Bill that would increase Medi-Cal rates wins unanimous committee vote A California Assembly bill that would raise California’s Medicaid (Medi-Cal) reimbursement rates for providers took its first step through the state legislature on April 14, receiving unanimous approval from the Assembly Health Committee. Under AB 366, authored by Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), dramatic improvements would be made in the Medi-Cal system by restoring cuts made to Medi-Cal reimbursement rates, then raising them to Medicare levels. California is currently 47th in the country’s Medicaid reimbursement rates. Luther F. Cobb, M.D., president of the California Medical Association, testified in support of the bill, ... April 23, 2015 Medi-Cal State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy, Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
How will SGR reform affect Medicare reimbursement? On April 14, Congress passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015. The law eliminates the 21 percent physician fee cut that was scheduled to take effect on April 1 as part of the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will immediately begin work to implement the new provisions of the law. In preparation for the possibility that Congress might not act before the April 15 deadline, CMS had instituted a 10-business day processing hold for all impacted ... April 23, 2015 Medicare Legislative Advocacy, Medicare, SGR, Sustanable Growth Rate, Federal Legislation 0 0 Comment Read More »
On 60th anniversary of polio vaccine, physicians support bill to expand vaccines Senate Bill 277 is built on science and will keep kids and communities safe from preventable diseases. Sacramento – As Sunday marked the 60th anniversary of Dr. Jonas Salk’s creation of a vaccine for polio, California Medical Association (CMA) President Luther Cobb, M.D., issued the following statement: “None of us practicing medicine today are old enough to have lived through the first major U.S. polio epidemic, which occurred in 1894, or the first large-scale outbreak in 1916, which resulted in 6,000 deaths. Those trends unfortunately continued, and into the 1940s ... April 14, 2015 General Immunization, Public Health, State Legislative Advocacy, Vaccination, I Heart Immunity 0 0 Comment Read More »
CHDP group providers must re-attest by April 17 to receive ACA primary rate increase The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has experienced various difficulties issuing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) primary care rate increase funds on Child Health and Disability Prevention (CHDP) Program claims. Most recently, the California Medical Association learned that CHDP providers practicing as part of a group would be required to re-attest as a group to get paid. Previously, physicians had been instructed to only attest as individuals. DHCS issued an updated “NewsFlash” on March 30 to explain the additional steps that will be required. Groups and clinics that ... April 14, 2015 General Affordable Care Act, CHDP, Child Health and Disability Prevention Program, ACA 0 0 Comment Read More »
Save Lives California announces package of tobacco-related legislation Save Lives California, a coalition supported by the California Medical Association (CMA), joined local lawmakers at the state Capitol to announce a broad, multi-legislative effort with a single unifying goal: Saving lives from the public health threat posed by Big Tobacco. The effort revolves around five bills in the state legislature that would raise the tobacco tax by $2-per-pack (SB 591, Pan), help keep tobacco out of the hands of youth by raising the minimum age to 21 (SB 151, Hernandez), regulate e-cigarettes (SB 140, Leno), ban tobacco products in ... April 13, 2015 General Tobacco, Tobacco Tax, Legislative Advocacy, Public Health, Save Lives California 0 0 Comment Read More »
CDPH publishes health report, finds incidences of lung cancer, AIDS, teen births and infant mortality decline According to an April 6 report on state public health indicators by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), California has shown improvement in reducing infant mortality, AIDS, lung cancer and coronary heart disease. Released as part of national Public Health Week (April 6-12), the County Health Status Profiles 2015 report provides statewide and county-level data to help guide the course of health promotion and preventive services. “The stories told by these data are quite encouraging,” said CDPH Director and State Health Officer Karen Smith, M.D., “but we must remember ... April 10, 2015 General Department of Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Drought may have caused record-breaking year for West Nile virus activity in California The California drought may be responsible for a record-breaking year for West Nile virus (WNV) activity in 2014, according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). In 2014, California had the second-highest number of human cases of WNV since the virus first invaded California in 2003. In 2014, California recorded 801 cases of the potentially fatal disease. In 2005, CDPH detected 880 cases of WNV. The highest number of cases was in Orange County (263 cases) and the highest incidence occurred in Glenn County (35.3 cases per 100,000 population). It is ... April 10, 2015 General West Nile, Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
New CME Certification benefit from IMQ New! CME Certification subscribers now can view and print their CME transcripts. Click here for the CME Certification Log-In portal. IMQ offers physicians a convenient service to record and verify the AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ required by the Medical Board of California (MBC) for re-licensure. Each physician is responsible for maintaining CME records and must produce the documentation if audited. The Medical Board will accept IMQ verification of CME credits, with no additional documentation, for any physician using the CME Certification service. The CME Certification service is available to ... April 9, 2015 General Institute for Medical Quality, CME, Continuing Medical Education, IMQ 0 0 Comment Read More »
Sweeping series of bills takes on big tobacco to save lives in California Unprecedented multi-legislative effort puts forth five bills to curb youth tobacco use, rein in cost of smoking-related disease, and expand access to health care. Today, the Save Lives California coalition gathered with lawmakers at the California State Capitol to laud a sweeping series of recently introduced bills that take on Big Tobacco. Taken as a whole, these bills represent an unprecedented coordinated legislative effort in California to curb youth tobacco usage, regulate e-cigarettes, and save Californian lives and money, as well as expand access to health care for low-income Californians. ... April 9, 2015 General Smoking, Save Lives California, Tobacco 0 0 Comment Read More »
California has one of the lowest acceptance rates for new Medi-Cal patients A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that, in 2013, only 54 percent of California physicians accepted new Medi-Cal patients, a rate that is significantly lower than the national average of 68.9 percent. California has the second-lowest physician acceptance rate of new Medi-Cal patients, with New Jersey coming in last with 2013 acceptance rates of 38.7 percent. The report compared physician acceptance of new patients across payors, mainly focusing on Medicare and private insurance. The CDC found that the national average of physicians who ... April 8, 2015 Medi-Cal Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
