AMA and CMA efforts to secure adequate funding for GME continue In an effort to increase the number of medical residency slots and to help address the national physician shortage, delegates to the American Medical Association (AMA) renewed their support for alternative funding sources for graduate medical education (GME). AMA also adopted policy to explore additional funding models for GME beyond those examined in the Institute of Medicine’s 2014 report on GME governance and financing. Under the new policy, AMA will encourage insurance payors and foundations to enter into partnerships with state and local agencies, as well as academic medical centers ... December 7, 2015 General Graduate Medical Education, Physician Workforce, GME, Physician Supply 0 0 Comment Read More »
ACA results in $2.4 billion in consumer rebates since 2011 American consumers have received more than $2.4 billion in premium rebates since 2011 because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a recent report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) . The rebates are the result of the ACA provision that requires health insurance companies to spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars on health care. In 2014 over 5.5 million consumers received nearly $470 million in rebates, for an average of $129 per family. California consumers received approximately $98 million in rebates for a ... December 7, 2015 Managed Care Affordable Care Act, Medical Loss Ratio 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA urgers CMS to implement less burdensome, physician-led MACRA payment models The California Medical Association (CMA) is urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to adopt principles that will assure access to high-quality care for all Medicare patients during the transition to the alternative payment models included in the Medicare payment reform legislation. In April, President Obama signed into law the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), which repeals the badly broken Medicare sustainable growth rate formula and replaces it with new payment systems. After more than a decade of fighting for change by CMA and others in organized ... December 7, 2015 Medicare MACRA, Medicare, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
United Healthcare to delay Premium Designation assessment until January 2017 United Healthcare (UHC) has announced it will delay the next version of its Premium Designation physician quality and cost assessment program until January 2017. The program uses clinical information from health care claims to evaluate physicians against various quality and cost-efficiency benchmarks. Originally scheduled to publish its latest results in January 2016, UHC has stated it is delaying in order to allow for improvements to the quality measures and cost-efficiency metrics in response to feedback provided by physicians. This means that the currently posted ratings will remain in place through ... December 7, 2015 Managed Care Quality reporting, United Healthcare, Quality of Care 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: Nov. 24, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ripples across the pond The terrorist attacks in Paris have reverberated through the political world, changing the tenor and tone of the American presidential contest and setting off a debate in statehouses around the country about housing Syrian refugees. Gov. Jerry Brown has said he would like to see California maintain its “traditional role as a place of asylum,” breaking with other governors who have warned that admitting Syrian refugees ... December 7, 2015 General CMA Capitol Insight, Anthony York 0 0 Comment Read More »
DWC reinstates requirement to pay lien activation fees for Workers' Compensation claims The Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) recently announced that beginning November 9, 2015, the lien activation fees mandated under the Senate Bill 863 workers' compensation reforms will be reinstituted. This announcement comes in the wake of the Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals decision to uphold the constitutionality of the lien activation fees and subsequent dismissal of the preliminary injunction imposed as part of the Angelotti Chiropractic, Inc., et al. v. Baker, et al. case. Under this order, any affected lien claimant who files a Declaration of Readiness or appears ... December 7, 2015 General Workers' Compensation 0 0 Comment Read More »
San Bernardino County Medical Society expresses concern and condolences for shooting victims __________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Alison Elsner 909-273-6000-work, 760-413-5053-cell, aelsner@sbcms.org December 3, 2015 (San Bernardino County, CA.) – The San Bernardino County Medical Society and SBCMS President, Marti Baum, M.D., have issued the following statement in response to the shooting incident on December 2, 2015 in San Bernardino, California: “San Bernardino County Medical Society offers its heartfelt support and deepest concern for the victims and families involved in the tragic shooting incident in San Bernardino, California. We truly commend the heroic response from our local, county, state and federal law enforcement professionals as well as ... December 3, 2015 General Press Release 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA now accepting testimony for the first batch of year-round resolutions At the close of the California Medical Association (CMA) 2015 House of Delegates last month, new governance reforms took effect. One of the most significant changes to the bylaws allow for the submission of resolutions for debate and discussion throughout the year, rather than just once a year as was previously the case. This will allow CMA to be more nimble and effective in making decisions on critical issues that are important to physicians. CMA members are wasting no time availing themselves of the new year-round resolutions process. CMA has ... November 20, 2015 CMA House of Delegates, CMA Policy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Two flu deaths confirmed by CDPH The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) last week confirmed the season's first two flu-related deaths in California—one an infant less than six months old. The deaths serve as another somber reminder that influenza can cause serious illness or death. Influenza viruses circulate at their peak levels from December to April, according to CDPH, which is urging people to get vaccinated before the flu spreads widely. “As California’s public health officer, I am saddened when the flu turns into loss of life,” said State Public Health Officer Karen Smith, M.D. “It ... November 20, 2015 General Flu, Influenza, Public Health, Department of Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA supports ballot measure on hospital fee program to stabilize health care access for low-income residents The California Medical Association (CMA) has joined a broad coalition of health care providers and community groups in support of an initiative, the “Medi-Cal Funding and Accountability Act,” which will appear on the November 2016 ballot. The initiative would extend a critical hospital fee program in order to provide a stable source of health care funding to serve California’s most vulnerable citizens: children, seniors and low-income residents. The initiative builds on SB 239, an important and unanimous bipartisan agreement passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Jerry Brown in ... November 20, 2015 Medi-Cal Medi-Cal, Election, Political Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
