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CMA attends California Democratic, Republican Party Conventions to showcase health care efforts

The California Medical Association (CMA) sent a large contingent of physicians, medical students and staff to the California Democratic Party Convention in Los Angeles, March 7-9. As the trial lawyers are major Democratic party financial contributors, our presence was critical to the ongoing battle over the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA).   Joining the group of 3,000 California Democratic delegates and guests, CMA’s physicians and medical students, donning their crisp white lab coats, had a major presence. Roaming the halls, lining the backs of caucus rooms and speaking to delegates, ...

IMQ launches online course on reporting child abuse and neglect

The California Medical Association Institute for Medical Quality (IMQ) is offering a new online course to prepare physicians for identifying and reporting suspected cases of child abuse and neglect. This program, "Mandated Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect," is offered through a joint partnership with the Child Abuse Prevention Center, an international training, education, research and resource center dedicated to protecting children and building healthy families. Participants can earn 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Click here  to register.   IMQ Online Education provides access to courses for AMA PRA Category ...

Free webinar on new Medi-Cal alcohol screening and prevention benefit

Primary care physicians are invited to attend a free webinar that will cover a new Medi-Cal benefit for individuals with alcohol use disorders, as well as those who are at risk of developing these disorders. The webinar, 12 to 1 p.m. on Monday, March 24, will be presented by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) in partnership with Alcohol Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) experts from the University of California, Los Angeles and L.A. Care Health Plan.   Participants will learn more about the SBIRT benefit, ...

CMS suspends RAC audits, sets up physician safeguards

Physicians and hospitals will get a short reprieve from Medicare’s recovery audit contractors (RAC) until next fall, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The agency says it is temporarily halting audits as it reevaluates its contracts and implements improvements for physicians. The RAC program is responsible for identifying fraud and waste in the Medicare system by detecting improper Medicare payments.   Last month, CMS announced it would pause any new additional document requests (ADR) from RACs until new contracts are settled, in order to reduce provider confusion ...

Medicare ICD-10 front-end testing week extended

Due to the success of the first week of ICD-10 testing, Noridian has partnered with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to continue acceptance testing for EDI submitters and vendors for an indefinite period.   The purpose of acceptance testing is to ensure that base system functionality and front end editing have been updated for ICD-10 and are functioning correctly. Acceptance testing will help ensure you are ready for the October 2014 implementation of ICD-10.   The California Medical Association (CMA) encourages all direct EDI submitters and vendors to test with Noridian. ...

House-passed SGR repeal with mandate penalty delay is DOA

In a 238-181 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives today passed HR 4015, a bill to repeal the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) and put in place a replacement payment system with an amendment offered by House Republican leaders that would pay for the repeal through a five-year delay of the Affordable Care act's individual mandate penalty.   Though cheered by House Republicans, the legislation is viewed as "dead on arrival" by policy analysts and health care providers, as its defeat in the U.S. Senate is a near certainty. The move ...

Report says CURES database provisions in MICRA ballot measure cannot be implemented

Today, the Patients, Providers and Healthcare Insurers to Protect Access & Contain Health Costs campaign released a report that raises serious doubts about whether a key provision of the trial lawyers' proposed anti-MICRA ballot measure can be feasibly implemented.   Even worse, according to the report, the ballot measure would put physicians and pharmacists in the impossible position of choosing between denying or delaying needed prescription medication to legitimately suffering patients and violating the law.   In addition to more than quadrupling MICRA's cap on non-economic damages, the trial attorneys' proposed initiative would ...

CMS wants your input on practice transformation

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is asking physicians to respond to a questionnaire about the resources physicians will need to make the transition to value-based models of care that can better serve their patients. Comments are due April 8.   “We understand you’re trying to run a practice and do a lot of other things, and you’re going to need a lot of support,” CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner said last week when she announced the request for information during the American Medical Association’s (AMA) National Advocacy Conference in Washington, ...

Medi-Cal offers billing seminars April 22 and 23 in Anaheim

Throughout the year, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) offers in person Medi-Cal training seminars, designed for providers and billing staff at all levels. The next two seminars are scheduled for April 22 and 23, 2014, at the Anaheim Convention Center.   These seminars cover the following topics: Changes to Medi-Cal billing ICD-10 overview Basic and advanced billing issues Provider-specific billing questions Specialty programs such as California Children’s Services/Genetically Handicapped Persons Program For more information or ...

New Member Benefit: Members save 50% on DaisyBill RBRVS Calculator

The California Medical Association (CMA) is pleased to announce a new valuable benefit for CMA members – 50 percent off DaisyBill’s workers' compensation RBRVS Calculator, plus a special introductory rate of 80 percent off through the end of June. That works out to $9.80 per user per month until June, then $24.50 per month thereafter.    With DaisyBill’s calculator, you can quickly and easily determine the correct reimbursement amount for workers’ compensation medical services. This is time and money saving benefit will help physician practices make sense of California’s new ...