The Southern California Physician, April, 2002

Medical Society News & Information

Lawrence Klein, M.D.
1908 - 2002

SBCMS retired member Dr. Lawrence Klein passed away at home in Boulder City, Nevada on January 23, 2002 at the age of 93.

Dr. Klein graduated with his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine in 1934. He interned at St. Luke Hospital, Jacksonville, Florida in 1935. Dr. Klein served in the U.S. Army during World War II in North Africa, the European theatre, and the Army of Occupation in Germany as a Lieutenant Colonel. He came to California in 1962 to practice in Los Angeles and joined the Los Angeles County Medical Association that year. In 1974, he moved to San Bernardino and transferred his membership to SBCMS. Dr. Klein specialized in disability evaluations, and he was a consultant for Workman's Compensation claims. He retired from practice in 1981. He is survived by his wife, Phyllis Klein.

Robert C. Rosenquist, M.D.
1921-2002

SBCMS has that Robert C. Rosenquist, M.D. passed away at the age of 81. He was a member of SBCMS for 50 years and a charter member of the Inland Society of Internal Medicine.

A native of Madison, Wisconsin, Dr. Rosenquist served in the U.S. Army 1942-1951 and rose from private to the rank of Captain. He graduated in medicine from the College of Medical Evangelists (Loma Linda University School of Medicine) in 1945. He interned at White Memorial Hospital, Los Angeles and served residencies at Birmingham General Veterans Hospital, Van Nuys and Long Beach Veterans Hospital from 1946 to 1950. He was board certified in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology in 1972 and 1974.

Dr. Rosenquist was attending physician at the Loma Linda University Medical Center and Chief of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Hospital. He was Professor of Medicine at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. He retired from practice in 1994.

CMA/AMA Capitation Guide

The CMA Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the unveiling of a new CMA/AMA publication entitled, "Benchmark Capitation Rates: The Physician's How-to Guide for Calculating Fee-for-Service Equivalents." It was developed in partnership with the AMA and the actuarial firm of MMC Enterprise Risk Consulting, Inc. Two CMA physicians, CMA President-Elect and SBCMS member Ron Bangasser, M.D. and Ted Mazer, M.D., Chair, Committee on Medical Services, gave their valuable expertise to the project.

This guide is intended to assist physicians in evaluating the viability of the rates offered by health plans. It also provides important national and state benchmarks for translating fee-for-service rates into capitation rates. The guide is available FREE to all CMA or AMA members through their websites, www.cmanet.org or www.ama-assn.org. Physicians may also contact the AMA at (800) 621-8335 or CMA at (800) 882-1262.

Lower Phone Charges For So Cal Physicians Billing Medicare
Responding to CMA's requests that physicians in Southern California should not have to make long-distance calls to submit Medicare claims electronically, NHIC, California's Medicare carrier, now has two 213 area code lines that began operating on March 1. The problem emerged a year ago when NHIC became the carrier for the entire state rather than just Northern California.

The Southern California number for physicians in San Bernardino and Riverside counties is 213-593-6948. You may also continue to use 530-832-6550.

If you do not know how to change the number in your Medicare billing system, contact your software vendor or programmer for assistance. If you have any questions regarding the new 213 numbers, contact EDI technical support staff in Southern California at 213-593-6950.

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