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Date: March 10, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Anne Verano, HCFA (202) 690-6145
The new chairman is Kenneth M. Viste Jr., M.D., from Oshkosh, Wis., who has been a council member since March 1994. He will serve a two-year term as chairman.
Viste replaces Richard B. Tompkins, M.D., from Rochester, Minn., who has led the council since its inception in 1992. Tompkins will continue to participate on the council.
The new appointees, who were selected from more than 80 nominees, are Richard A. Bronfman, D.P.M., Little Rock, Ark.; Ardis Dee Hoven, M.D., Lexington, Ky.; and Marc A. Lowe, M.D., Seattle, Wash. Members are appointed to four-year terms.
They replace three members whose terms expired on Feb. 28: Isabel V. Hoverman, M.D., Austin, Texas; William D. Kirsh, D.O., Miami, Fla.; and Kenton K. Moss, M.D., Algona, Iowa.
Gary C. Dennis, M.D., a neurosurgeon from Washington, D.C., has been reappointed for another term.
"The three new members are providers who have given high-quality care for many years to Americans living in urban areas," said Secretary Shalala. "I look forward to working with them and chairman Dr. Viste, who treats patients living in a rural region of Wisconsin. The advisory council provides valuable input into improving the department's regulatory process."
"Dr. Viste is following in the footsteps of Dr. Tompkins, who from the start has provided excellent leadership for the council," said Secretary Shalala.
"These three talented individuals, who are new to the council, are joining with others in taking time away from their busy practices to help simplify the process of bringing quality health care to Medicare beneficiaries," said Bruce C. Vladeck, administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration.
The 15-member council, established by Congress, meets quarterly to advise the HHS Secretary on proposed changes in regulations and carrier manual instructions that relate to physicians' services under Medicare.
Under the law, the advisory council must include both Medicare participating and nonparticipating physicians, and physicians practicing in rural and underserved urban areas. All members must have submitted at least 250 claims for physician services under Medicare in the previous year.
At least 11 members must be physicians licensed to practice medicine and surgery by the state in which they practice. The other four members may include dentists, podiatrists, optometrists and chiropractors.
Viste, who has a private practice in neurology, is president-elect of the American Academy of Neurology and a former president of the State Medical Society of Wisconsin. He currently serves as the medical director of the neurorehabilitation units of several central Wisconsin hospitals. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago.
Bronfman, a podiatrist, is a member of the Arkansas Medicare Physician Advisory Committee and has been president of the Arkansas Podiatry Examining Board since 1992. He is a past president of Arkansas Podiatric Medical Association and a member of the American Podiatric Medical Association's health care policy committee.
Bronfman is the team podiatrist at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and serves as a clinical advisor to the American Running and Fitness Association. He received a bachelor of science and a doctor of podiatric medicine from the Illinois College of Podiatric Medicine.
Hoven is a specialist in internal medicine with a subspecialty in infectious diseases and with a large practice in AIDS-related cases.
A former president of the Kentucky Medical Association, Hoven currently serves as a delegate to the American Medical Association and on the AMA's advisory committee on group practice. Since 1993, she has been a member of the Kentucky Governor's AIDS Policy Advisory Council and the Governor's Task Force on Domestic Violence.
Hoven received her medical degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. For the past 20 years, Hoven has been affiliated with the Lexington clinic's division of infectious disease. Dr. Hoven is the staff epidemiologist at Lexington's St. Joseph Hospital and on the consulting staff of several other Lexington hospitals.
Lowe, a urologist and a surgeon, received his bachelor's and medical degrees from the University of Nebraska, and is licensed to practice in Nebraska and the state of Washington. From 1984 to 1990, he did specialty training in urology at the University of Washington Medical School in Seattle.
Lowe is affiliated with the urology department of Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound in Seattle, the nation's oldest HMO. He is a member of the American Urological Association's western section and the Northwest Urological Society.
Dennis, a board-certified neurosurgeon and fellow of the American College of Surgeons, is a graduate of the Howard University College of Medicine, the current chief of Howard's division of neurosurgery and attending physician in D.C. General Hospital's department of surgery.
Among his numerous community activities, he has been an advisory council member of the Medical Care for Children's Project, the local chairman of the Physicians Committee of the United Way and a member of the Mayor's Commission to Oversee the Medical Examiner's Office. His memberships include the American Medical Association, the National Medical Association, the Medical Society of the District of Columbia, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.
The other nine council members are Catalina E. Garcia, anesthesiologist, Dallas, Texas; Harvey P. Hanlen, optometrist, State College, Pa.; Kenneth D. Hansen, ophthalmologist, Arlington, Va.; Sandral Hullett, family practice, Eutaw, Ala.; Jerilynn S. Kaibel, chiropractic, San Bernardino, Calif.; Marie G. Kuffner, anesthesiologist, Los Angeles, Calif.; Katherine L. Markette, radiation oncologist, Missoula, Mont.; Isadore Rosenfeld, cardiologist, New York, N.Y.; and James C. Waites, family practice, Laurel, Miss.