Looking to sharpen your advocacy skills? Attend a special presentation, “Advocacy in Action,” on Friday, Sept. 8, from 1 to 3 p.m., to hear directly from state lawmakers, physicians and the former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services deputy administrator and director during a live, in-person panel discussion during the 174th ISMA Annual Convention.
The free, two-hour CME session -- open to all ISMA members -- will feature Indiana Sen. Tyler Johnson, DO (R-Leo); Rep. Rita Fleming, MD (D-Jeffersonville); ISMA Vice Speaker Alexander Choi, MD; Rebekah Bernard, MD; and Brian Neale, JD.
The discussion, hosted by the new ISMA Advocacy Bootcamp, will offer 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Registration is required at
www.ismanet.org/AdvocacyInAction.
Sen. Tyler Johnson, DO
Dr. Johnson was elected in 2022 to represent Hoosiers in Senate District 14, which includes portions of Allen and DeKalb counties. He serves on the Senate committees on Education and Career Development; Elections; Family and Children Services; and Health and Provider Services.
In his community, Dr. Johnson serves as the director of emergency medicine, chief of staff and on the board of directors for a local hospital. He represents emergency physicians in Indiana by working with hospitals and legislators to improve patient safety and access to care.
In this year’s legislative session, Dr. Johnson authored six bills that were signed into law, including Senate Enrolled Act 275 (Practice of medicine terms) and Senate Enrolled Act 480 (Gender transition procedures for minors).
Rep. Rita Fleming, MD
Dr. Fleming has represented Indiana House District 71, Clark County, since 2018. She is the ranking minority member of the Insurance Committee and serves on the Natural Resources and Public Health committees.
After graduating from Murray State University, Dr. Fleming earned graduate degrees from Vanderbilt University and the University of Louisville. She was first a registered nurse and then a nurse practitioner. After completing medical school and residency, she began a career as an OB-GYN and delivered over 7,000 babies at Louisville hospitals and Clark Memorial Hospital. She also taught medical students for nine years.
In the Statehouse, Dr. Fleming has authored and co-authored dozens of health care-related bills over the years.
Alexander Choi, MD
Dr. Choi has lived in the Indianapolis area for more than 40 years after his family immigrated from South Korea when he was 7 years old. He graduated from Lawrence North High School and then attended Harvard University, where he received a B.A. in history. He then attended Indiana University School of Medicine, where he earned his MD.
During this time, he also earned two master’s degrees as well as an MPH from Indiana University and Purdue University. After completing his residency in anesthesiology at the IU School of Medicine, Dr. Choi joined Anesthesia Consultants of Indianapolis, eventually becoming president and managing partner before the firm was acquired by IU Health. Dr. Choi is currently the president/CEO of Choi Consulting Group.
Dr. Choi is a past president of the Indiana Society of Anesthesiologists and a past district trustee and current vice speaker of the Indiana State Medical Association. He is also the vice chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologist Committee on Government Affairs and the past chair of the ASA Practice Management Conference.
Rebekah Bernard, MD
Dr. Bernard, who is also headlining the wellness CME discussion, is a family physician and the author of four books: “Patients at Risk: The Rise of the Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant in Healthcare,” “How to Be a Rock Star Doctor,” and “Physician Wellness: The Rock Star Doctor’s Guide,” and “Imposter Doctors: Patients at Risk.” She is a national speaker on physician wellness and practice management.
Following residency, Dr. Bernard served for six years at a federally qualified health center in Immokalee, Florida, as a National Health Service Corps Scholar. She then worked for a large outpatient hospital group for five years before opening her own practice, which she converted to a direct primary care practice in July 2016.
Brian Neale, JD
Brian Neale is the former deputy administrator and director for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Prior to working for CMS, Neale served as the executive director for the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee after spending some time as the deputy staff director for the department.
Neale was also previously the health care policy director for the office of former Gov. Mike Pence and was the legislative director for Pence’s congressional office prior to that. He is a 2001 graduate of Indiana University Bloomington and earned his JD in 2007 from the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law.