The meeting of the Riverside County Medical Association Board of Councilors was called to order on Monday, Dec. 5, 2005, at 7 p.m. by President Mahesh Gupta, MD.

Lawrence Clark, MD, reviewed the current membership report, which reflected a subtotal of 747 active members and a grand total of 1,032 members in all categories. The numbers reflected a positive growth of 10 active members compared with the same period the prior year.

Riverside County Public Health Officer Gary Feldman, MD, discussed the information included in the meeting packet concerning the Riverside County medical marijuana ID Card program, which is up and running effective Dec. 1. Responding to a question concerning liability in the prescribing of medical marijuana, Dr. Feldman stated that the District Attorney and Sheriff's office reserve the right to verify that ID cards are bona fide, but there is no state liability in the prescribing of medical marijuana.

Inland Empire Health Plan Chief Medical Officer Brad Gilbert, MD, reported that the IEHP and RCMA have been working together to clarify and solve an issue raised concerning specialty panel coverage for IEHP patients at Riverside Community Hospital.

Tarek Mahdi, MD, reported that the next meeting of the Inland Empire Palliative Care Coalition was scheduled for Dec. 7, and the main goal is to increase membership and participation. Letters of invitation were mailed to chiefs of staff and CEOs of all hospitals in both Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The coalition is planning a full-day CME program on palliative care in May.

Dr. Gupta thanked the board for its support over his year as president, saying he enjoyed the activities and working for organized medicine. He offered a special thank you to A.R. Silva, MD, who was instrumental in bringing him into organized medicine many years ago. Then, Dr. Gupta asked each board member to mentor other physicians to get them more involved in organized medicine, thereby developing continuing leadership for RCMA.

RCMA Executive Director Dolores Green reported that she attended a Norcal board meeting, and that for the first time, the Inland Empire will be included in dividend distribution. Norcal has announced a $10 million dividend distribution for all policyholders, which will be reflected in premium reductions for the second, third and fourth quarter billings for 2006.

Green also discussed Dr. Feldman's November announcement that additional Maddy funds had been allocated following an audit. The RCMA Executive Committee met and determined the additional $375,000 allocation would be spread out over the next three quarters.