been challenging to physicians, so it has also been very difficult. It’s a very unique time to be working in the health care industry. It’s going to be very interesting watching how things change over the next five to 15 years.
What is MedChi’s stance on the federal health care legislation?
We said we would not support any reform that did not include malpractice reform and the full Medicare fix for senior citizens. So we didn’t support it — but we think there are some good things in there, too.
– Hayley Peterson
