Supreme Court sends contraceptive coverage under ACA case back to lower court On May 16, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an unsigned unanimous opinion announcing that it would not rule on the merits of the case regarding the contraceptive coverage requirement under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The move is seen as an effort to avoid a four-to-four deadlock. The Court instead vacated the judgments of the lower courts and instructed the courts to afford the parties an opportunity to arrive at compromise. The opinion instructs the courts to allow the parties sufficient time to resolve any outstanding issues between ... June 8, 2016 General Contraception, Legal Advocacy, United States Supreme Court, Affordable Care Act 0 0 Comment Read More »
Nominate an outstanding colleague for 2016 CMA service awards The California Medical Association (CMA) is accepting nominations for four service awards to be given at the association's annual House of Delegates in October. Compassionate Service Award The Compassionate Service Award honors a CMA member physician who best illustrates the association’s commitment to community and charity care. Eligible for nomination are physicians or physician organizations that have demonstrated a history of providing charity or donated care to communities within the state of California. Frederick K.M. Plessner Memorial Award This award honors a CMA member physician residing and practicing in California who best exemplifies ... June 8, 2016 Awards CMA Nominations, Important Deadline, Physician Leadership, Awards, House of Delegates 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA releases white paper on public health threat of flavored tobacco products The public health threat to youth and minority populations from smoking is climbing because of tobacco companies’ development and predatory marketing of new products such as candy and fruit flavored e-cigarettes, according to a new white paper published by the California Medical Association (CMA). Despite decades of policies and education about the deadly health toll of tobacco’s deadly, new products that appeal to young people and are falsely thought to be healthier have led to an uptick in the numbers of new smokers and in continued use among established smokers, ... June 8, 2016 General Public Health, Smoking, Tobacco, Electronic Cigarettes 0 0 Comment Read More »
Texas Medical Association joins CMA to urge U.S. education secretary to fix public service loan forgiveness program More than 40 physician and hospital organizations from California and Texas have joined the California Medical Association (CMA) in urging the U.S. Department of Education to correct an unjust denial of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness benefits to physicians in California and Texas because of conflicting state laws. Congress enacted the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program in 2007 in an effort to improve access to care by encouraging physicians to pursue careers working in nonprofit settings. Under the program, individuals can have their education loans forgiven after making 120 qualifying ... June 8, 2016 General Corporate Practice of Medicine, Medical School Loans, Corporate Bar 0 0 Comment Read More »
Deadline to register for CURES is July 1, 2016 Under California law, all individuals practicing in California who possess both a state regulatory board license authorized to prescribe, dispense, furnish or order controlled substances and a Drug Enforcement Administration Controlled Substance Registration Certificate (DEA Certificate) must register to use the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) by July 1, 2016. The California Medical Association (CMA) has compiled a list of educational materials to familiarize physicians with the registration process and key features of the newly upgraded system, CURES 2.0. These resources are available at www.cmanet.org/cures. Among the resources ... June 8, 2016 General Important Deadline, Webinars, CURES 0 0 Comment Read More »
Physicians advised to check enrollment status of pregnant patients insured by Covered California In April, news broke that nearly 2,000 pregnant women with Covered California health plans were automatically – and without their knowledge or consent – transferred from their exchange plan to Medi-Cal, even though they were supposed to have the option to stay with Covered California. The problem, attributed by Covered California partly to a computer glitch, can be traced to a recent policy change. Usually, consumers are placed in either Covered California or Medi-Cal based on their income, with no choice in the matter. But the rules are different for some ... June 8, 2016 Managed Care, Medi-Cal Covered California, Medi-Cal, Women's Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
The End of Life Option Act takes effect on June 9: What physicians and patients need to know On June 9, 2016, California will become the fifth state in the nation to allow physicians to prescribe terminally ill patients medication to end their lives. California's new "End of Life Option Act" permits terminally ill adult patients with the capacity to make medical decisions to be prescribed an aid-in-dying medication if certain conditions are met. Recognizing the complexity of this new law, the California Medical Association (CMA) has published legal guidance in a question-and-answer format intended to help physicians and patients understand and navigate the law's requirements. The ... June 8, 2016 General Health Law Library, Physician Aid in Dying, End of Life Issues 0 0 Comment Read More »
Opioids: CMA publishes safe prescribing resources for physicians The California Medical Association (CMA) has published a members-only resource page to provide physicians with the most current information and resources on prescribing controlled substances safely and effectively to relieve pain, while simultaneously reducing the risk of prescription medication misuse, addiction and overdose. The page includes both of CMA’s white papers on prescribing opioids, links to CMA’s health law library resources on the topic, the Medical Board of California’s "Guidelines on Prescribing Controlled Substances for Pain," a listing of continuing medical education courses and webinars on pain management and safe ... June 8, 2016 General Drug Prescribing, Opioids, CURES, Drug Abuse, PDMP, Prescription Drugs 0 0 Comment Read More »
Reminder: CMS meaningful use hardship exception deadline is July 1 Physicians should be aware that July 1, 2016, is the extended deadline for physicians to file hardship exception applications from the electronic health record incentive program meaningful use requirements. In mid-December 2015, Congress adopted a last-minute bill that gave the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) the authority to grant a blanket exception for all eligible physicians who applied for an exception from the 2015 meaningful use penalties. CMS reports the extension is being granted “so providers have sufficient time to submit their applications to avoid adjustments to their Medicare ... June 8, 2016 Medicare Meaningful Use, Medicare, Important Deadline 0 0 Comment Read More »
DHCS suspends planned passive enrollment for duals project The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced last week that it would not move forward with its planned annual passive enrollment of dual eligible beneficiaries under the Coordinated Care Initiative (CCI) after it received feedback from the California Medical Association (CMA) and 40 other stakeholders asking the agency to pursue enrollment strategies that support voluntary "opt-in" enrollment. Instead, DHCS said it will implement a voluntary "opt-in" enrollment effort beginning in July 2016. The new streamlined enrollment strategy will include mandatory Managed Medi-Cal Long-Term Supports and Services (MLTSS) plan enrollment. ... June 8, 2016 Managed Care, Medi-Cal, Medicare Medi-Cal, Medicare, Cal-MediConnect, Department of Health Care Services, Dual Eligible 0 0 Comment Read More »
