Medical Certification Headway

[Jonathan Harger]

http://www.eaa.org/news/2014/2014-04-02_eaa-calls-faa-move-toward-rulemaking-on-medical-certification-a-good-initial-step.asp

The FAA announced this afternoon that it is working towards expanding medical self-certification and will begin the rulemaking process to expand the pool of pilots able to legally fly without a traditional medical certificate.
Progress!

[David Pavlich]

Looks like we're running into a 40kt headwind:

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/AMEs-Fight-Elimination-Of-Third-Class-Medical221803-1.html

David

[Bill Greenwood]

I wonder who this Mark Edsion who wrote the letter opposing the bill is and what are his qualifications or if he is a pilot and most of all , what is his financial interest?
When you look his name up on Google you get a psyco in N Y., a dentist, and a children's doctor. I don't see any that seem to have any aviation qualifications.

If this expert on other people's ability to fly is in fact as medical doctor, I wonder if he has a flawless record and history.

And maybe the doctor should attend Airventure this year to defend his claim in person in a pubic meeting.

[MEdwards]

You have to spell his name right to get accurate info from Google or the FAA database. Dr. Mark Eidson is a family practitioner and AME from Weatherford, Texas.

You're always going to get resistance from the "union." And no matter how many of us say this can be done without reducing safety (which is what I said in my letters), somebody is always going to come up with statistics that say otherwise. That's why we need to support EAA and AOPA with the resources and the smart lawyers and letter writers who can come up with statistics and objective arguments that support our position.

Mike E

[Bill Greenwood]

Mike , you are of course correct on my spelling error.
I am sad to say he is a U. of Texas graduate as I am, though I'm not a doctor.
Looking him up on Google, I find that he has a rating of 2 stars out of 5, so if 5 is a 100 % he only gets 40%. I think my flying is better than 40% and I sure hope any doctor I go to is better than 40%. To be fair, this 2 star rating is based on only one review so may not carry much weight.

[vaflier]

I wonder who this Mark Edsion who wrote the letter opposing the bill is and what are his qualifications or if he is a pilot and most of all , what is his financial interest?
When you look his name up on Google you get a psyco in N Y., a dentist, and a children's doctor. I don't see any that seem to have any aviation qualifications.

If this expert on other people's ability to fly is in fact as medical doctor, I wonder if he has a flawless record and history.

And maybe the doctor should attend Airventure this year to defend his claim in person in a pubic meeting.


Clearly he has a financial interest in the status quo. He may well lose a lot of income if he is no longer giving flight physicals. I wonder how many he performs in a given year and at what rate. For that matter all AME doctors will lose income and while I do not by any means believe most Doctors do this just for the money I am sure most will at least have to consider the impacts to their practice. All that I have met over the years were pilots and clearly loved aviation but they are people just the same and when you mess with someones income it gets personal quickly.

[tspear]

I know about a half dozen AMEs. All charge enough to cover costs, not to make any money.
I am sure there are others who do it for a living, but many who are pilots seem to do it to help other pilots.

Tim

[lnuss]

...but many who are pilots seem to do it to help other pilots.

That's the most prevalent attitude that I've seen among AMEs. I even had one who retired from medical practice, but still came in on occasion to do flight physicals -- a very helpful man.

[Joe LaMantia]

I have had two AME's since living in Ohio. The first was a Private Pilot who flew a Skyhawk and his son is a ATP Captain for American Airlines. He continued the AME thing after retirement by holding office once a week from 5:00PM to 7:00PM for several years. My current AME is in a partnership practice with another doctor, both are Private Pilots. He said his rates just cover costs, but he does get a tax credit that helps offset his hanger fees. He charges $125 for the Third Class and $100 for the "off-year" when he just reviews and submits my required "Special Issuance" paperwork. Typically the 3rd Class takes about 20 minutes, half of it is paperwork, but that has improved in recent years thanks to the FAA and the "on-line" application. This office is in suburban Dayton and has two full-time employees in addition to the doctors. I have a hard time seeing any big financial motivation here, these guys are specialists that focus on pulmonary issues, that is where they make their $$$. I've never met any AME who just focused on flying physicals to make his living. Given the structure of medical schools and the associated costs, the idea that someone would spend 6 years in Med school and another 2 or 3 in a "residency" program so he could spend his career as a AME seems very unlikely.

Joe
:cool:

[Bill Greenwood]

Joe, I don't know what this doctor charges for a physical , but I don't see that the amount charged is the main point.
The story here is that we, EAA, AOPA, and others have a bill before congress that would make flying cheaper and simpler for many general aviation pilots. The bill has good sponsorship and support and as for as I know the only significant opposition to the bill comes from this doctor.
Joe, have you read his letter?
Do you agree with his position or his letter?
If his motive in not financial in some way, and I could think of other things than how much he charges patients, then what else would be behind his push to make flying harder for many pilots?
There are no persuasive statistics that support the necessity of a 3rd class medical for the lower end of gen aviaiton, in fact the stats point the other way.

[Kevin O'Halloran]

35 years ago Oklahoma had over 200 MEs
now we have less than 30
with the requirements the feds are putting on them (having to go to OKC for training) its going to be very hard to find one in the future
Kevin

[Bill Greenwood]

As I wrote I don't think that the amount a doctor charges for an FAA medical exam is the most relevant part of this question, but here the only FAA cert ame in town charges $335. The annual physical that I do with my regular doctor who is not an ame is $440, and I think a bargain at that price.
The man who was my FAA doctor for 30years just retired. I also have my regular doctor who is not an ame. I asked him if he considered becoming an ame and he said he would have to go to Ok City for the week of training and he was just too busy to do that.

[jjhoneck]

I must say, I find the reverence with which y'all speak of AMEs to be mildly disturbing.

Doing 3rd class medicals for pilots is a make-work business for doctors who are looking to make a quick and easy, government-mandated buck. In three different states I have yet to find one that accepts anything other than cold, hard cash for these exams -- which reveals a thing or two about their true motives.

My current AME is a very nice gentleman, and a pilot to boot, but I have no preconceived notions about his motives. He's doing flight physicals to keep avgas in his tanks, and I, for one, am tired of paying for it.

We would do well to think clearly about what is at stake here, and the profit motive behind the system. Anyone who is surprised that AMEs would oppose the elimination of the 3rd class medical is not seeing the issue as it truly is.

[Eagle Six]

My last 2nd class medical 6 months ago was $150.00. The AME charges $125.00 for 3rd class. Neither the staff or the AME took any shortcuts. At that price he isn't getting rich, and it may only be just enough to off-set expenses.


Best Regards.......George

[ssmdive]

An AME who is against this has only his checkbook in mind.

We are talking about a third class medical, not a pilot flying an Airbus full of passengers.

[TedK]

We can expect the AME community to fight this tooth and nail. According to this GAO report (http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/662389.pdf) on the FAA medical process, the Third Class Medical is over 60% of AME business.

[Mike Berg]

I don't think anyone is arguing about a $150 charge for the third class exam. It gets down to basically paying for something most of us already do on a regular basis. There was a time when I would get a yearly scheduled physical from my regular doctor (who also happened to be a ME), a school bus drivers physical ( should probably also include a 'mental' with that one) and my third class medical. At times I was able to combine one or the other but the clinic usually charged anyway. Now that I fly light sport a third class is not required and I have to decide whether or not I'm 'fit to fly'. Really isn't that complicated. All I'd like to do is possibly move up at some time to an aircraft that exceeds the 1320# GW and is a bit more weather and crosswind friendly than a Champ, Chief, Taylorcraft, etc.

[Bill Greenwood]

TedK, I read the GAO report but didn't see the part you are talking about. In thinking some more on it, I don't think it would say that doctors who are ame s get 60% of their revenue from 3rd class medicals. That would be astounding if true. What I guess the report likely said was that of all the medicals done, 3rd class is 60%.
Is that what the GAO says and what you meant?
Thanks