CMA develops simple tool to identify physician participation status in exchange plans On January 1, 2014, Covered California began providing health coverage to more 500,000 patients statewide. With that figure expected to grow by the end of the 2014 open enrollment period, it is critical that physicians and their staff have a clear understanding of their exchange plan participation status so they can communicate this information to patients before scheduling. It’s equally as important that practices understand the reimbursement rates and other terms associated with the plans with which they are contracted. Even if you did not intentionally contract with any exchange ... January 27, 2014 General Covered California, Health Benefit Exchange, Insurance/Reimbursement, Health Care Reform 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS to conduct ICD-10 testing in March On October 1, 2014, the ICD-9 code sets used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures will be replaced by ICD-10 code sets. To help physicians prepare for this transition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a limited national testing week for current direct submitters (providers and clearinghouses) from March 3 - 7, 2014. This testing week will give trading partners access to the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and Common Electronic Data Interchange (CEDI) for testing with real-time help desk support. While participants will not be able ... January 27, 2014 General CMS, ICD-10, Insurance/Reimbursement 0 0 Comment Read More »
Legislative Leadership Conference coming April 22 Mark your 2014 calendars now for the 40th annual California Medical Association (CMA) Legislative Leadership Conference. The conference will take place at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento, just three blocks from the State Capitol and across the street from CMA headquarters. This is a unique event for California physicians and is free of charge to all CMA members. Plan to join more than 400 physicians, medical students and CMA Alliance members who will be coming to Sacramento to lobby their legislative leaders as champions for medicine and their patients. Prior ... January 27, 2014 General Legislative Leadership Day, State Legislation, Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Stepping up to leadership conference in San Diego Looking to escape the cold this winter? Don’t miss earlybird pricing for the Stepping Up to Leadership conference in sunny San Diego—these special rates expire January 31! The Stepping Up to Leadership program offered by the Institute for Medical Quality and the PACE Program at UC San Diego trains medical staff leaders in issues of communication, problem-solving, and improving outcomes for patients and staff. Stepping Up to Leadership offers unique hands-on and interactive learning opportunities, excellent faculty, and course work on effective staff leadership, credentialing and privileging, assessing the ... January 15, 2014 General Events, Leadership 0 0 Comment Read More »
Making sense of Medicare payment changes With the new 2014 fee schedule, the temporary halt to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) cut and an interim .5 percent payment increase, Medicare physicians are understandably confused about what impact these changes will have on their practices. Below is a quick summary of the various Medicare payment changes facing physicians in 2014: 2014 Fee Schedule: While the 2014 Medicare fee schedule contains a 3.7 percent conversion factor increase, the overall fee schedule is budget neutral due to myriad relative value unit (RVU) changes. These changes will impact providers differently ... January 14, 2014 Medicare Medicare, Insurance/Reimbursement 0 0 Comment Read More »
Medical board will collect CURES fees beginning April 1 The Medical Board of California announced it will soon begin collecting an additional $6 per year on physician license applications and renewals to fund the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES). The fees, authorized by SB 809, provide funding for ongoing maintenance and staffing of CURES. Physicians can expect to see an additional $12 ($6 per year) added to their licensing fees beginning April 1, 2014. CURES is an online database that allows authorized users, including physicians, pharmacists, law enforcement and regulatory boards, to access information about a ... January 14, 2014 General CURES, Medical Board of California, Quality of Care 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA fights to protect patient privacy in CURES prescription database The California Medical Association (CMA) has filed an amicus brief with the California Court of Appeal in Alwin Lewis, M.D. v. Superior Court of the State of California, asking the court to give meaningful privacy protection to patient data collected in the Controlled Substance and Utilization Review and Evaluation Systems (CURES) database. In this case, a Medical Board of California investigator testified that the board routinely obtains confidential prescribing records from CURES for all patients of physicians subject to medical board investigations, even where the complaint is unrelated to the ... January 14, 2014 General CURES, Legal Advocacy, Privacy, Advocacy, Amicus Briefs 0 0 Comment Read More »
DMV will only accept new DL 51 for commercial driver exams effective Jan. 1 Effective January 1, 2014, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will only accept the DL 51 form with a 1/2014 revision date as a valid medical examination report for commercial driver license holders. Exams performed before January 1 can still be submitted on the older forms (revision date of 1/2012 or newer). Also new this year, physicians who give DMV medical examinations will, beginning May 21, need to complete a federal accredited training and pass a certification test to continue to perform physical qualification examinations for truck and bus ... January 14, 2014 General Medical Examiner, Department of Motor Vehicles 0 0 Comment Read More »
Gov. Brown's proposed budget eliminates retroactive Medi-Cal cuts Governor Jerry Brown this morning announced that the State of California would not be moving forward with retroactive collection of a 10 percent cut to the Medi-Cal program, a win for physicians and patients in California. The announcement came as part of the governor's 2014-2015 fiscal year budget proposal. "The Governor’s budget demonstrates a clear understanding of the importance that California’s Medicaid (Medi-Cal) program has for the state’s poorest and most vulnerable patients," says Richard Thorp, M.D., president of the California Medical Association (CMA). “After voicing a commitment to expand ... January 14, 2014 Medi-Cal Medi-Cal, Insurance/Reimbursement 0 0 Comment Read More »
Reminder: SLR not accepting 2014 meaningful use attestations until April The California Department of Health Care Services reminds physicians that the State Level Registry (SLR) will not be accepting 2014 meaningful use attestations for the Medi-Cal Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program until April 1, 2014. This restriction only applies to 2014 meaningful use attestations. Physicians who are in the first participation year of the program and are adopting, implementing or upgrading (AIU) to a certified EHR rather than demonstrating meaningful use can submit 2014 AIU attestations beginning January 1, 2014. For more information, visit www.medi-cal.ehr.ca.gov. January 14, 2014 Medi-Cal Department of Health Care Services, EHR, Electronic Health Record, Meaningful Use, Health Information Technology 0 0 Comment Read More »
