CMS News & Updates
June 30, 2016
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Capital Medical Society Introduces New Member Benefit
Capital Medical Society members can now receive a discount on certain events at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center by using our promo code "CMS" which currently can be used to save $5 off tickets to the upcoming WWE event on Friday, July 29. Members can receive the discount a few different ways.
  1. Go online to the following link and enter in promo code "CMS":
http://ev11.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/EVExecMacro?linkID=global-dtcc&evm=prmo&caller=PR

 

2. Bring a copy of the flyer to the Civic Center box office and purchase in person

 

3. Call (850) 583-4871 to purchase over the phone

 
There will be additional fees that apply when members go to purchase online or over the phone. There are no additional fees when purchasing at the box office.
 
We will announce additional discount information as other events come to the Civic Center.
First Case Of Zika-Related Microcephaly Confirmed In Florida
The first case of Zika-related microcephaly was confirmed today in a child born in Florida, according to the Florida Department of Health.

The child's mother is from Haiti and had a travel-related case of Zika. She came to Florida to deliver the baby, authorities said.

The department of health is connecting the mother and child with services through its Early Steps program.

READ MORE 
 
Source: Health News Florida 
FSU Med School Among Best at Preparing Diverse Physician Workforce
Fifteen years after enrolling its first class, the Florida State University College of Medicine has emerged as one of the most diverse medical schools in the country, according to current Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) enrollment data.

The FSU College of Medicine is the only AAMC-member institution ranked in the top six for enrollment of both black and Hispanic students out of 136 U.S. medical schools. Its enrollment percentage for black or African-American students is double the national average.

Through its first 12 graduating classes, FSU's medical school has produced 106 black and 135 Hispanic physicians.

  READ MORE 
 
Source: FSU College of Medicine 
Surgeons Provide Free Surgeries for Pulse Shooting Survivors
The group, Rebuilding America's Warriors said it will provide free surgeries of any kind to victims of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting.

"This was literally hundreds of my fellow Americans being attacked on an instantaneous battlefield here in Florida," Dr. Andrew Borom said.
 
Borom, an orthopedic surgeon in Tallahassee, wants to help remove the scars left by terrorist Omar Mateen, who killed 49 killed and injured 53 others at Pulse nightclub on June 12.

"They were instantly cast into a war zone by someone with a warped radical ideology who hates them for any number of reasons that make no sense to me," Borom said.

Borom is one of more than 350 surgeons in a more than 40-state network with Rebuilding America's Warriors.

 
Source: WFTV
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Enrollment Information Revalidation Requirements
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has established a requirement for all enrolled providers/suppliers to revalidate their Medicare enrollment information under new enrollment screening criteria. CMS has completed its initial round of revalidations and will be resuming regular revalidation cycles in accordance with 42 CFR §424.515.

Below are links on the revalidation process:

 
 
 
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 
ICD-10 PCS Code Updates for October 1, 2016
Click here to view a summary of new and revised ICD-10-PCS Codes as of March 9, 2016.

The October 1, 2016 update will include the backlog of all proposals for changes to the code set proposed via the ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee process during the partial code freeze, and receiving public support.
 
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
The Next Big Debate in Health Care
With 91% of the population now covered by some form of health insurance, and the coverage rate higher in some states, the next big debate in health policy could be about the adequacy of coverage. That particularly means rising payments for deductibles and their impact on family budgets and access to care. This is about not just Obamacare but also the many more people who get insurance through an employer.

 
Source: The Wall Street Journal 
Judge Weighs New Abortion Law
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle will hold a hearing in a request from Planned Parenthood to block parts of a major abortion law approved this year by Gov. Rick Scott and Florida lawmakers. Planned Parenthood filed the lawsuit June 2 and challenged the constitutionality of three parts of the controversial law. The complaint, in part, targets a section of the law that seeks to prevent state agencies, local governments and Medicaid managed-care plans from contracting with organizations that own, operate or are affiliated with clinics that perform elective abortions. The complaint also challenges part of the law that would require the state Agency for Health Care Administration to inspect at least 50 percent of abortion-clinic patient records each year. In addition, the complaint challenges a section of the law that would change the state's definition of trimesters of pregnancy. 
 
Source: The News Service of Florida 
New Medical Hijack Attacks Targeting Hospital Devices
TrapX Security reported recently that cyber-attacks continue to target the healthcare industry, leading to an influx of attacks against hospital networks that have successfully penetrated security defenses and continue to compromise medical devices, which are often vulnerable to attackers.

 
Source: ITProPortal
CDC Warns US Hospitals of Emerging, Deadly Yeast Infection: 7 Things to Know
The CDC has issued a clinical alert to healthcare facilities in the U.S. about an emerging, multidrug-resistant yeast called Candida auris that is causing invasive, highly deadly infections across the world.

The following are seven things to know about C. auris and the CDC's response.

 
Source: Becker's Hospital Review 
New Ovarian Cancer Drugs Raise Hope - But Not For All
Promising new therapies are springing up to treat ovarian cancer, long one of the most deadly and hard to treat malignancies.

The latest: An experimental drug from Tesaro, a small biotech company based in Waltham, Mass. The company on Wednesday released  exciting clinical trial data for an experimental drug that's meant to stop cancer cells from repairing themselves after they've been hit by chemotherapy.

Patients with recurring ovarian cancer who took the drug got as much as an additional 15 months with no growth in their tumors, as compared to a control group, the company said. The data hasn't yet been peer reviewed or analyzed by federal regulators but the company press release on the results sent  stock prices soaring. 

 
Source: STAT
Why a Cheap New Wonder Drug May Not Be Such a Bargain After All
There's a little bit of good news on the drug pricing front with Gilead Sciences' announcement Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration has approved a highly effective but considerably cheaper version of Sovaldi to treat the often lethal hepatitis C virus.

Gilead has long been a poster child for excessive drug pricing practices involving critically needed, state-of-the-art drugs like Sovaldi, which costs $1,000 per pill before discounts, or as much as $84,000 for a full course of treatment.
 
But while Gilead and other Big PhRMA drug companies boast of their generosity in sharply bringing down astronomical list prices, Bloomberg just published a revealing study showing that even factoring in deep discounts, many major manufacturers have been raising prices far ahead of the rate of inflation.

 
Source: The Fiscal Times 
Florida Doctor Pleads Guilty to Fraud - Years After Complaints About His Prescribing
Seven years after a  U.S. senator cited him as a national example of aberrant practices, the onetime top prescriber of antipsychotic drugs in Florida's Medicaid program is in federal custody awaiting sentencing on fraud charges.

The second-highest prescriber is serving a four-year term in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges in 2012, but he only relinquished his license to practice medicine in Florida last fall.

 
Source: Health News Florida 
Makers Of Drugs And Devices Find Receptive Doctors At For-Profit, Southern Hospitals
Where a hospital is located and who owns it make a big difference in how many of its doctors take meals, consulting and promotional payments from pharmaceutical and medical device companies, a ProPublica analysis shows.

A higher percentage of doctors affiliated with hospitals in the South have received such payments than doctors in other regions of the country, our analysis found. And a greater share of doctors at for-profit hospitals have taken them than at nonprofit and government facilities.

 
Source: Health News Florida 
Flu-Miffed: Piecing Together Clues On How FluMist Lost Its Place In The Flu-Fighting Toolbox
What led to the abrupt fall of FluMist - the nasal spray version of influenza vaccine - which until recently was considered the preferred alternative to the injectable vaccine for younger children?

No one is quite sure, but there were hints of trouble for the past three flu seasons.

An advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted that - though it continues to be important to be vaccinated against the flu - the spray version was so ineffective that it should not be used by anyone during the 2016-2017 flu season.

 
Source: Kaiser Health News 
Medicare's Provider Enrollment Revalidation - Cycle 2
All Medicare Part A and B providers are required to recertify the accuracy of their enrollment information every five years through a process known as revalidation. The initial five year revalidation cycle was completed in 2015 and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began Cycle 2 in March 2016.
 
CMS implemented improvements to streamline the revalidation processduring Cycle 2. One enhancement is that CMS is establishing due dates with six months of advance notice for when the revalidation application must be received to remain compliant with Medicare's provider enrollment requirements. CMS posts the due dates for all currently enrolled providers in the Medicare Revalidation Lookup Tool at Data.CMS.gov/revalidation. A due date of "TBD" means that CMS has not set the date yet.Please do not send a revalidation application if there is NOT a listed due date. First Coast will return any unsolicited revalidation applications received earlier than six months before the due date, or when a due date is not yet listed.
 
The Revalidation Lookup Tool is updated every 60 days, so we encourage providers to check the tool periodically and respond timely once your due date is established. First Coast is also issuing notices by mail to providers two-three months before the due date.
 
An important change for Cycle 2 is that failure to submit a revalidation application will result in possible deactivation of a provider's Medicare enrollment and billing privileges. Please note other important impacts:
  • If the revalidation application is received, but additional information is requested (through development) and not received within the 30-day timeframe, the provider's Medicare enrollment will possibly be deactivated

  • Requests for application submission extensions will not be granted
  • Be sure to submit the application fee, if applicable
Please access the following key resources for additional information:
  • MLN® Special Edition (SE) 1605 article
  • Steps for completing the revalidation process
  • Revalidation Cycle 2 FAQs
  • CMS' Revalidations page

https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/MedicareProviderSupEnroll/Revalidations.html

  • First Coast's on-demand webcast recording "Provider Enrollment Revalidation - Cycle 2"
https://gm1.geolearning.com/geonext/fcso/coursesummary.CourseCatalog.geo?src=CourseCatalog&selectTab=Details&id=22507369817  (Note: To access the recording, request a free training account at First Coast University). 
 
Source: First Coast Service Options, Inc. 
Will Louisiana's Medicaid Expansion Be A Harbinger For Georgia?
Louisiana and Georgia have many political similarities. Both states face significant health challenges affecting their populations. And until recently, both states had identical approaches to Medicaid expansion.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, has rejected expansion since he took office in 2011, and GOP lawmakers have repeatedly backed him up. They point to concerns about the future cost of expansion, saying it would eventually put too much strain on the state budget.

But on Friday, Louisiana will become the 31st state - and only the third Southern state - to expand the government program, which is jointly financed by state and federal governments. Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat elected last fall, on his second day in office reversed the course set by his predecessor, Republican Bobby Jindal, by signing an executive order that began the process. Already, more than 200,000 state residents have been signed up.

 
Source: Kaiser Health News 
Legislative Updates
To view the 2016 Bills impacting health care professions, click here.
Free Summer Webinars from The Florida Healthcare Law Firm

Source: The Florida Healthcare Law Firm
Neighborhood Medical Center's Inaugural Golf Classic
Saturday, July 2, 2016

8:00 am

Seminole Golf Course (2550 Pottsdamer Street)

Featuring a 4 man scramble, exciting golf contents, and an awards luncheon!

For more information on registering or sponsoring this event, click here.

For any questions, contact Evelyn Smith or Rebecca Smith-Hardnen at (850) 577-1563.

Source: Neighborhood Medical Center
Discussion - "Update: Health Law Cases from the U.S. Supreme Court 2016 Term"
Source: The Florida State University Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine and Law
Web Event: Rx Drugs and the U.S. Health System: A Conversation About Drug Prices
Prescription drug spending surged in 2014 and continued to rise significantly in 2015, driven in part by growth in specialty drug expenditures, including medications to treat cancer and hepatitis C. What patients themselves pay for drugs is also influenced by the cost-sharing required under their insurance plans. High-profile cases have highlighted large price increases, and the public has named prescription drug affordability as a top health care priority for the President and Congress, prompting politicians and lawmakers to seek solutions.

On Thursday, July 7, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET, the Kaiser Family Foundation will host a web panel discussion on how drug prices are set and the drivers of recent and forecasted trends in prescription drug spending.

Larry Levitt, senior vice president for special initiatives at the Foundation, will moderate the discussion.

Panelists Kirsten Axelsen, vice president of worldwide policy, Pfizer;  Steve Miller, MD, chief medical officer, Express Scripts; and  Celynda G. Tadlock, PharmD, vice president of pharmacy business development, Aetna, will share insights.

Participants are encouraged to submit questions and to follow the conversation on Twitter at #kffevent.

REGISTER HERE

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation 
Luncheon - "Traumatic Brain Injury: New Science Examines an Old Problem"
UF Orange and Blue Plate Luncheon

 Tuesday, July 19th  - 11:45AM
Doubletree by Hilton - Tallahassee

 
Our speaker will be Steven DeKosky, MD - Professor & Interim Director - UF McKnight Brain Institute. His topic will be "Traumatic Brain Injury: New Science Examines an old Problem." 
 
Dr. DeKosky was involved in efforts to convince the NFL of the devastating impact of concussions on athletes.  He was portrayed in the recent Will Smith movie "Concussion" for his role in initiating research on the issue.
 
The cost of the lunch will be $20.00 payable at the door by cash or check written to the University of Florida.  If you would like to attend - please RSVP to uf-communityrelations@ufl.edu
 
(If you RSVP and later find you cannot attend - please let us know so we can cancel your reservation as we have to pay for all reserved lunches.)

Source: University of Florida 
You're Invited: Sixth Annual Broad and Cassel Health Forum
Broad and Cassel and The Advisory Board Company are hosting the Sixth Annual Health Forum on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL. Registration will begin at 11:00 AM, followed by presentations and discussions with some of the industry's top professionals knowledgeable about today's rapidly changing health care landscape. Admission is $90 per person. A lunch and a cocktail reception following the event are included.

For more information or to register, click here.

Source: Broad and Cassel 
Physician Survey on Health Insurance Mega-Mergers
As you know, Aetna recently filed the paperwork to acquire Humana, and Anthem has filed paperwork to acquire Cigna. These developments have the potential to make a major impact on the physicians we all serve. State and federal regulators are interested in knowing the prospective effects of these possible mergers on physicians' practices and patient care, and we need your help in gathering this vital information. 

Your individual responses will be kept strictly confidential and only aggregated data will be used in our reporting. This survey, and any information collected in response, will be used solely for the purpose of petitioning state and federal government concerning the antitrust issues raised by Aetna's proposed acquisition of Humana and Anthem's proposed acquisition of Cigna.

Thank you in advance for your assistance in making Florida physicians' voices heard on this important issue. Click here for the survey link.

Source: Florida Medical Association 
Zika Virus News and Updates for Health Care Providers
  • Information for Clinicians
  • Information for Obstetricians
  • CDC Issues Updated Zika Recommendations - 3/25/16
  • Department of Health Resources for Physicians and the General Public
  • Department of Health Resources for Mosquito-borne Viruses in General
  • CDC for Zika
  • Initial Guidance on Zika Virus Testing for Non-Pregnant Individuals And for Pregnant Women and Infants
  • Zika Laboratory Guidance
Calling For The Florida Women's Hall of Fame Nominations
The Florida Commission on the Status of Women has opened the nomination period for the 2017 Florida Women's Hall of Fame. This annual event celebrating the accomplishments of outstanding Florida women is tentatively scheduled for March 2017 at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee.

This is an opportunity to nominate a Woman in Medicine who has made significant contributions to the improvement of life for women and for all citizens of Florida.

Click here for details on the selection process and criteria for nominees. Completed nominations must be postmarked by July 15, 2016 to be considered.

Source: Florida Commission on the Status of Women
Don't Miss Your Opportunity to Support the 2017 CMS Membership Directory!
The Capital Medical Society will publish its 2017 Membership Directory early next year. It will be distributed to all members. We have once again contracted with a company called E&M Consulting to produce the directory. They will manage all the ad sales, creative design, and formatting of the publication for us. This is a very professional group with experience in publishing association directories. Their sales team will contact you through fax and/or phone calls to ask you to consider placing an ad. If you are interested, click here  to fill out the space reservation form and return it to them. Please be responsive and help support this directory. Remember, it will include our entire medical community.  
 
CMS will provide the content - including photos of our members. If you have an updated photo - please send it to us!    
 
Please feel free to call us if you have any questions - and thank you for your support!
 
Sincerely,
The CMS Staff
(850) 877-9018
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