Beaver Medical Group doctor to lead California's physicians HEALTH CARE: The Beaver Medical Group practitioner is president-elect of the state medical association. 02/26/2002 By DOUGLAS E. BEEMAN THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
REDLANDS - Dr. Ronald Bangasser has long considered himself an advocate for his patients. Now he will be a leading advocate on behalf of 35,000 California physicians. Bangasser on Sunday was named president-elect of the California Medical Association. Next year, when he assumes the presidency, will be the first Inland doctor to head the statewide physician trade group since the 1970s. "I never expected in my whole life to ever do anything like this," said Bangasser, 52, of Redlands. "This is a rare opportunity that I've been given." Goals listed As one of the association's top officers, Bangasser said he will focus on improving the quality of patient care and attempts to measure quality. He also wants to improve patients' access to care through expanded health coverage for the uninsured, and he wants to slow the erosion of Medicare HMO coverage for seniors. He is working with Inland medical groups and senior health plans to press Congress this spring for higher Medicare HMO payments that would keep senior health plans in such places as the Inland region. Medicare's HMO payments vary by county, prompting many plans this year to raise costs or cut benefits to Inland seniors -- or leave the region altogether. "We're right on the cusp of where, next time, they (Medicare HMOs) will cut Riverside and San Bernardino counties," Bangasser said. "That's the kind of stuff that we constantly have to be aware of at the state level and federal level so we don't lose programs like that." Bangasser also hopes to resolve some of the major issues dividing health plans and physicians, including conflicts over how much the plans reimburse doctors for patient care. "I'd like to see things moving forward. We'll never always agree on everything, but there is common ground, and we need to multiply on that," he said. A family physician with Beaver Medical Group in Redlands, Bangasser has long been active in state and national medical associations. Most recently, he was speaker of the California Medical Association's House of Delegates, the organization's policy-making arm. In some respects, Bangasser is an unlikely choice to lead an organization that over the past few years has battled health insurance companies over economics and patient-care decision making. Bangasser is vice board chairman of Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit health insurer whose offerings include a health maintenance organization. He sits on the board of the Integrated Healthcare Association, a policy board of employers, insurance companies, health-care providers and consumers that is devoted to improving how managed care works. He also has worked with the Pacific Business Group on Health, an employers' cooperative that has pushed to contain health-care costs and improve quality. Praise for physician Friends and colleagues describe Bangasser as a low-key consensus builder whose ascension reflects the diversity of views within the nation's largest state medical association. "He's not like many other guys who go into medical politics, who are very pushy. He's very soft-spoken and tries to build consensus," said Dr. Dev. Gnanadev, past president of the San Bernardino County Medical Society. Dr. Jeff Rideout, chief medical officer for Blue Shield of California, agrees. "Ron, as a human and a professional, is always looking for constructive solutions," Rideout said. "He will be good for medicine in California and good for patients." Friends say Bangasser's commitment to organized medicine is reflected in his willingness to give his frequent-flier tickets to medical students so they can attend state and national medical association events. "He so much wants young medical students who are not even doctors yet to understand a commitment to medicine when they go into practice," said Dolores Green, executive director of the Riverside County Medical Association. Originally from Illinois, Bangasser settled in the Inland region when he served a residency at San Bernardino County Medical Center. He set up a solo family medical practice in Yucaipa, then joined a small medical group. In 1993, he joined Beaver Medical Group, where he later became medical director. He is currently director of external affairs for the group and tends patients at Redlands Community Hospital's wound-care clinic. For relaxation, Bangasser teaches scuba diving with his wife, Susan, a chemistry professor at San Bernardino Valley College. "We have very, very custom courses. We fit it around all of our schedules," he said. "We have a good time and so do the students." Over the next three years, Bangasser expects to spend about half his time working on California Medical Association business. "I won't give up seeing patients. That's what I always went into medicine to do," he said. Reach Douglas E. Beeman at (909) 368-9549 or dbeeman@pe.com
Next Article Back to News/Articles Page

For more information, call us at (909)-335-4131.

Back to Education Main Page