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 »
April is National Donate Life Month; physicians encouraged to talk to patients about the importance or organ donation n honor of Donate Life Month, the California Medical Association (CMA) and the CMA Foundation are encouraging physicians to talk to their patients about the importance of organ and tissue donation, particularly in underserved ethnic communities. More than 123,000 people are currently waiting for an organ transplant in the United States, with more than 22,000 living in California. Each day, an average of 150 people are added to the national organ transplant waiting list. Unfortunately, an average of 21 patients on the waiting list die each day. What you can do: Visit ... April 8, 2015 General Public Health, Organ Donation 0 0 Comment Read More »
Supreme Court limits avenues providers can use to sue states over Medicaid funding In March, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote, stating that individual health care providers cannot sue states under the Medicaid Act to challenge how states set reimbursement rates in their Medicaid programs. The California Medical Association (CMA) had filed an amicus brief in Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, which went to the Supreme Court last month to determine whether Medicaid providers have a cause of action under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution to challenge a state’s compliance with Medicaid laws in setting reimbursement ... April 8, 2015 Medi-Cal Medicaid, Medi-Cal, California Supreme Court 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA joins vaccine advocates to launch "I Heart Immunity" campaign in support of Senate Bill 277 The California Medical Association (CMA), American Academy of Pediatrics, California (AAPCA), California Immunization Coalition (CIC), Vaccinate California and Health Officers Association of California (HOAC) have joined forces to launch the “I Heart Immunity” campaign in an ongoing effort to promote the importance of vaccines and Senate Bill 277 (Pan/Allen). The bill would remove the personal belief exemption (PBE) option from the school and child care enrollment requirements. It would also require schools to publically provide information about their immunization rates. Removing the PBE will help protect the most vulnerable, including ... April 8, 2015 General Immunization, Personal Belief Exemption, Public Health, Vaccination, I Heart Immunity, State Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA updates physician guide to getting started with PQRS The California Medical Association (CMA) has just updated the “2015 PQRS and Value-Based Modifier Getting Started Guide,” free for physician members. The Medicare Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) was federally mandated by legislation and requires physicians to report quality information to Medicare or suffer a fee reduction in 2015. This guide will assist physicians in determining how to proceed with successful reporting. Contact: Michele Kelly, (213) 226-0338 or mkelly@cmanet.org. April 8, 2015 Medicare Physician Quality Reporting System, PQRS, Valued-Based Payment Modifier, Medicare 0 0 Comment Read More »
