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Top Story: National deficit agreement spawns new challenges for physicians and patients
Congress and the President finally came to an agreement on raising the debt ceiling, but now the real work begins. The deal calls for an immediate increase in the debt ceiling of $900 billion with corresponding cuts to be developed through the normal budget-appropriations committee process this fall.
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Also in this issue:
- CMA urges CMS to ensure physicians are not unfairly penalized by e-prescribing program
- Physicians beware of improper use of your DEA number
- CMA issues recommendations for physicians on medical marijuana
- CMA tells U.S. Supreme Court that individuals must be allowed to sue in federal court to enforce Medicaid laws
- Alliance for Patient Care urges CMS to reject Medi-Cal cuts
- DHCS conducting physician-administered drug cost survey; Selected physicians required to participate
- California lowers pre-existing condition insurance plan premiums by 18%
- Are you ready to help your adolescent patients meet the 2011-2012 Tdap requirement?
- CMS hosting series of events on medical identity theft
- The CMA Foundation's new diabetes reference guide is now available
- Board highlights now available
- CalHIPSO expands online education program to help physicians achieve meaningful use
- Get Involved: Submit a Resolution to the 2011 House of Delegates
- Ethnic Physician Leadership Summit is Sept. 17-18 in San Jose
- Webinar (8/10): Medicare: Developing and Adopting Medical Policies
- Webinar (8/17): HIPAA Update 2011
Featured Member Benefit:
EHR Best Practice Series Webinars
To help members begin to assess their Health Information Technology needs, CMA has partnered with Maxwell IT to provide members with complimentary registration to the EHR Best Practices Series webinars.
READ MORE
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1. National deficit agreement spawns new challenges for physicians and patients
Congress and the President finally came to an agreement on raising the debt ceiling, but now the real work begins. The deal calls for an immediate increase in the debt ceiling of $900 billion with corresponding cuts to be developed through the normal budget-appropriations committee process this fall.
The cuts will not impact entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California), but will reduce student loan assistance for medical students.
House and Senate leaders will now appoint six members each to a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to develop recommendations for further reducing the nation's deficit by $1.2 to $1.5 trillion, which may include spending cuts and entitlement program reforms. There has been no mention of tax increases, but provisions in the President's tax reform package—such as closing tax loopholes for corporations, decreasing oil subsidies and allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire at the end of 2013—are on the table.
The joint committee must make its recommendations for reductions by November 23. The deadline for the Senate and the House to cast votes on the proposal is December 23. If the committee reaches an impasse, or Congress does not enact at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reductions by December 23, a "sequestration" budget process would be triggered and the debt ceiling would be raised by $1.2 trillion. The sequestration process would also make across-the-board cuts to all programs except Social Security, Medicaid, VA benefits, child nutrition, WIC, disability payments, federal retirement, and military and civil pay. Half of the cuts must come from defense spending. Medicare would be subject to cuts, but the reductions would be capped at 2 percent of total program spending. Medicare benefits and beneficiary premiums and copayments cannot be touched, which means providers could bear the brunt of additional reductions.
"Given the economic crisis we are facing in California and across the nation, California physicians and patients must be prepared for major changes in health care programs as everything is under scrutiny," said Elizabeth McNeil, California Medical Association (CMA) vice president of federal government relations. "We must be vigilant in educating our elected officials about the impact their decisions will have on the future of health care. Physicians and patients must join together to protect access to care in both the Medicare and Medicaid programs."
In addition to the uncertainty of what proposals the joint committee will put forward in the coming months, CMA is also monitoring the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) deliberations on whether to approve the State of California's proposal to reduce Medi-Cal payments to providers by 10 percent. CMS has until September 30 to make a determination on the request.
Physicians also continue to face a 30 percent Medicare payment cut on January 1, 2012, as mandated by the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. Given the timeline for the joint committee's work, it is likely that Congress will attempt to stop the SGR payment cut in this package.
CMA will remain vigilant with Congress and CMS over the next several months as deficit negotiations continue.
Contact: Elizabeth McNeil, (415) 882-3376 or emcneil@cmanet.org.
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2. CMA urges CMS to ensure physicians are not unfairly penalized by e-prescribing program
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed significant changes to the e-prescribing penalty program, including the addition of new exemption categories. The California Medical Association (CMA), American Medical Association (AMA) and others in organized medicine recently submitted joint comments on the proposed changes, expressing concern that they are not sufficient to ensure that physicians are not unfairly penalized and urging CMS to delay the penalties until 2013.
Currently, the 2012 e-prescribing program requires physicians in individual practices to have submitted at least 10 Medicare Part B claims with the electronic measure code eRx G8553 and an eligible encounter code by June 30, 2011, or face a claims payment reduction of 1 percent in 2012. The proposed new rule would create new exemption categories and would give physicians until October 1, 2011, to apply for an exemption from the 2012 e-prescribing penalty. The proposed exemptions include:
- Physician's practice is located in a rural area without high-speed internet access.
- Physician's practice is located in an area without sufficient available pharmacies for electronic prescribing.
- Physician is registered to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid electronic health record incentive (EHR) program and has adopted certified EHR technology.
- Physician is unable to electronically prescribe due to local, state or federal law or regulation (e.g., prescribes controlled substances).
- Physician infrequently prescribes (e.g., prescribed fewer than 10 prescriptions between January 1, 2011, and June 30, 2011).
- There are insufficient opportunities to report the e-prescribing measure due to program limitations.
CMA and AMA have expressed serious concerns over the backdating of the 2012 e-prescribing penalty program to require reporting in 2011. The 2011 Medicare fee schedule was published in November 2010, leaving little time to educate physicians on the 2011 e-prescribing reporting requirements for avoiding penalties in 2012. CMA is strongly urging CMS to add an additional reporting period in 2012 to provide physicians with more time to avoid an e-prescribing penalty.
CMA and AMA are urging CMS to synchronize the overlapping Medicare incentive programs so that physicians who participate in the EHR incentive program will not face separate, duplicative e-prescribing reporting requirements.
CMA and AMA have also proposed that CMS create more exemption categories for physicians who, because of the nature of their practice or the limitations of the program requirements, would be unfairly penalized. The new exemption categories proposed include:
- The physician is registered to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid EHR incentive program and has adopted certified EHR technology.
- The physician is unable to e-prescribe due to local, state or federal law or regulation.
- The physician infrequently prescribes (e.g., prescribed fewer than 10 total prescriptions between January 1, 2011, and June 30, 2011).
- There are insufficient opportunities to report the e-prescribing measure due to program limitations (e.g., a surgeon who e-prescribes but does not frequently use the service codes allowed under the program).
Contact: Elizabeth McNeil, (415) 882-3376 or emcneil@cmanet.org.
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3. Physicians beware of improper use of your DEA number
The unauthorized prescribing of controlled substances by physicians and non-physicians violates both state and federal law. So what steps should physicians take if they discover that their name and/or Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) number is being used illegally? Find out in the California Medical Association's medical-legal document #0515, "Drug Prescribing: Unauthorized."
According to the Medical Board of California and the other agencies involved, a physician who has knowledge that his or her name and DEA number are improperly used should report such incidents to the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, and local police authorities. Medical-legal document #0515 includes contact information for these agencies and offers guidance on how to respond when the suspected culprit may be an allied health professional or office employee.
The DEA also requires that all registered prescribers provide effective controls to guard against theft and diversion of controlled substances, such as stolen prescription pads or controlled substances stored on site. Physicians should review these controls and safeguards to ensure compliance with state and federal law.
Medical-legal document #0515, "Drug Prescribing: Unauthorized," as well as the rest of CMA's medical-legal library (formerly CMA On-Call), is available free to members at CMA's online resource library. Nonmembers can purchase medical-legal documents for $2 per page.
Contact: Samantha Pellon, (916) 551-2872 or spellon@cmanet.org.
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4. CMA issues recommendations for physicians on medical marijuana
The California Medical Association's Council on Scientific and Clinical Affairs has issued recommendations on the medicinal use of cannabis to help ensure that the substance is being used for appropriate purposes. The council hopes that these guidelines, "Guidelines of the Council on Scientific Affairs: Physician Recommendation of Medical Cannabis," will help to clarify many myths and misconceptions about the use of cannabis for medical purposes.
Based on a review of available research, it is the opinion of the CMA Council on Scientific and Clinical Affairs that medical cannabis may be effective for treatment of nausea, anorexia, pain and other conditions (i.e., spasticity), but that more clinical research is needed regarding specific indications, dosing, and the management of side effects.
Although California voters legalized the medicinal use of cannabis in 1996, the council believes that legislative decision-making is a poor alternative to scientific analysis in deciding whether or not cannabis is an appropriate pharmaceutical agent and that additional scientific and clinical research is needed to evaluate cannabinoids as medical agents. The council also recommends that regulation of dispensaries and physicians who recommend medical cannabis remain a long-term goal to prevent the improper use of cannabis. Additionally, the council believes that health care providers who recommend cannabis should be subject to regulatory oversight to optimize patient safety and well-being and, potentially, to prevent diversion of medical cannabis to recreational users.
CMA believes that these guidelines will be a valuable and succinct resource for practicing physicians who wish to respond appropriately to patients who request recommendations for medical cannabis treatment. The guidelines are available in CMA's online resource library.
Contact: Yvonne Choong, (916) 551-2884 or ychoong@cmanet.org.
5. CMA tells U.S. Supreme Court that individuals must be allowed to sue in federal court to enforce Medicaid laws
The California Medical Association (CMA), along with other plaintiffs, recently filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that patients, physicians and other providers have the right to file suit against government officials who act outside the scope of their authority at the state and federal level.
The court is currently reviewing a lower court ruling that blocked the State of California from cutting Medi-Cal physician payments by 10 percent in 2008. In question is whether the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution allows individuals to sue in federal court to enforce federal Medicaid law. Oral arguments will be heard on October 3, 2011.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals previously upheld a federal trial court's July 2009 injunction, which found that the cuts would irreparably harm access to health care for the most vulnerable Californians and were enacted in violation of federal Medicaid laws.
"California patients and physicians will be directly affected by the drastic cuts to California's Medicaid program (Medi-Cal)," said Francisco Silva, CMA General Counsel. "The state has tried to implement these cuts without federal approval and in violation of federal law. The law requires the state to study and consider the impact that cuts like this will have on patients' access to care."
The state asserts that neither patients nor providers can challenge any state action that violates federal Medicaid law. The Supreme Court's ruling could have huge implications for the more than 7 million patients in California who are currently enrolled in Medi-Cal, as well as for the physicians who treat those patients.
CMA believes the proposed cuts are illegal because, among other reasons, they violate federal access to care standards. States are required by law to set provider payment rates at a level that ensures Medi-Cal patients have the same access to physicians and other health care providers as the general insured public.
California's Medi-Cal rates are already nearly the lowest in the nation. Currently, half the doctors in California cannot afford to participate in the program and 56 percent of Medi-Cal patients can't find a doctor.
Unable to find a physician, many Medi-Cal patients are forced to seek care in already overcrowded and increasingly scarce hospital emergency departments, where the cost of care is much higher. By the time patients end up in the ER, their health conditions have deteriorated and are much more costly to treat.
The gaping hole in the safety net will be further exacerbated as there will be 3 million uninsured who will be newly eligible for Medi-Cal in 2014 under the federal health reform legislation. If the state is allowed to cut Medi-Cal rates, California will not have the provider capacity to care for the influx of new Medi-Cal patients.
Contact: Francisco Silva, (916) 444-5532 or fsilva@cmanet.org.
6. Alliance for Patient Care urges CMS to reject Medi-Cal cuts
The California Medical Association and other members of the Alliance for Patient Care (APC), headed to the nation's capitol last week to urge the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and members of Congress, to reject California's proposed Medi-Cal cuts. APC is a coalition of health care providers, health plans, patient advocates and others working to protect access to care in California's Medi-Cal program.
In May, APC sent a letter to CMS urging the agency to reject a plan submitted by the State of California that would reduce Medi-Cal reimbursement rates to physicians, hospitals, nursing homes and other providers by 10 percent. The state is also seeking to institute patient copayments of $50 per ER visit, $5 per physician visit, $100 per day in the hospital. The proposal also includes a provision that would limit patients to seven physician office visits per year.
Because California Medi-Cal rates are already extremely low, many providers cannot afford to participate. With a growing shortage of primary care physicians, copayments and arbitrary limits on services, many patients will delay care or use emergency rooms for basic health services.
Medi-Cal is currently the source of health care for one in five Californians (about 7 million). With the implementation of health care reform fast approaching, another 3 million uninsured patients will soon be added to the state's Medi-Cal program. For health reform to be a success, California needs to maintain and improve access to care, not create more road blocks to an already strained system.
A similar plan proposing to cut reimbursements to Medi-Cal providers was submitted in 2008. Recognizing that this reduction would threaten Medi-Cal beneficiaries' access to health care services, CMS rejected the plan in November 2010.
Contact: Elizabeth McNeil, (415) 882-3376 or emcneil@cmanet.org.
7. DHCS conducting physician-administered drug cost survey; Selected physicians required to participate
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has recently sent letters to physicians, asking them to send in copies of all invoices for physician-administered drugs, including vaccines, purchased between March 1 and May 31, 2011.
The reason for the letter is that Medi-Cal will be changing the way that physician-administered drugs are reimbursed. Medi-Cal has traditionally used a formula known as Average Wholesale Price (AWP). However, AWP has been found by the courts to be illegal. Last year's state budget mandated that DHCS perform an acquisition cost study for physician administered drugs and vaccines to determine a new reimbursement methodology. The department has retained Myers and Stauffer LC to conduct the study.
In the letter to physicians, DHCS indicates its intention to "work very closely with the California Medical Association" on the process. This has led some to believe that CMA was involved in sending this letter. This is not the case. CMA did not see this letter until it was already out.
CMA has learned that physicians received this letter sometime between July 15 and July 20, and it asked them forward their invoices by July 29. This is incredibly burdensome for small practices. At CMA's request, DHCS informed CMA that they have extended the deadline to August 31. Physicians will receive a follow up letter from DHCS to that effect. Please note that physicians who receive this letter are required to respond.
Although the original letter referenced several webinars about this study, many physicians received the letter after the webinars had already taken place. DHCS will be holding two additional webinars on August 9, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Advance registration is required. Reserve your spot today by contacting Myers and Stauffer at (800) 591-1183 or pharmacy@mslc.com.
Contact: David Ford, (916) 551-2554 or dford@cmanet.org.
8. California lowers pre-existing condition insurance plan premiums by 18%
The California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, which operates California's preexisting condition insurance plan (PCIP), has received federal approval to lower premiums by an average of 18 percent starting this month. The premium reductions range from 8.2 percent to 24.3 percent, depending on subscriber age and geographic region, and were made possible by new guidelines issued in May by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
"The Preexisting Condition Insurance Program provides vital health care coverage for Californians who cannot afford their health insurance through no fault of their own," said California Health and Human Services Secretary Diana Dooley. "The reduction will offer real savings for access to health care that will benefit real people."
The new monthly premiums took effect August 1, 2011. For a PCIP subscriber 40 years old living in Los Angeles, the current monthly premium of $339 would fall to $269.
California's PCIP opened for business on October 25, 2010, and has since reached enrollment of 3,532 (as of July 27, 2011), making it one of the largest PCIPs in the United States. The program—authorized by last year's federal health reform bill—provides health coverage for persons with preexisting medical conditions who have been rejected for individual coverage by commercial carriers or offered coverage at unaffordable prices. The PCIP program will last until 2014, when the new health care reform law requires insurers to accept all applicants regardless of their medical history.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also recently relaxed enrollment requirements, no longer requiring applicants to show documentation that they have been denied insurance because of a medical problem. Instead, they can simply provide a letter from a physician, physician's assistant or nurse practitioner stating they have, or have had, a medical condition, disability or illness in the past year.
For more information, vist California's PCIP website.
Contact: David Ford, (916) 551-2554 or dford@cmanet.org.
9. Are you ready to help your adolescent patients meet the 2011-2012 Tdap requirement?
The state law requiring all California students in grades seven to 12 to get a pertussis booster (Tdap) by the first day of school has been extended by one month to give school districts more flexibility. Schools now have the option of allowing students who do not have proof of vaccination to conditionally attend classes for up to 30 calendar days after the start of the 2011-2012 school year.
Despite the extension, the California Medical Association (CMA) and the CMA Foundation are urging schools, health care providers and the public to continue their efforts to protect students against pertussis this summer. Pertussis continues to occur at high levels in California and unimmunized adolescents remain at risk of becoming ill, missing school, and spreading pertussis to their fellow students, households and communities.
The California Department of Public Health's Shots for School website recommends the following steps to help patients meet the new Tdap requirement:
- Regularly assess which adolescent patients have already received Tdap and which still need the vaccine.
- Remind patients of the new vaccination requirement by mail, telephone, email and clinic displays.
- Ensure that your office has an adequate supply of vaccines
- Offer the Tdap booster at every adolescent visit
- Provide clear documentation of Tdap immunization to patients and their schools.
For more information on these and other tips for health care providers, visit the Shots for School website.
To help health care providers educate patients about the new vaccination requirement, the CMA Foundation has also published a number of free patient education materials, including a 7th to 12th grade immunization chart, a table tent and a reminder postcard. All of these materials are available in English and Spanish.
The foundation also encourages health care providers to talk with parents about all of the recommended adolescent vaccines available (HPV, chicken pox, seasonal flu and meningococcal) when administering the required Tdap shot.
PDFs of these patient education materials are available on the CMA Foundation website. If you would like to order free printed copies, please contact Leslie Barron at lbarron@thecmafoundation.org.
10. CMS hosting series of events on medical identity theft
Fraud committed through medical identity theft now plagues many physician practices in California. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with the California Medical Association (CMA), the California Department of Health Care Services, the Office of the Inspector General, the California State Attorney General, and the Senior Medicare Patrol will host a series of events on medical identify theft and other fraud-related topics in September, Health Care Fraud Prevention and Awareness Month.
The goal of each event is to raise awareness and to educate physicians on how to safeguard and protect their professional and medical identity and their most valuable assets—their medical practice and their patients—from fraud.
Kickoff Event (September 1 in Los Angeles): Learn from actual physicians who have been the victims of identity theft. Hear what federal and state agencies are doing to help those who are victimized and root out those who perpetrate this crime and other acts of fraud.
Protect Yourself and Your Medical Identity (September 8 in Sacramento): Learn what physicians (including interns and residents) and other health professionals can do to safeguard and protect themselves from medical identity theft.
Protect Your Practice (September 14 in Fresno/Modesto): Learn about what you can do to safeguard your practice from fraud and criminal schemes.
Protect and Preserve Your Patient Relationships (September 22 in Riverside/San Bernardino): Learn how you can help your patients avoid fraud schemes that also leave your practice vulnerable; know how to spot the warning signs that a patient has become the victim of identity theft and what you can do to help.
Protect Your Practice – Monitoring Your Medical Record Documentation (September 27 in San Francisco): Learn about best practices in medical record documentation. Contractor and other Medical Directors will discuss the types of medical record documentation evaluations frequently performed, what these evaluations mean, and how they impact your medical practice.
Events are open to all health care professionals and other interested individuals. CME credits will be available.
Additional details, including registration information, will be available in the very near future.
Contact: CaliforniaFraud@cms.hhs.gov.
11. The CMA Foundation's new diabetes reference guide is now available
The California Medical Association (CMA) Foundation is pleased to announce the improved and updated second edition of the "Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Provider Reference Guide." This guide was developed to bring health care providers in a variety of practice settings current clinical guidelines, evidenced-based best practices and patient self-management resources to assess, manage and address diabetes as a cardiovascular disease complication. The guide was coordinated by the CMA Foundation with the help of 29 physicians and other health care professionals.
New for 2011:
- Identification and management of prediabetes
- An updated "Management" chapter that integrates blood glucose, hypertension and hyperlipidemia management (reflecting a more comprehensive management of diabetes)
- Adult outpatient insulin guidelines for type 2 diabetes, including a decision matrix, from the Diabetes Coalition of California
- Physical activity guidelines for type 2 diabetes
- Tips to improve medication adherence
- Updated pharmacotherapy grids to treat and manage diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia
- A Diabetes Care Guidelines and Flow Sheet that allows physicians to easily identify recommended patient care compared to target goals—all on a single page
- Updated ICD-9-CM codes
The reference guide is available at no cost in both digital and CD-ROM formats. The digital guide can be downloaded from the CMA Foundation website. To request a CD-ROM, contact Joseph Mette at (916) 776-6633 or jmette@thecmafoundation.org.
12. Board highlights now available
The California Medical Association's Board of Trustees met July 29 in Sacramento. A summary of the board's major actions is now available in CMA's online resource library.
The board highlights offer a brief summary of major action and informational items discussed. The highlights are not intended to be all-inclusive of items discussed, and these documents are not official CMA policy.
Contact: Ginnie Yee, (415) 882-5170 or gyee@cmanet.org.
Order the 2011 California Physician's Legal Handbook
Don't forget to place your order for the 2011 California Physician's Legal Handbook (CPLH). This indispensable manual is published annually by CMA's Center for Legal Affairs and answers the legal questions most frequently asked by physicians. The entire handbook has been updated and expanded to reflect new laws and developments in the ever-changing health care delivery system. It can be purchased as a seven-volume, 4,500-page print edition or an interactive CD-ROM.
For more information, or to place an order, visit CMA's online resource library or call CMA's publications department at (800) 882-1262. Members can access most of the CPLH content for free through CMA's online medical-legal library, also available in the resource library.
13. CalHIPSO expands online education program to help physicians achieve meaningful use
CalHIPSO (the California Health Information Partnerships and Services Organization) is now offering new online education courses to help physicians understand how to achieve meaningful use in their practices. These courses are offered free to CalHIPSO members and are available for CME/CNE credit.
The California Medical Association is a founding partner of CalHIPSO, which received a $31 million grant to provide education, outreach and technical assistance to help primary care providers select, implement and meaningfully use certified electronic health record system. CalHIPSO has also negotiated significant provider protections for its members, including "most favored customer" pricing and master contract terms and conditions.
Through the summer, webinars are presented each Wednesday at 5 p.m. and last about 30 minutes. The webinars are also recorded and available for on-demand viewing in the CalHIPSO member portal.
In addition to these free webinars, CalHIPSO is in negotiations with education and training vendors to offer more advanced training on important topics such as privacy and security, work flow mapping and EHR implementation. CalHIPSO members will have access to these vendor trainings at discounted rates; some offerings will be at no charge.
For more information, visit the CalHIPSO website.
Contact: Amanda Taylor, info@calhipso.org.
14. Get Involved: Submit a Resolution to the 2011 House of Delegates
The most effective way an individual member can influence CMA's policies and activities is to submit resolutions to the House of Delegates, the association's legislative body. The delegates meet annually to debate and act on resolutions and reports dealing with myriad medical practice, public health, and CMA governance issues. This year's annual meeting is October 15-17 in Anaheim and the deadline to submit resolutions is August 16.
Any CMA member may author a resolution, but a delegate, alternate delegate, component medical society, or specialty delegation must submit the resolution. Before authoring a resolution, physicians are strongly encouraged to review CMA's policy compendium to make sure that the association does not already have similar policy on the issue. The policy compendium is available to members only.
For more information on submitting a resolution, contact your county medical society. Click here for detailed instructions (including required format, allowed subject matter, and submission rules).
Contact: Roger Purdy, (916) 444-5532 or rpurdy@cmanet.org.
15. Ethnic Physician Leadership Summit is Sept. 17-18 in
San Jose
The California Medical Association (CMA) Foundation and the Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations (NEPO) invite you to attend the 2011 Ethnic Physician Leadership Summit, September 17 to 18, in San Jose.
This year's summit will focus on health care reform in relation to the issues of physician shortage, accountable care organizations, medical homes and the current updates to health information technology implementation. Participants will attend leadership training workshops in media and policy advocacy, quality care in diabetes, HPV/cervical cancer and obesity prevention.
Summit registration is $25 for medical students or $50 for physicians and members of a community-based organization. All other attendees can register for $150 per person.
Space is limited, so register today at the NEPO website.
For more information or to become a summit supporter, contact Anna Gutiérrez at (916) 779-6627 or agutierrez@thecmafoundation.org.
16. Webinar (8/10): Medicare: Developing and Adopting Medical Policies
Dr. Arthur Lurvey, medical director for California's Medicare contractor Palmetto GBA, will discuss national and local coverage decisions; avoiding and handling Medicare denials; differentiating between denials and rejections; and how to respond to requests for records.
The one-hour webinar will be presented twice on August 10, 2011, at 12:15 p.m. and again at 6:15 p.m. For more information or to register visit the CMA event calendar.
17. Webinar (8/17): HIPAA Update 2011
California Medical Association attorney Lisa Matsubara will provide members with the latest information on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
The one-hour webinar will be August 17, 2011, at 12:15 p.m. For more information or to register visit the CMA event calendar.
18. Featured Member Benefit:
EHR Best Practice Series Webinars
To help members begin to assess their Health Information Technology needs, CMA has partnered with Maxwell IT to provide members with complimentary registration to the EHR Best Practices Series webinars.
A members-only coupon code is required. To get yours visit the benefits page or contact the CMA member help line, (800) 786-4CMA.
For more information on these and other member benefits, click here or contact CMA at memberservice@cmanet.org or (800) 786-4262 (4CMA).