Health care coalition joined by Sen. Hernandez, Assemblymember Bonta to reignite Medi-Cal legislation, reduce health care inequality Sacramento – Preceding today’s joint legislative informational hearing to address pitfalls within California’s Medicaid system (Medi-Cal), Senate Health Committee Chair Ed Hernandez and Assembly Health Committee Chair Rob Bonta joined health care providers, patients and advocates on the steps of the Capitol. Newly introduced, legislation to restore a 10 percent cut to Medi-Cal reimbursement goes a step further than in past efforts by proposing that Medi-Cal payments to providers be on par with what Medicare pays for the same services. “Expanding access to health care coverage, as we have done ... March 9, 2015 Medi-Cal State Legislative Advocacy, Timely Access, Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
Gallup poll finds U.S. uninsured rate at lowest level in seven years. According to a nationwide Gallup Poll, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has steadily reduced the number of people without insurance across the United States. The group conducted phone interviews (landline and cell) in 2013 and 2014, as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, with a random sample of 178,072 adults in 2013 and 176,702 adults in 2014. The survey found that the nationwide rate of uninsured adults declined from 17.3 percent in 2013 to 13.8 percent in 2014. The lowest uninsured rates continue to be primarily in the Northeast and ... March 9, 2015 Managed Care Insurance, Uninsured, Affordable Care Act 0 0 Comment Read More »
Bill to eliminate the use of tobacco products at California baseball venues introduced in Assembly A bill (AB 768) that would eliminate the use of all tobacco products – including smokeless tobacco – at all baseball venues in California in an effort to protect the health of players and to set an effective example for children was introduced Tuesday by Assemblymember Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond). A similar local measure was also introduced in San Francisco by Supervisor Mark Farrell. Public health advocates, including the California Medical Association (CMA) and youth baseball players, joined Assemblymember Thurmond and Supervisor Farrell at the respective announcements in Sacramento and San ... March 9, 2015 General State LEgislation, Tobacco, California Legislature 0 0 Comment Read More »
Medi-Cal deactivates some physicians in error On February 7, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) performed a periodic review of activity and deactivated all providers that had not billed Medi-Cal for 12 consecutive months. All deactivated providers were notified by letter of the deactivation of their record. On February 17, however, DHCS found that a small subgroup of providers, those with multiple locations under the same National Provider Identifier (NPI), were incorrectly deactivated due to a system error. Physicians who received a deactivation letter and believe they were deactivated in error should contact DHCS at ... March 9, 2015 Medi-Cal Medi-Cal Provider Enrollment, Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
Online tool that gives consumers average costs for over 70 medical procedures now live A new online tool that gives consumers an idea of the cost for several health care procedures went live last week. Launched by the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI), an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization, Guroo.com shows average amounts paid for over 70 common care episodes in most states, including much of California. Using data supplied by Aetna, Assurant Health, Humana and UnitedHealthcare, the website pulls cost information from the medical claims of more than 40 million U.S. residents. According to HCCI, the prices are averages of the total payments to ... March 2, 2015 General Insurance, United Healthcare, Aetna 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA leaders converge on Capitol Hill to advocate for Medicare fix This week, 25 California Medical Association (CMA) physician leaders were in Washington, D.C., as part of the American Medical Association’s Legislative Week to urge Congress to enact the bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would repeal the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) and institute a new payment system. The group also asked Congress to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, formerly known as Healthy Families, which is set to expire September 2015. Medicare SGR Last year, both houses of Congress were very close to a permanent repeal of the badly broken SGR ... March 2, 2015 Medicare Federal Legislation, Medicare, SGR, Advocacy, Sustainable Growth Rate 0 0 Comment Read More »
Join CMA March 26 for Legislative Advocacy Day Lobbying 101 webinar Participants in the California Medical Association's (CMA) 2015 Annual Legislative Advocacy Day, scheduled for Tuesday, April 14, are invited to attend a special Lobbying 101 webinar to review CMA’s list of sponsored bills to be lobbied and to learn effective advocacy tips. CMA’s Center for Government Relations will host the webinar on March 26 from 6-7 p.m. Legislative Advocacy Day will be held at the Sheraton Grand, located at 1230 J St., Sacramento. If you have not registered, contact Lucy Garcia at 909-273-6000 or lgarcia@sbcms.org. Click here to view the ... March 2, 2015 General State Legislative Advocacy, Website, Legislative Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Interest in becoming an expert reviewer? The Medical Board of California established the Expert Reviewer Program in July 1994 as an impartial and professional means by which to support the investigation and enforcement functions of the Board. Experts assist the Board by providing reviews and opinions on Board cases and conducting professional competency exams, physical exams and psychiatric exams. The Board is currently looking specifically for experts in dermatology, neurological surgery, pain medicine, pathology, spine surgery and transplant surgery. For more information regarding compensation and how to apply, please visit: http://www.mbc.ca.gov/Enforcement/Expert_Reviewer/.. March 2, 2015 General Expert Reviewer, Medical Board of California 0 0 Comment Read More »
Medical consultants needed Are you interested in being an integral part of the Medical Board of California enforcement process? Do you have the ability to conduct interviews, exercise sound judgement in reviewing conflicting medical reports and preparing opinions, analyzing problems and taking appropriate action? This is an excellent opportunity to help your community and obtain valuable experience. The Department of Consumer Affairs, Division of Investigation, Health Quality Investigations Unit is seeking well-qualified individuals to be Medical Consultants. Interested individuals must submit an application for examination; see link for additional information and instructions ... March 2, 2015 General , Medical Board of California, Medical Consultants 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS extends meaningful use EHR attestation deadline to March 20 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the deadline for physicians to attest to meaningful use for the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program 2014 reporting year. While the original deadline was February 28, physicians now have until 11:59 p.m., EST, on March 20, 2015, to attest. CMS extended the deadline to allow providers extra time to submit their meaningful use data, but urges providers to begin attesting for 2014 as soon as they can. This extension also allows eligible professionals, who have not already used their ... March 2, 2015 Medi-Cal, Medicare EHR, Meaningful Use, Medi-Cal, Medicare, PQRS, CMS 0 0 Comment Read More »
