HMAConnect

Conversations at HMA is pleased to welcome our HMA Public Policy Committee (PPC). They will lead a focused discussion on the specific bills active in the state legislature that cover:

• Access to Primary Care
• Mitigating Federal Budget Cuts
• Covering Underinsured Patients
• The Primary Care Workforce - Quality of Care, Loan Repayment, and the Preceptor Tax Credit

Advocacy is one of the primary functions of HMA, and the Public Policy Committee invests an enormous amount of hours combing through bills, preparing testimonies, contacting fellow physicians, and speaking with state leaders.

Our panel for this Conversation:

Elizabeth Ann Ignacio, MD - PPC Chair

Christina Marzo, MD & Robert Carlisle, MD - PPC Vice Chairs

On December 18, 2025, a special edition of Conversations at HMA brought together representatives from Hawai'i's three largest healthcare providers: Hawaii Pacific Health (HPH), The Queen's Health Systems, and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii. These three thought leaders shared their assessment on Hawai'i's healthcare environment, how all providers affect its landscape, and their visions towards making healthcare accessible, equitable, and sustainable for Hawai'i's people.

They also discussed the potential affiliation between HPH and HMSA, and how this may impact our healthcare environment.

The panelists are:

Raymond Vara, Jr.
President & CEO, Hawaii Pacific Health

Jason Chang
President & CEO, the Queen's Health Systems

Edmund Chan
President, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals in Hawaii

Nadine Tenn Salle, MD
President, Hawaii Medical Association
Moderator

This episode of HMAConnect interviews Albert Newmann, Director of Hospital Services, and Sean Cervone, Family Services Coordinator, from Legacy of Life Hawai'i.

Legacy of Life Hawai’i is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization and the only organization in Hawai'i federally designated to recover organs and tissue for transplant. Legacy of Life Hawai`i works closely with our island hospitals to cultivate an understanding in our diverse communities that life is worth giving.

Our guest today is Dr. Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, Member of the American Medical Association’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Fryhofer, a board-certified physician of internal medicine, was elected as a trustee in June 2018 and served as chair of the board in 2022–23. A graduate of Emory University School of Medicine, Dr. Fryhofer also maintains a full-time general internal medicine private practice in Atlanta. Among her numerous positions, she has served as AMA’s liaison to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

In this episode of HMAConnect, we speak with Emily Carroll, Senior Attorney for the American Medical Association’s Advocacy Department, on the subject of prior authorization. In this position, Ms. Carroll provides legislative, regulatory and policy support to state and national medical specialty societies.  Her work centers on commercial payer practices and state health insurance reforms in support of patients and physicians. She received her law degree from the Chicago Kent College of Law, a Master of Social Work degree and Certificate in Health Care Administration and Policy from the University of Chicago, and her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan.

In this episode of HMAConnect, we speak with Dr. Michael Suk, Chair of the American Medical Association Board of Trustees. Dr. Suk shares his views on leadership in medicine, trends in healthcare delivery, collective bargaining for physicians, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the AMA.

This episode is a casual conversation with Kai Sternstein, Vice President - State Advocacy Resource Center for the American Medical Association.  Ms. Sternstein oversees the ARC staff attorneys' development and execution of strategies for achieving AMA goals through state legislation and regulation.

Today's podcast is an interview with Dr. Nadine Tenn-Salle. Dr. Tenn-Salle specializes in pediatrics and internal medicine, and is affiliated with both Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children and The Queen's Medical Center.

Dr. Tenn-Salle discusses her take on Hawaii's physician shortage, and her ideas for possible solutions to the problem.

Blair Tomlinson is the Sales and Marketing Director for MIEC. In business since 1975, MIEC is the first physician-owned professional liability insurer to service the western United States.  Being solely owned by its policyholders, MIEC is able to return any realized profits to policyholders in the form of dividend credits.

Mr. Tomlinson will share MIEC's views on access to care, the importance of private practice on rural health and telemedicine's ever-increasing role.

Dr. Kelley Withy is Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, and the Director of the Hawaii/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center (AHEC).  Her research focuses on health workforce assessment, health careers development, rural health, telehealth and substance use prevention. Dr. Withy is the primary physician workforce researcher in Hawaii and has developed the only statewide database of supply and demand for physician services as well as a statewide telehealth network.