Baltimore, MD - MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society, today called on Governor Ehrlich to condition any possible veto  of CareFirst reform legislation on the resignation of top company officials.

In a letter to Governor Ehrlich today, the head of Maryland's largest physician organization urged him to link any possible veto to the resignation of CareFirst Chairman Daniel Altobello and CEO William Jews.  MedChi also urged that any veto also be tied to a process in which the company's ownership and governance structure is kept the same until the General Assembly enacts new reform legislation that remedies defects which CareFirst now claims would result in a catastrophe for the company.

Responding to a May 13 letter to the Governor from Altobello, in which the CareFirst chairman predicted a series of perils for the company if the legislation is not vetoed, MedChi President, Catherine Smoot-Haselnus, M.D. noted that company officials were closely involved in every step of the General Assembly process in which the reform legislation was crafted and never raised the concerns which CareFirst now says should justify a veto.

"We submit that CareFirst leaders either lied to legislators during the bill hearings, or they are lying now, or both," wrote Dr. Smoot-Haselnus, a Salisbury ophthalmologist, in her letter to the Governor.  "Accordingly, we fully appreciate the uncertainty and risk that attend the decision which you now must make...Because CareFirst leadership has utterly no credibility, however, we believe firmly that regime change must be the sine qua non of any consideration you may give to a veto of this legislation."

MedChi has led opposition to CareFirst's conversion to a for-profit company and sale to WellPoint Health Networks in California.  The movement toward conversion began in earnest in the 2001 General Assembly, where MedChi was the sole voice in opposition to legislation promoted by CareFirst that would make it easier for the company to convert.  By the 2003 legislative session, MedChi's lone opposition had become a juggernaut of protest against plans by CareFirst officers to sell the company, enriching themselves in the process.

MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society, is a voluntary association of physicians, representing more that 7,000 physicians statewide in all medical specialties.  Its mission is to serve as Maryland's foremost advocate and resource for physicians, their patients and the public health.

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