KVMA
SPRING/SUMMER 2018 2018 KVMA
EXECUTIVE BOARD OFFICERS
Dr. Doug Peterson, President
Dr. Jennifer Quammen, President Elect
Dr. Bonnie Barr, Vice President
Dr. Walter G. Haines, ABVP, Immediate Past President
Dr. Andrew Roberts, Secretary/Treasurer
Louise Cook,
Executive Director Kentucky
Veterinary News Published By Te
Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association
Dr. Kristan Hodges, Editor
Contact KVMA:
Phone: 800-552-KVMA (5862)
Fax: 502-226-6177
www.kvma.org
Kentucky President’s Message
I recently returned from Auburn’s 111th College of Vet- erinary Medicine graduation. I am still as impressed with
the education our Kentucky students receive from Auburn as I was 31 years ago at my own graduation. I just wish there was a way to convince the legislators for the state of Kentucky of the value that we receive for the dollars the state spends yearly. As of the close of this last legislative session our contract spaces at Auburn and Tuskegee are fully funded for the next two years, but the legislature has asked that a working group be formed by the Council on Postsecondary Education to explore the establishment of a forgivable loan program vs the current program. Dr. Phil Prater will be the KVMA’s representative to the working group along with 12 other individuals from various producer groups. Te KVMA will do all that we can to act in the best interest of Kentucky veterinary students. In the 65+ years that the cooperative agreement has existed 1,715 Kentucky students at Auburn have benefited under this program.
Legislatively, 2018 started out looking like there would not be a lot that would affect veterinarians and for the most part most legislation went our way. We are ex- empt from SB6 which originally would have required veterinarians to dispense with every control drug prescription a substance that the owner could use to neutralize the unused portion of the prescription and make it safe for disposal. HB327 was passed and signed into law and gives the Department of Health the ability, starting 7/1/2019, of setting a fee for how much veterinarians will be allowed to charge for a rabies vaccine when doing a health department sponsored clinic. Te old fee was $5.00 and it was set in 1978 and had not been adjusted since the original bill was passed.
As I am sure most everyone is aware by now, the legislature introduced a bill on the floor on April 2, 2018 which included a 6% sales tax on small animal veterinary ser- vices. Te bill was hammered out in the dark of night with no advance notice to the KVMA or our lobbyist and in less than 12 hours it was passed and sent to the gov- ernor who vetoed it. But on April 13th the veto was overridden by the legislature. Since that time the KVMA has been working with the Revenue Cabinet to find out specifics about implementation of the law and we have been communicating them to our membership in a timely manner. While no one is happy about the sales tax, for now we are stuck with it until the next time the legislature is in session. We can at that time submit legislation to have it repealed. We encourage veterinarians to be proactive by calling your software providers to find out how to implement the tax in their practice management system.
Dr. Dan Givens and the KVMA have been involved in the implementation of the USDA NIFA Veterinary Services Grant. Te grant has allowed 18 senior veterinary
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR! September 28 - 30, 2018 ~ The Galt House Hotel, Suite Tower, Louisville, KY 107th Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association Annual Meeting and 45th Mid-America Veterinary Conference
Veterinary News From the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association
KVMA MISSION: TO PROMOTE, IMPROVE, AND ADVOCATE FOR THE VETERINARY PROFESSION.
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