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Top Story: Former CMA President named to Medical Board of California
Dev GnanaDev, M.D., former president of the California Medical Association, has been appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the Medical Board of California. Dr. GnanaDev’s new role on the state board comes in addition to various leadership positions at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, where he serves as Medical Director, as well as President of the Arrowhead Surgery Group.
Also in this issue:
- Governor Brown's budget would eliminate Healthy Families Program
- Blue Cross acknowledges mistake in E&M provider audit
- January is Cervical Health Awareness Month
- SGR cuts averted until end of February
- New 2012 Medicare fee-for-service payment rates to take
effect in January - Federal judge enjoins Medi-Cal budget cuts to hospitals
- Residency 'Scramble' swapped for SOAP
- CMS names six 'pioneer' ACOs from California for team-
based care - State budget shortfall to extend Medi-Cal cuts
- Medi-Cal EHR Incentive Program open for enrollment
- Lawrence Friedman, M.D., named to telemedicine board
- CMS eases 5010 claim submission deadline
- CMA has concerns about new CMS rule governing scope
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1. Former CMA President named to Medical Board
of California
Dev GnanaDev, M.D., former president of the California Medical Association (CMA), has been appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the Medical Board of California.
Dr. GnanaDev’s new role on the state board comes in addition to various leadership positions at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC), where he serves as Medical Director, as well as President of the Arrowhead Surgery Group.
He is also a clinical professor of surgery at Western University for Health Sciences and an associate professor of surgery at Loma Linda University.
Dr. GnanaDev served as CMA President from 2008 to 2009.
Spending his entire medical career in public hospital settings, Dr. GnanaDev has worked to established several programs intended to assist those who might otherwise not received necessary medical care.
These programs included ARMC’s Cardiac Health Management Program, which provides free services to uninsured patients who are recovering from heart attacks and coronary bypasses.
Other community health efforts championed by Dr. GnanaDev include a laser tattoo-removal program to help former gang members re-enter mainstream society and a community-wide initiative to help improve the health of San Bernardino's African American population.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Dr. GnanaDev also brought a team of 16 physicians to Houston to treat evacuees injured by the storm.
Governor Brown’s appointment, which was announced in December, must now be confirmed by the state Senate.
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2. Governor Brown's budget would eliminate Healthy
Families Program
Governor Jerry Brown released his proposed 2012-13 budget on January 5, 2012, five days before the state constitutional deadline of January 10. The budget aims to fill a projected shortfall of $9.2 billion dollars ($4.1 billion in the current budget year and $5.1 billion in 2012-13) and create a $1 billion reserve, for a total of $10.1 billion in “solutions.”
The Governor proposes to close the deficit through a combination of $4.1 billion in cuts to public programs, coupled with $5.1 billion in new revenues from a proposed tax initiative that will appear on the November 2012 ballot, and approximately $1 billion in borrowing and fund shifts.
The Governor further proposes a series of “trigger” cuts, which would be implemented if the tax initiative is not successful. The vast majority of these cuts would fall on K-12 education, the University of California system, and the California State Universities. None of the “trigger cuts” are health-related, meaning that all of the cuts listed below are proposed to be implemented regardless of the tax initiative.
Of concern to physicians, included in the 2012-13 budget proposal are the following:
Elimination of the Healthy Families Program and transition of enrollees into Medi-Cal. This proposal would transition all 900,000 Healthy Families children into Medi-Cal. While the Governor claims that this proposal would “prepare the state for health reform,” federal reform would only move about one-quarter of the children from one program to another. This proposal moves well beyond this, and will strain the already overburdened Medi-Cal delivery system. The budget further proposes to reduce the capitation payments made to Healthy Families plans by 25.7%, lowering them to the rate paid to Medi-Cal Managed Care plans. This could create pressure on physician rates. Estimated savings: $64.4 million (2012-13) and $91.5 million (2013-14)
Elimination of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB). MRMIB oversees Healthy Families, the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program (MRMIP), the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Program (PCIP) and the Access to Infants and Mothers Program (AIM). Under this proposal, all of these programs would be transferred to the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). MRMIP and PCIP, both of which serve individuals with pre-existing conditions, would be eliminated in 2014 when the federal ban on pre-existing conditions exclusions is implemented.
Mandatory enrollment of Medi-Cal/Medicare dual eligibles into Medi-Cal Managed Care. Under this proposal, all 1.2 million dual eligibles would be required to join a managed care plan, which would coordinate benefits from both programs. Recently adopted CMA policy (HOD 203-11) specifically opposes this move. Estimated savings: $678.8 million (2012-13) and $1 billion (2013-14)
Medi-Cal Managed Care expansion into rural counties. The Governor proposes to expand the Medi-Cal Managed Care program into rural counties that do not currently have managed care infrastructure. This transition would happen gradually over time. Estimated savings: $2.7 million (2012-13) and $8.8 million (2013-14)
Medi-Cal Managed Care open enrollment limited to once per year. Under current rules, Medi-Cal managed care patients can change plans monthly. This plan would limit this process to once per year.
Changing payments for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Centers (RHCs). The Budget proposes to eliminate the prospective payment system and move FQHCs and RHCs to a bundled rate.
Broadened DHCS Scope: The FamilyPACT program, the Every Woman Counts program and the Prostate Cancer Treatment Program would be moved to DHCS. The funding for these programs is not proposed to be reduced.
Securing “operational flexibilities” in the Medi-Cal program (benefit design, service delivery, etc.). This proposal is largely undefined, but could include reducing benefits or changing care delivery models. Estimated savings: $75 million (2012-13)
Elimination of the Department of Mental Health (DMH) and the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. This proposal builds on a process begun in the previous budget, when DMH was moved into DHCS. This proposal would take the next step, eliminating both departments and moving their functions to several departments, predominantly DHCS.
Increase rates paid to Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans: Ironically, the budget proposes to increase the rates paid to Medi-Cal Managed Care plans by 3.61%. Estimated Increase: $261 million.
Timelines and Next Steps
The Budget Committees in both houses of the State Legislature will begin considering the Governor’s budget in the next few weeks. The California Medical Association will be actively lobbying against reductions to health care programs and will inform members and staff as appropriate.
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3. Blue Cross acknowledges mistake in E&M provider audit
As previously reported in CMA Alert in June 2011, Blue Cross sent letters to approximately 3,500 providers advising that their use of level 4 and 5 evaluation and management (E&M) codes was greater in frequency (90th percentile) than others in their specialty. The letter asked that physicians voluntarily submit medical records on five specific patients so Blue Cross could provide them with feedback and education on their coding.
Approximately 600 physicians received similar letters advising that their use of level 4 and 5 E/M codes was in the 80th percentile, but were not asked to provide records.
CMA has learned that in late December, the Blue Cross Provider Audit team identified an error that incorrectly labeled 2,800 physicians as outliers of these high-level codes. In late December and early January, Blue Cross sent letters to affected physicians acknowledging and apologizing for the mistake, advising physicians that they have put additional measures into place to ensure accurate findings for future reviews.
Questions about the letter should be directed to Blue Cross at (404) 842-8460 or via email at CPTCoding@anthem.com.
No funds were recouped as a result of the audit; rather, the Blue Cross analysis and feedback were educational in nature.
Contact: CMA reimbursement helpline, (888) 401-5911 or economicservices@cmanet.org.
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4. January is Cervical Health Awareness Month
The California Medical Association (CMA) Foundation has joined forces with CMA and other health advocates across the nation to raise awareness about cervical cancer prevention. The CMA Foundation is part of the national Cervical Cancer-Free Campaign, which is engaged in efforts to increase screening and vaccination and reduce the occurrence of this preventable disease.
Cervical cancer is the second most common form of cancer worldwide and causes 4,000 deaths in the United States yearly. According to the American Cancer Society’s California Cancer Facts & Figures 2012 report, it is expected that California will have 1,455 new cases of cervical cancer in 2012, and 435 deaths from the disease.
Cervical cancer is one of the few preventable cancers that can easily be detected through an inexpensive screening and prevented through vaccination. Studies show the vaccine has the potential to prevent up to 70 percent of cervical cancer cases and deaths in California annually.
The CMA Foundation has developed resources for physicians and their patients focusing on cervical cancer prevention, including the HPV vaccination. For more information on cervical cancer and HPV, visit the CMA Foundation website at www.thecmafoundation.org/projects/HPV.
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5. SGR cuts averted until end of February
On December 22, 2011, the House agreed to extend the budget bill for two months (including a middle class tax cut and extension on unemployment benefits) and prevent the 27.4 percent Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) cut to physician reimbursement from going into effect on January 1, 2012. A House-Senate conference committee will begin work in late January on a longer term agreement, including a permanent solution to SGR. California Congressman Henry Waxman (D-LA), the ranking Democrat on the House Energy Commerce (ie, health) Committee, is one of the conferees.
Several days before the House agreed to the Senate’s two-month patch, California Medical Association (CMA) President James T. Hay, M.D., sent a letter to Congress voicing the concerns and frustrations of California physicians who have been seeking a solution to the flawed SGR for 10 years.
Stating that CMA was “outraged” that there had been no resolution to the long-standing problem before Congress went home for the holidays, the letter said, “The inability of Congress to adopt a long-term plan to replace the formula will cause irreparable harm to physician practices and patients.
“For a decade, California physicians and organized medicine have been calling upon Congress to eliminate the flawed Medicare SGR,” the letter said. The inability to find a resolution will have a “devastating impact” on 5 million of California’s seniors and nearly 1 million military families. Patients would now face long delays in care, while physician practices would lack financial stability in an already-difficult economy.
“California physicians are extremely angry,” the letter stated. “We have been betrayed and forced to finance the Medicare program on our backs.”
The letter also reminds Congressional leaders that physicians, in addition to being healers, are also employers. “Stable Medicare rates help physicians remain in practice, care for patients and prevent further unemployment and economic erosion.”
CMA will continue to keep the pressure on Congress when they return at the end of January to adopt a longer term solution to the failed Medicare SGR payment system. CMA appreciates all of the physicians who made phone calls, sent letters and met with their members of Congress to help stop the cuts. These efforts helped to convince the House to stop the cuts while the longer term negotiations continue.
Contact: Elizabeth McNeil, (415) 310-2877 or emcneil@cmanet.org.
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6. New 2012 Medicare fee-for-service payment rates to take effect in January
Highlights:
- 2012 Physician Payment Rule takes effect with a 0.18 percent increase in the conversion factor
- Palmetto will post new fee schedule on website by January 11, 2012
- CMS/Palmetto won’t begin processing claims until January 18
Despite the fact that the payroll tax extension legislation passed by Congress in December (Public Law 112-078) delayed cuts to Medicare fee-for-service, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has confirmed that all of the other changes that were included in the Medicare physician payment final rule for 2012 will still take effect.
What to expect
Physicians should expect some changes in their payment rates. Numerous changes were made to the relative value units, geographic practice cost indexes, and multiple procedure payment rules for 2012. Changes to electronic prescribing reporting and quality reporting programs will also be implemented. All of these changes will take effect for dates of service beginning January 1, 2012. Please see the California Medical Association (CMA) resource Medicare Part B 2012 Important Changes: What They Mean to Your Practice.
In addition, although P.L. 112-078 provided for a 0 percent update to the Medicare conversion factor for January and February 2012, the final CMS rule indicated that there would be a 0.18 percent increase in the conversion factor for budget neutrality, and that this change will also be effective January 1, 2012. The budget neutrality increase is due to CMS adoption of the relative value system (RVS) Update Committee recommendations for misvalued codes. The 2011 conversion factor was $33.9764. The 2012 conversion factor will be $34.0376.
CMS also indicated that because Congress acted so late in 2011 to prevent the 27.4 percent sustainable growth rate cut, claims will be held for a period of time to allow CMS to develop the new payment rate files, and to allow Medicare claims administration contractors to install and test the files. CMS expects that most if not all contractors will be ready to process claims under the revised rates on or before January 18, 2012, which is the end of the 10-business-day claims hold period (contractors’ time frames may differ). Palmetto will merge held claims, oldest receipt date first, with incoming claims, up to the maximum that can be accommodated by the common working file.
Contractors are expected to have the new rates posted to their web sites by January 11.
On January 4, 2012, CMS published a correction notice in the Federal Register to the 2012 final rule that modifies the relative values for a number of services. The agency also posted a revised relative value file on its website reflecting both the corrections and the legislation that stopped the 27.4 percent cut.
CMA will continue to provide updates as information becomes available.
Contact: CMA reimbursement helpline, (888) 401-5911 or economicservices@cmanet.org.
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7. Federal judge enjoins Medi-Cal budget cuts to hospitals
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on December 28, 2011, blocking a 10 percent Medi-Cal cut that would have affected distinct-part nursing facilities. Governor Jerry Brown and lawmakers cut Medi-Cal reimbursement rates to many providers last year, including physicians, in an effort to save $623 million in the June budget.
The judge determined that the California Hospital Association (CHA) had shown that there would be irreparable harm if the cuts were not enjoined, and had also proven that the state had failed to appropriately review whether Medi-Cal patients would lose sufficient access to care. The suit to block the cut was filed in November by CHA.
Also in November, the California Medical Association (CMA), California Dental Association, California Pharmacists Association, National Association of Chain Drug Stores and National Community Pharmacists Association filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) because of the 10 percent cut. The filing organizations believe that access to care for Medi-Cal patients will be eroded or cut off completely with these cuts. This lawsuit is scheduled to be heard by the court on January 30, 2012.
State announces it will recover funds from Medi-Cal providers
Meanwhile, on December 2, 2011, DHCS announced that it intends to recoup a 10 percent reduction in Medi-Cal provider payments retroactive to June 1, 2011. CMA met with DHCS immediately after this was announced in an effort to mitigate the impact to physicians.
DHCS said it intends to contact all impacted providers by January 2012. Although an exact timeline has not been set, the recoupments will happen over an extended period, likely more than a year.
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8. Residency 'Scramble' swapped for SOAP
The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) is revising its annual residency match to improve how vacant residency slots are filled after ”Match Day.” Starting in 2012, the NRMP will administer a new system to link unmatched students with unfilled residency positions.
Called the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), the system is designed to create a formal process for applying for unfilled positions. SOAP replaces the previous residency "Scramble," a highly competitive and disorganized process in which unlinked students contacted programs with unfilled positions in an effort to find a slot, often forcing students to accept the first offer they got on the spot. In 2011, most of the 1,060 available positions were filled within the first 24 hours.
As a result of SOAP, Match Day will move from the third Thursday to the third Friday of March. In 2012, Match Day will be on March 16.
On March 14, residency programs with unfilled positions will finalize their preference lists of applicants, and the NRMP will begin making offers to applicants.
All NRMP applicants will be notified about their eligibility for SOAP the Friday before Match Week. Unlike the Scramble, SOAP applicants could receive multiple offers in each round and will be able to consider their options before making a decision.
In 2013, the NRMP plans to implement a new All-In Policy, requiring residency programs to place all of their first- and second-year residency positions in the Main Residency Match. The NRMP is accepting comments on the change.
According to NRMP, there were 5,627 unmatched applicants and 2,288 unfilled positions in 2001. By 2010, the gap had grown to 8,794 unmatched applicants competing for 1,060 unfilled positions.
For more information, visit www.nrmp.org.
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9. CMS names six 'pioneer' ACOs from California for team-based care
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced December 19 that its program to promote team-based care for Medicare and private payors will launch with 32 “pioneer” accountable care organizations (ACOs) in 18 states, serving up to 860,000 beneficiaries.
Of those 32 medical groups, CMS chose six from California, including Brown and Toland Physicians, San Francisco Bay Area; Heritage California ACO Southern, Central and Coastal California; Healthcare Partners Medical Group, Los Angeles and Orange Counties; Monarch Healthcare Orange County; Primecare Medical Network, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties; and Sharp Healthcare System, San Diego County.
“The pioneer ACO initiative will encourage primary care doctors, specialists, hospitals and other caregivers to provide better, more coordinated care for patients and could save up to $1.1 billion over five years,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release.
The pioneer group has agreed to take on more financial risk for a greater reward. According to CMS, if pioneer ACOs deliver savings in their first two years, they will qualify in their third year for a capitated payment. That is a per-beneficiary, per-month payment amount intended to replace some or all of the ACO’s fee-for-service payments with a prospective monthly payment, CMS said. Pioneer ACOs will have to develop contracts with other payors for team-based care that lowers spending and boosts quality. The intent is to spur organizations sponsoring ACOs to more fully commit to team-based care.
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10. State budget shortfall to extend Medi-Cal cuts
When the California Legislature passed the 2011-12 State Budget in June, they assumed a sizable ($10 billion) increase in revenue based on projections of an improving economy. But early projections show the state will face a $12.8 billion deficit for the coming fiscal year.
To account for the uncertainty of tax revenue, the Legislature included a set of automatic “trigger” cuts that would be implemented if revenues fell short. The trigger cuts were divided into two tiers, depending on how far revenues fell short.
On December 13, California Governor Jerry Brown announced that, while revenues are higher than last year, they are not high as projected. He therefore pulled the budget trigger on the “Tier 1” cuts.
Of the scheduled reductions, the extension of the March 2011 cuts to Medi-Cal managed care plans – expected to yield a $15 million reduction to the Medi-Cal program – is the most likely to affect physicians.
When the 10 percent cut was passed, the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), Senior Care Action Network (SCAN) and AIDS Healthcare Foundation were exempted. They are now included in the cut. Doctors working with those plans may see reductions.
The official list of trigger cuts also includes the following:
- $100 million to the University of California
- $100 million to the California State Universities
- $100 million to the Department of Developmental Services
- $110 million to the In-Home Supportive Services program, including $100 million in service hour cuts, and $10 million for local anti-fraud efforts
- $92 million to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
- $72.1 million in increased county charges for youthful offenders sent to CDCR
- $30 million to the California Community Colleges backfilled with a $10 per unit fee increase
- $23 million to the Department of Education related to childcare funding
- $16 million to the California State Library related to library grants
- $15 million to the California Emergency Management Agency related to local vertical prosecution grants
All of the cuts listed above were effective January 1, 2012.
Contact: David Ford, (916) 551-2554 or dford@cmanet.org.
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11. Medi-Cal EHR Incentive Program open for enrollment
Following a series of delays in December, enrollment in the California Department of Health Care Services’ electronic health record (EHR) incentive program is now open to individual providers.
The announcement – made by the department on Tuesday – means that individual physicians can begin enrolling in the program, making themselves eligible for $63,750 in total incentives.
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, or the Stimulus Act), physicians become eligible for the total incentive by demonstrating “meaningful use” of an EHR system.
To establish “meaningful use” and qualify for the total of $63,750, Medi-Cal providers must meet certain patient volume thresholds. Incentives will be paid out over six years, beginning as early as 2011 or as late as 2016.
Unlike the broader Medicare EHR Incentive Program, eligibility in the Medi-Cal program is targeted to safety net physicians. Physicians qualify for the total incentive if:
- Medi-Cal patients make up at least 30 percent of their patient volume.
- They are a pediatrician with at least 20 percent Medi-Cal patient volume. (However, pediatricians with 20 to 30 percent Medi-Cal patient volume only qualify for two-thirds of the total incentive.)
- They practice in a federally qualified health center, rural health center or Indian health clinic and at least 30 percent of their patient volume is “needy individuals,” such as Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, sliding scale or uncompensated care.
In the first year that a physician is enrolled in the program, however, he or she can receive up to $21,250 for adopting, implementing or upgrading (AIU) an EHR system. Physicians will not have to demonstrate “meaningful use” until their second year in the program.
Accessing these incentives requires a two-part enrollment. Physicians must first register with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at https://ehrincentives.cms.gov. They must then enroll in the Medi-Cal Incentive Program at http://medi-cal.ehr.ca.gov.
Due to implementation delays, those hoping to collect incentive payments for the 2011 program year will now have until March 31, 2012, to enroll, extending the previous deadline by roughly one month.
In order for physicians to qualify for 2011 payments, they must have signed a contract with an EHR vendor on or before December 31, 2011.
For more information on the Medi-Cal EHR Incentive Program, see http://medi-cal.ehr.ca.gov. Additional information on the Medi-Cal and Medicare EHR incentive programs, and other California Medical Association (CMA) health information technology resources, are available at www.cmanet.org/hit.
CMA hosted a webinar on November 30 on this topic. To access the webinar, click here.
Contact: David Ford, (916) 551-2554 or dford@cmanet.org.
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12. Lawrence Friedman, M.D., named to telemedicine board
Lawrence Friedman, M.D., a California Medical Association member, has been appointed to the board of directors for the California Telehealth Network (CTN).
The CTN is a wide and diverse coalition of stakeholders working to provide specialized medical care to rural communities across the state using high-tech telecommunications tools.
As a director, Dr. Friedman will be responsible for helping expand the network’s services – providing better medical care to California’s underserved areas.
Since it was first launched in 2010, the network has grown to include more than 100 active sites and hopes to eventually connect nearly 900 California health care providers.
Dr. Friedman founded the Southern California Telemedicine Learning Center with a $1 million grant from the California Medicine and E-Health Center.
For the last three years, the center has operated on the campus of the University of California San Diego Medical Center, with Dr. Friedman as co-director. Telemedicine services include psychiatry, liver disease, neurology and oncology.
Serving on the CTN board, Dr. Friedman says, will give him the opportunity to continue addressing “shortfalls in medical specialty access for patients and health care providers throughout the state of California.”
For more information about the California Telehealth Network, visit www.caltelehealth.org.
Contact: David Ford, (916) 551-2554 or dford@cmanet.org.
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13. CMS eases 5010 claim submission deadline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released Technical Direction Letter 12148 in December 2011, which updated instructions for the ASC X12 version 5010 transition. According to the letter, Palmetto GBA will not reject compliant ASC X12 version 4010A1 transactions before April 1, 2012. The exact date 4010A1 transactions will be rejected by CMS will be published at a later date.
Trading partners that have tested and been approved for 5010, but that are still submitting 4010A1 transactions, have 30 days to complete their changeover to submitting version 5010 production transactions. All submitters must have tested and been moved into production for submitting 5010 transactions prior to April 1, 2012.
Please contact the Palmetto Technology Support Center at (866) 749-4301 if you have any questions regarding the 5010 transition.
Contact: Reimbursement helpline at (888) 401-5911 or economicservices@cmanet.org.
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14. CMA has concerns about new CMS rule governing scope of practice for medical staffs
Citing serious concerns over its potential impact to hospital medical staffs and possible scope of practice expansion, the California Medical Association (CMA) is asking federal regulators to abandon aspects of a recently proposed revision to hospital Medicare and Medicaid participation requirements.
Stemming from the Obama administration’s effort to reduce regulatory provisions on hospitals that must comply with Medicare and Medicaid, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a propose rule – “Reform of Hospital and Critical Access Hospital Conditions” – last October.
After a review, CMA has found that the proposed regulation poses serious threats to a hospital medical staff’s ability to oversee quality of care and could significantly expand the scope of practice for non-physicians working in hospitals.
Hoping to avoid such revisions, CMA has submitted comments to CMS outlining its various concerns.
Specifically, CMA believes that a section of the proposal allowing for multi-hospital systems to establish single governing boards could “drastically reduce, if not completely eliminate, input from each hospital’s medical staff and local community.” Such a change would result in diminished patient care and “does not reflect the local needs of each hospital,” according to CMA’s comments.
The proposal also calls for possible scope of practice expansions, including sections that could see drugs and biologicals being prepared and administered by a wide variety of practitioners, potentially expanding this ability to those who may lack the appropriate training and experience.
Allowing these scope of practice expansions would be “ill-advised and potentially harmful to patients,” the comments state.
If accepted, the proposed rule would also do away with the five-year sunset provision that allows all orders to be dated, timed and authenticated by the ordering practitioner, as well as removing the requirement that all orders be authenticated within 48 hours. Finding the current regulations to be unduly burdensome, CMA is supportive of such changes.
The final rule will be published in 2012. The proposed rule changes are available on the CMS website. CMA’s comments are available here.
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15. Save the date for CMA events!
Legislative Leadership Conference
The California Medical Association’s (CMA) 38th Annual Legislative Leadership Conference will take place on Tuesday, April 17, in Sacramento. Attendees will hear from engaging speakers, including California Attorney General Kamala Harris, and have the opportunity to go to the Capitol to meet with legislators on health care issues.
Legislative Day is offered at no cost to physicians. Please contact your local county medical society before making travel arrangements. Otherwise, expenses will be the obligation of each individual participant. Registration is free for medical students, and scholarships may be available to students for travel and accommodations through their county medical societies.
Stay tuned for additional details as the event nears! Contact: Nick Birtcil, (916) 551-2570 or nbirtcil@cmanet.org.
Leadership Academy
Plan on attending the 15th Annual California Health Care Leadership Academy on April 27-29, 2012, at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. Presented by CMA, California Medical Group Management Association and the CMA Foundation, “Follow the Money: The Transformation of Medical Practice” will cover a variety of issues.
Models of health care financing and delivery will change as implementation of federal health reform kicks into high gear. What are the best options for successful medical practice in the new environment? Hear from the experts and leaders of change, and attend a comprehensive slate of practice management seminars and workshops to position your practice for success. More information will be posted here, so stay tuned!
Contact: Roger Purdy, (916) 551-2067 or rpurdy@cmanet.org.
Medical Student Leadership Conference
CMA's free leadership conference for California medical students will take place September 15-16 at the University of California, Irvine, campus. More information will be provided this spring. Contact: Thomas Lawson, (916) 551-2078 or tlawson@cmanet.org.
16. Register now for medical staff leadership training
The California Medical Association’s Institute for Medical Quality (IMQ) is hosting the second Annual IMQ/PACE Platinum Training Program for Physician Leaders during March 8-10, 2012, at the Coronado Island Marriot Resort and Spa in San Diego. Early registration is now open for all physicians who wish to attend.
This interactive program teaches physicians the non-clinical skills they need to successfully run their medical staffs. Training will cover communications, effective use of data, meeting management, credentialing, peer review, well-being committees, legal issues and how to handle disruptive professionals, among other topics.
The program is funded by a grant from the Physicians Foundation and IMQ, in partnership with the University of California, San Diego.
Details and registration information is available on the IMQ website – www.imq.org or phone. You can also download the registration brochure here.
Contact: Lisa San Gabriel, (415) 882-3314 or lsangabriel@imq.org.
17. Upcoming webinars
1/25: Medicare E&M Audits: Learn about Evaluation and Management documentation recommendations in light of the development of electronic health records, forms and pre-printed sheets. Attendees will also learn about examples of documentation that were found during recent Palmetto GBA Medicare audits and review, as well as how to select levels of E&M coding based on both CPT guidelines AND reasonable and necessary considerations for the clinical visit. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask individual questions during an extended Q&A time period for answers to unique situations. This special extended webinar will take place Wednesday, January 25, 2012, from 12:15 to 2 p.m.
2/1: Key Financial Ratios to Increase Profitability: Today’s physicians and office managers need business management skills, particularly in the financial area. These are simple math ratios and essential to benchmark your practice to compared to “best practices” in your specialty. This workshop will teach critical skills in analyzing the practice profit/loss statement for overhead expense, accounts receivable and staffing ratios, and how to access specialty comparison norms for benchmarking. The one-hour webinar will take place Wednesday, February 1, 2012, at 12:15 p.m.
2/15: HIPAA Risk Analysis for Meaningful Use: Be sure you are able to qualify for your electronic health record (EHR) incentive funding! Conducting a HIPAA Security Risk Analysis for most medical practices is a core Meaningful Use measure (relating to one of the 15 core objectives). This webinar provides detailed instruction on the steps needed to complete a risk analysis and practical solutions for even the smallest medical practice.
Contact: CMA's member help center, (800) 786-4262 or memberservice@cmanet.org.
18. Featured member benefits:
EHR Best Practices Series Webinars: To help members begin to assess their Health Information Technology needs, the California Medical Association has partnered with Maxwell IT to provide members with complimentary registration for the EHR Best Practices Series webinars.
Members-only codes are needed to take advantage of these discounts. Click here or call the member service center at (800) 786-4262 (4CMA) to get your codes.