CMA/AMA responding to proposed Medicare payment rule On July 12, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the proposed 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and MACRA Quality Payment Program (QPP) rule. This is the first year that CMS is combining the Medicare fee schedule and QPP rules. There are a number of positive elements in the proposed rule. These include: New payments for physician services that are not part of a face to face office visit (virtual check-ins, remote consults of patient videos and photographs, and online consultations with other physicians) ... August 7, 2018 Advocacy, Medicare 0 0 Comment Read More »
Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations Opposes Proposition 8 – the Dangerous Dialysis Proposition August 6, 2018 Ethnic physicians join broad coalition of more than 100 organizations opposing measure that puts dialysis patient lives at risk SACRAMENTO – Today, the No on Proposition 8 campaign announced that the Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations (NEPO) has formally opposed Proposition 8. NEPO is coalition of more than 40 ethnic physician organizations in California and joins a broad coalition of more than 100 health advocates including the American Nurses Association\California; California Medical Association; American College of Emergency Physicians, California Chapter; and other groups representing doctors, nurses, patient advocates, veterans, community groups, and ... August 6, 2018 Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Medical staff prevails in legal battle over medical staff self-governance A settlement has officially been reached in the case of the Tulare hospital embroiled in a bitter legal battle over the self-governance rights of its medical staff. The case stems from actions taken in 2016, when hospital administrators at Tulare Regional Medical Center (TRMC) terminated the entire medical staff and its duly elected officers. The hospital then adopted new medical staff bylaws in secret and without input from physicians at the hospital. The hospital dictated leadership and standards of medical care, seized control of the disciplinary process without legal or ... July 25, 2018 General 0 0 Comment Read More »
Health Net Federal Services experiences significant challenges with TRICARE transition On January 1, 2018, Health Net Federal Services (HNFS) became the new Defense Heath Agency (DHA) managed care contractor for the TRICARE West Region, serving approximately 2.9 million beneficiaries in 21 western states, including California. HNFS took over the contract previously held by UnitedHealthcare Military and Veterans’ Services (UMVS). The California Medical Association (CMA) has learned that HNFS has experienced implementation issues related to provider contracting and credentialing, beneficiary reassignment to new primary care managers (PCM), and provider directory inaccuracies. Read More July 25, 2018 Health Net, Insurance 0 0 Comment Read More »
Study: Urgent care clinics prescribe millions of unnecessary antibiotics Nearly half of patients who go to urgent care clinics seeking treatment for a flu, cold or other conditions that don’t require antibiotics received a prescription for one anyway. That’s three times as often as antibiotics are prescribed to patients with the same illnesses in traditional doctors’ offices, according to a study published Monday. Read More July 18, 2018 Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
