UC Davis and CDPH conduct survey of physicians on CURES The opioid overdose epidemic in California has brought with it heightened interest in California’s Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES). Now, a new effort to understand CURES usage and controlled substance prescribing in California has begun under two multi-year grants to improve CURES and prevent prescription drug overdoses. As part of the grant project, the University of California, Davis, and the California Department of Public Health – in collaboration with the Medical Board of California – are conducting a physician survey to provide insight and information regarding the ... September 22, 2016 General CURES 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS eliminates penalties for first year of MACRA and offers "pick your pace" options The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on September 8 that it will allow physicians to choose the level and pace at which they comply with the new MACRA Medicare payment reforms. Participating at any level in 2017 will ensure that you will not be hit with payment penalties in 2019. The welcome announcement comes after the California Medical Association (CMA), American Medical Association (AMA) and other physician stakeholders urged CMS to ease the burdens and delay the first MACRA reporting period to give physicians more time to ... September 22, 2016 Medicare CMS, MACRA, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA urges CMS to recalculate practice expense data to reflect California's higher practice costs As required by law, at least every three years the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) adjusts payments under the Medicare physician fee schedule to reflect local differences in practice costs. In the proposed 2017 Medicare physician fee schedule, CMS made nationwide updates to the geographic practice cost indices (GPCI) based on new wage, rent and malpractice expense data. Unfortunately, according to CMS, the malpractice and practice expense GPCIs went down in nearly every region of California, which would result in a 0.48 percent GPCI payment reduction in all ... September 22, 2016 Managed Care, Medicare Fee Schedule, Geographic Practice Cost Index, GPCI, Medicare, Regulatory Advocacy, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Q4 council reports now available for comment The California Medical Association (CMA) has posted its fourth-quarter council reports online, part of the year-round (quarterly) policy-making process instituted at the close of the 2015 CMA House of Delegates. In August 2016, the fourth-quarter resolutions were opened for online testimony. At the close of the comment period, the testimony received was used to inform CMA's various councils, which then met and developed recommendations that will go before the Board of Trustees in October. These council reports are now available online and open for further comment and discussion until October 10, ... September 22, 2016 CMA House of Delegates 0 0 Comment Read More »
Learn patient communication skills for the End of Life Option Act On October 13, 2016, the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California (CCCC) is hosting a one-day interactive workshop, “California End of Life Option Act: Key Concepts and Skills for Providers.” The workshop will take place at the San Diego County Medical Society (5575 Ruffin Road, Suite 250) from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Workshop attendees will have the chance to review key aspects of the law and learn how it could impact providers and organizations. Attendees will also have the opportunity to practice conversation skills for engaging patients to ... September 22, 2016 General Physician Aid in Dying, End of Life Issues 0 0 Comment Read More »
Encourage your patients to participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Oct. 22 On this day, hundreds of locations throughout California will be accepting and properly disposing of unused prescription drugs, including controlled substances. Proper disposal of unused prescription drugs helps prevent diversion and misuse associated with these medications. This one-day event will provide patients with free, anonymous collection of unwanted and expired medicines. During the most recent Take Back Day in April 2016, more unused prescription drugs were turned in than on any of the previous take back events since the program began in 2010. California collected more than any other state ... September 22, 2016 General Prescription Drugs 0 0 Comment Read More »
Have you received a request to confirm provider directory information from BetterDoctor? The California Medical Association (CMA) has received an increasing number of inquiries over the past few weeks from practices concerned about the validity of requests for information from a company called BetterDoctor. SB 137, the new provider directory accuracy law, took effect July 1. The new law requires payors to ensure that their physician directories are accurate and up-to-date. BetterDoctor is a vendor working on behalf of 10 plans on a pilot project to ensure the accuracy of their physician directories, as required under the new law. Practices are encouraged ... September 22, 2016 Managed Care Health Insurance Exchange, Provider Directories, Provider Directory Accuracy Law, Exchange Plans 0 0 Comment Read More »
Webinar to provide overview of CHPI Physician Quality Rating Program With the California Healthcare Performance Information System (CHPI) publishing clinical quality ratings for approximately 13,000 California physicians later this year, physicians will soon begin receiving notices advising of their quality scores, along with information on how to access the review and corrections portal to confirm or correct their data. Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH) senior managers Emily London and Pete Sikora will present a webinar overview of the CHPI quality rating project, along with step-by-step instructions on how physicians can review their data for accuracy before the quality ... September 13, 2016 General CHPI, Quality Reporting 0 0 Comment Read More »
New CMA resource clarifies prohibitions on balance billing Medi-Medi patients The California Medical Association (CMA) often receives questions from physician members regarding the ability to collect the 20 percent that Medicare does not cover when the physician is not a Medi-Cal provider, but provides services to Medi-Medi (Medicare/Medi-Cal) patients. Both state and federal laws provide broad protections to such individuals and prohibit billing a Medi-Cal patient in most circumstances. Running afoul of these laws can put you at risk of a CMS audit and sanctions. CMA has created a new resource on this topic, “Ask the Expert: Billing Medi-Medi Patients,” ... September 13, 2016 Medi-Cal, Medicare Balance Billing, Medi-Cal, Medicare 0 0 Comment Read More »
IMQ offers FREE CME for online course on child abuse and neglect In an effort to prevent more childhood trauma, the Institute for Medical Quality (IMQ), a subsidiary of the California Medical Association, is offering a free online course to help physicians, nurses and mental health providers recognize and report child abuse and neglect. This interactive course, approved for 1.25 continuing medical education (CME) credits, was produced by the Child Abuse Prevention center in Sacramento, an international training, education, research and resource center dedicated to protecting children and building healthy families. The course is especially helpful for learning how to handle questionable ... September 13, 2016 General CME, Child Abuse, Continuing Medical Education, IMQ, Institute for Medical Quality 0 0 Comment Read More »
