by T.A. DeFeo
The head of the Medical Association of Georgia wants state lawmakers to properly fund the Georgia Composite Medical Board, saying the underfunding of the agency isn’t benefiting anyone in the state.
“Having an underfunded, understaffed agency benefits no one,” Jeremy Bonfini, the executive director and CEO of the Medical Association of Georgia, told The Center Square. “It’s our position that the GCMB should be funded sufficiently.
“We hear it all the time — paperwork for one reason or another not going through, doctors calling us to try to help the process along,” Bonfini added. “No one benefits from this.”
A Center Square analysis earlier this year found that the agency routinely dismisses an overwhelming majority of the complaints it receives. However, without reliable data, it is impossible to say precisely how many cases it closes without acting.
Additionally, investigators at the agency potentially handle hundreds of cases annually, seemingly leaving them with little time to investigate the volume of complaints, and even when fully staffed, investigators do not always interview the person who filed the complaint as part of the investigation. Instead, investigators rely on medical records to establish the “facts” of a case.
In August, Kelly Farr, director of the state’s Office of Planning and Budget, sent a memo asking state agencies to keep their budgets flat for the upcoming budget process.
Daniel Dorsey, executive director of the GCMB, told The Center Square that the Department of Community Health, which oversees the board’s budget, submitted a budget request in line with Farr’s guidance.
“If the Governor or Legislature decides to provide additional resources for our agency, then we will certainly utilize those funds to maximize value for the various constituencies with whom we interact,” Dorsey told The Center Square. He also noted that the GCMB has hired a new investigations director and now has six criminal investigators, the number authorized by the state.
When asked whether the GCMB needs more resources to carry out its stated mission, Dorsey said, “While we are carrying out our mission, additional resources could help in meeting our strategic plan’s objectives sooner than we are currently projecting.”
The agency’s fiscal 2021 budget was more than $2.9 million while bringing nearly $7.1 million to the state’s coffers. In an annual report, the agency bragged about its “139.76% return on investment.”
Bonfini said the GCMB effectively has two sides — investigations and licensing.
MAG is exploring whether it can be more helpful in patient and physician navigation for routine matters. If so, Bonfini said the group might be able to help offload some of that work from the GCMB.
One fix would be to allocate more or all of the licensing revenue the GCMB collects to the agency, similar to the medical board in Alabama, Bonfini said. That could allow the board to increase its compensation.
“It’s a structural issue that’s out of the control of the GCMB, and it’s going to take legislative action to fix it,” Bonfini said. “I think everybody would agree on that.
“… There’s a misalignment between where the revenue is received for licensing and how it’s reinvested into customer support and service,” Bonfini added.
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T.A. DeFeo is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Ambulance” by RODNAE Productions.
