California Oncology Weekly
"Where California Oncologists Go For Answers!"
A collaborative publication of the
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc.
and the
Association of Northern California Oncologists, Inc.
 
 
December 20, 2016

This is the last 2016 publication of the California Oncology Weekly.
The next publication will be January 3, 2017.
 
California News
 
 
- California employers can read summaries of new legislation taking effect in 2017 that will affect their day-to-day operations. The summaries appear in a California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) white paper, available to download at www.calchamber.com/newlaws2017.

- CMA's Practice Resources for December is now available online at www.cmanet.org/cpr and features articles entitled: Time to verify your patients' eligibility and benefits for 2017; Reminder: Changes to your Medicare participation status for 2017 are due by December 31; The Coding Corner: Undercooking isn't a solution, it's a potential compliance liability.

- The Anthem Network Update (December 2016) is now available online at www11.anthem.com/ca/provider/f5/s3/t3/pw_g283732.pdf and features articles entitled Update on Anthem Blue Cross Individual PPO/EPO plans and network for 2017; Important update: Delay of the transition of NOC oncology and biologic drugs to pre-service clinical review; and, Specialty pharmacy drug program updates.



Noridian News

- Noridian/JEMAC has sent postcards to providers to bring awareness of the small timeframe where they can change their participation status in Medicare. The current annual election period ends on December 31.
 
- Noridian/JEMAC has posted the following updates to its website http://med.noridianmedicare.com/web/jeb :
* MLN Connects Provider News
Announcements --Keeping Medicare's Promise with MACRA; EHR Incentive Programs: Information on CY2017 and Stage 3 Program Requirements; Quality Payment Program Patient Relationship Categories List: Comment by January 6; ICD-10 Code Updates: Impact on Medicare Quality Programs
Claims, Pricers, and Codes --January 2017 Average Sales Price Files Available
Events --MACRA 101 Webinar Series-December 20 and 21.
Publications --Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, Anesthesiologist Assistants, and Physician Assistants Booklet-Revised
* Preventive Services-HCPCS Code Update CR9888
* ASP Medicare Part B Drug Pricing Files and Revisions for Prior Quarterly Pricing Files-October 2016 CR9724
* Chemotherapy Administration Local Coverage Article-R4 and R5
* Non Covered Services LCD-R14



  MOASC News
   
During this Holiday Season, we reflect upon your participation in MOASC, and are especially grateful for your loyalty and trust. We wish you a Happy Holiday and Prosperous 2017!
 
- The MOASC Office will be closed for the holidays from Friday, December 23, 2016 through Monday January 2, 2017.
 
- Oncology Revolution:  Are your treatment choices still relevant in the era of Immuno-oncology and Molecularly-targeted therapies? Join us for the 2017 MOASC Oncology Summit of Nationally known and regionally based key-opinion leaders and assess your tools for thriving in an era of Personalized Medicine! We will discuss how to use the new tools of "Personalized Medicine" to guide treatment choices for Lung Cancer, Prostate Cancer and Multiple Myeloma. This will be a practically-oriented, clinically relevant discussion and you will leave with new insights into your own practice patterns and how to make sure you are embracing the future today!

For complete information on this superb program, please contact the MOASC Office at 909-985-9061 ext.1 or moasc@moasc.org or www.moasc.org .
 
- The 2nd Annual UC Irvine Health Hematology Symposium, presented by the Department of Pathology and the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, will take place on Saturday, March 25, 2017, at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, Anaheim, CA.
Topics will include:
* Molecular diagnostics in selected disorders 
* Myelodysplastic syndrome
* Primer on flow cytometry for the general practitioner         
* Venous thromboembolism
* Approach to the evaluation of anemia 
* Selected vector-borne diseases
* Lupus anticoagulant and antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.  
For registration or more information please contact Dannielle Lampkin at dlampkin@uci.edu or 714-456-8621 or visit the Hematology Symposium registration website, http://pathology.uci.edu/hema-symposium    


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ANCO News
 
- Read Bobbi Buell's summary and analysis of the CY2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, Outpatient Prospective Payment System, and coding updates for 2017 at www.anco-online.org/BBCY2017MPFS.pdf. Join Bobbi for her annual Medicare update webcasts on: 
* December 22 at 9AM PT
 
- ANCO's Medicare Reimbursement for Oncology 2017 with Bobbi Buell takes place January 4 in San Jose and January 5 in Sacramento. Learn the latest information impacting Medicare's oncology reimbursement for 2017. These meetings are supported by ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Exelixis, Helsinn Oncology, and Merck. Download the meeting announcement and registration form at www.anco-online.org/MedicareUpdate2017.pdf.
 
- ANCO's SABCS Highlights 2016 will take place on January 26 at The Claremont Resort in Oakland. Download the meeting announcement and registration form at www.anco-online.org/SABCSHL2016.pdf.
 
- ANCO is pleased to announce the 17th Multidisciplinary Management of Cancers: A Case-based Approach on March 17-19, 2017 at The Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa. Registration and housing now open at www.multicancers.org.

- ANCO's 2016 Annual Report is now available online at www.anco-online.org/AR2016.pdf.

- Congratulations to ANCO member Eric J. Small, M.D.,
University of California, San Francisco, on his election to the ASCO  Board of Directors  to fill a medical oncologist seat on the
Board through 2021.



National News
 
- IRS Offers Tips on Validating Your Identity on Your Tax Return. You should always keep a copy of your tax return. It is even more important for 2017, as the Internal Revenue Service moves to strengthen its e-signature validation process. You must use your 2015 adjusted gross income or your 2015 self-select PIN to validate your identity on your federal electronic tax return this tax season. The electronic filing PIN is no longer available as an option. As part of the IRS efforts to protect taxpayers, the e-signature validation change mostly affects those taxpayers who have used tax software in the past but are changing software brands in 2017. If that's you, learn more about how to verify your identity and electronically sign your tax return at Validating Your Electronically Filed Tax Return. To learn additional ways you can take to protect your personal and financial data, visit "Taxes. Security. Together. Also read Publication 4524, Security Awareness for Taxpayers.
 
- A study published yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that an estimated 32,000 fewer patients would die every year if patient outcomes under male physicians matched those of female physicians. But the authors say those differences shouldn't be construed as explaining the disparities in readmission and mortality rates by physician gender, and the study does not identify causes.  Read More

- A Protenus Breach Barometer report revealed that data breaches within the health care industry increased from 35 in October to 57 in November, 54.4% of which were caused by employees or organization insiders. A total of 458,639 records were comprised in November, with Delaware and California experiencing nine incidents each. BeckersHospitalReview.com



CMS News

- The Obama administration, December 16th, announced it was killing a five-year Medicare initiative that would test new ways of paying for outpatient drugs in an effort to bring those prices down.   Providers, drugmakers and pharmaceutical companies immediately slammed the proposal when it was unveiled in March. Since then, the mandatory program has served as an example for opponents of what's wrong with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which was created by the Affordable Care Act to find ways to reform how healthcare is delivered and paid for. The center itself is in the crosshairs of some Republicans, who say the pilot programs created by the Innovation Center overstep its authority because they require physicians and patients to participate without creating legislation to support the efforts. Providers also said they weren't consulted or asked for input before the model was unveiled. The program, proposed by the CMS Innovation Center, would have piloted new ways to pay for drugs under Medicare Part B in an effort to curb costs and reward better patient outcomes. Medicare, which now pays for a third of all prescription drugs, paid nearly $21 billion for Part B drugs in 2014, with 55% of that going for anti-cancer drugs. Experts say the cancellation of a pilot program whose goal was to drop drug prices doesn't mean the fight is over, and future efforts should simply take lessons from the experience.
 
- CMS and the National Library of Medicine (NLM) will update all impacted electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) value sets for the 2017 performance period. On October 1, 2016, new International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS code sets went into effect. Updating of these codes traditionally occurs on an annual basis, however, during the immediate years leading up to the ICD-9 to ICD-10 transition there was an extended freeze to code updates to support a smooth transition. Therefore, for fiscal year (FY) 2017, updates and revisions include changes since the last completed update (October 1, 2013). CMS will issue an addendum to the 2016 eCQM Specifications (ie. 2016 Annual Update published in April 2016) to update relevant ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS eCQM value sets for the 2017 performance year. These changes will affect electronic reporting of eCQMs for the following programs: The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for MIPS eligible clinicians ;
The Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program; and The Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals.
These changes will only affect the value sets for the eCQMs. The Health Quality Measure Format (HQMF) specifications, the value set object identifiers (OIDs), and the measure version numbers for 2017 eCQM reporting will not change. All changes to the eCQM value sets will be made available through the National Library of Medicine's Value Set Authority Center https://vsac.nlm.nih.gov/ starting in early to mid-January 2017. At this time, no action is required. Questions regarding the addendum, eCQM value sets, appropriateness of mapping, and non-ICD-10 code system updates should be reported to the ONC CQM Issue Tracker available at http://jira.oncprojectracking.org/browse/CQM



Affiliate Association News  

- ASCO is accepting applications for its prestigious Health Policy Fellowship. This isa one-year Fellowship opportunity designed to give early-career oncologists the unique skills necessary to monitor and shape the regulatory and legislative policies that directly affect the practice environment and impact patients with cancer and their care teams. The deadline for submitting applications is December 30 at www.asco.org/node/7556
 
- A SH is accepting applications for the new ASH Congressional Fellowship Program , a year-long opportunity to work in a Congressional office and help shape health care and hematology policy. This new opportunity for one ASH member starts in September 2017. For more information and to apply, visit www.hematology.org/Advocacy/6872.aspx .
 
- See what you missed at this year's ASH Annual Meeting by visiting ASH on Demand to access more than 100 hours of recorded sessions. Go to ashondemand.org/Meetings/Annual-Meetings for more information.
 
ASH's 2017 Highlights of ASH in North America will take place in Seattle on January 27-28. Go to  www.hematology.org/highlights  for more information and to register.
 
Register for the inaugural ASCO Oncology Practice Conference, an educational meeting focused on the business of cancer care, being held March 2, 2017 in Orlando. Learn more and register at  http://opc.asco.org/?cmpid=db_aopc_rh_dcn_-_all_10-20-16_aopc
 
A collaboration between ASCO and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) enables participants of ACSO's Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) to receive Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Practice Assessment points from ABIM. For more information on ABIM MOC, eligibility, and requirements, please visit  http://university.asco.org/practice-assessment-activities .
 
View ACCC's webcast on the MIPS--The Final Rules Under MACRA at 
 
- NCCN has published updated NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) with NCCN Evidence Blocks™ B-cell lymphomas (V1.2017); bladder cancer (V2.2016); chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (V1.2017); genetic/familial high-risk assessment: breast and ovarian (V2.2017); hairy cell leukemia (V1.2017); primary cutaneous B-cell lymphoma (V1.2017); T-cell lymphomas (V1.2017); and, testicular cancer (V2.2017). For the complete updated versions of the NCCN Guidelines, NCCN Guidelines with NCCN Evidence Blocks™, the NCCN Compendium®, the NCCN Chemotherapy Order Templates (NCCN Templates®), and the NCCN Imaging Appropriate Use Criteria (NCCN Imaging AUC™), please visit www.nccn.org .



Industry News 
 
- Seattle Genetics is hosting an educational program entitled Lymphoma Clinical Update with Joseph Tuscano, M.D., UC Davis, at Mulvaney's B&L in Sacramento on January 11. RSVP with your local account manager or Krista Saumure at (916) 402-6846 or ksaumure@seagen.com.



 
In This Issue
  1.  
 
  MOASC CALENDAR
 
LunchTime Series
 
Teleconference/Webinar 
 

Oncology Roundtable Teleconference 
 
  
ASCO State Affiliate  
Meeting in Virginia, VA

  



 
 
ANCO  
CALENDAR
   
Medicare Reimbursement for Oncology 2017  (January 4, San Jose;
January 5, Sacramento)
 
 
 
SABCS Highlights 2016  (January 26, The Claremont Resort, Oakland)
 
 
Best of 17th WCLC (International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, San Francisco, February 4)
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The  Medical Oncology Association of Southern California (MOASC) is a leading oncology society that advances and protects the ability of cancer patients to obtain, and the ability of the oncology physicians to provide, optimal cancer care. The  Association of Northern California Oncologists (ANCO) is an association of hematologists/oncologists dedicated to promoting high professional standards of cancer care by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas, data, and knowledge. The material contained in the California Oncology Weekly is intended as general information for ANCO and MOASC members. Because diagnostic, treatment, contracting, coding, and billing decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis, any such information contained in the California Oncology Weekly may not apply in any given situation. Members are encouraged to contact their own consultants or advisors to obtain specific advice on matters relating to contracting, coding, and billing. The information contained in California Oncology Weekly should not be used as a substitute for such advice. This publication provides a summary of regulations affecting oncology and its business practices. Reading this newsletter does not substitute for understanding regulations and verifying the validity of every claim. This information is time-sensitive and is subject to change. MOASC or ANCO accepts no liability for any statements or articles herein. CPT codes are owned and trademarked by the American Medical Association.  All Rights Reserved.

 

  

MOASC: P.O. Box 161, Upland, CA 91785 | P (909) 985-9061 | F (909) 804-5006| www.moasc.org

ANCO: P.O. Box 151109, San Rafael, CA 94915 |  P (415) 472-3960 | F (415) 472-3961 | www.anco-online.org