|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
- Don't miss MOASC's "Spotlight On..." presentation this Saturday, July 29 (MOASC News)
- ANCO is funding one 2018 YIA candidate(ANCO News)
- Executive director's response to Congressman Schiff commentary(MOASC News)
|
California News
- Most Americans avoid end-of-life decisions, although some people may be more likely to make them if a doctor or social worker starts the discussion. In California, the state attorney general's office offers an end-of-life planning checklist on its website. In the past few years, other websites have encouraged those conversations, with their own suggestions on how to get started. Rebecca Sudore, a geriatrician at the University of California-San Francisco, created prepareforyourcare.org, which provides step-by-step instructions and video stories to help people navigate the care they want at the end of their lives.
- AB 265 (Wood). Prescription drugs: prohibition on price discount.
The bill will prohibit pharmaceutical manufacturers from offering a coupon for patients when there is a less expensive alternative (e.g., generic) available. Certain exceptions have been included in the bill such as independent charity patient assistance programs. CalCancerPAC is expecting additional amendments to the bill soon. There is growing concern with how the bill will be implemented if enacted and how pharmacists are to determine when a coupon is valid and when it is not. The health plans and Chamber of Commerce have pulled their support for the bill. The bill passed out of Assembly and Senate policy committees, and awaits action on the Senate floor.
- AB 315 (Wood). Pharmacy benefits management.
The bill will regulate pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in California and require PBMs to provide certain information certain to purchasers. The legislation sheds new light on a significant player in the pharmaceutical supply chain. The bill is supported by organized medicine, pharmacists, consumer groups, and opposed by PBMs and health plans. The bill passed Assembly and Senate policy committee and is awaiting action in Senate Appropriations Committee.
|
|
|
* MLN Connects
Announcements--New Medicare Cards with New Numbers: 3 Changes You May Need to Make; Quality Payment Program: View Recent Webinar Recordings; Hospice Discharge Notices; Hospice Quality Reporting Program: Non-Compliance Letters; SNF Quality Reporting Program: Non-Compliance Letters; Billing for Stem Cell Transplants
Claims, Pricers, & Codes
--ICD-10-CM Errata Available
Publications--
CLIA Webcast: Audio Recording and Transcript-New; Appeals Call: Audio Recording and Transcript-New; Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System Booklet-Reminder; Suite of Products & Resources for Billers & Coders Educational Tool-Reminder; Quality Payment Program Listening Session: Audio Recording and Transcript-New; Medicare Basics: Parts A and B Claims Overview Video-Reminder; Chronic Care Management Services Fact Sheet-Reminder
* Redetermination Requests Which Contain Multiple ICNs
* July Webinars-Register Now
* Medicare After Hours-Evening Webinars Available for Your Professional Growth
* Pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) J2505-R2
* Positron Emission Tomography Scans Coverage-R10
* Flow Cytometry LCD-R7
* NCCI PTP Edits-Version 23.3 Effective October 1, 2017 CR10183
- Whether you are a provider enrolling in Medicare for the first time or need to make changes to your enrollment information, Internet-based Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) is the most efficient process of submitting applications and keeping Medicare enrollment information up to date. Read the complete update.
- Forthcoming Noridian/JEMAC webinars include:
* Medical Oncology (July 25)
* Self Service Re-openings in NMP for Part B Providers (August 8)
|
|
|
- Earlier this month, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) notified approximately 30,000 Medi-Cal providers that they were being "deactivated" because they had not submitted a claim or rendered services reported on a Medi-Cal claim in the last 12 months. The notices indicated that the deactivation date would be July 22, 2017. DHCS has, however, decided to not to proceed with the planned deactivation. DHCS will instead be reconsidering what is defined as "inactivity" after the department was made aware that such deactivation would be problematic for some providers-particularly those who see Medi-Cal patients through a managed care Medi-Cal plan, who in many instances have contractual obligations to maintain active status with traditional fee-for-service Medi-Cal. The DHCS Provider Enrollment Division has indicated that a rescheduled implementation of the mass deactivation will be announced at a later date.
|
|
|
- DON'T MISS this Saturday's MOASC's "Spotlight On..." series presentation by the University of California Irvine, Saturday, July 29 at the Waterfront Beach Resort, Huntington Beach. MOASC awarded educational grants to 3 UCI Fellows who attended the ASCO Annual meeting in Chicago on June 2-6, 2017. They and Faculty from UCI will and present their discoveries through interactive discussions on, abstract highlights, colorectal & gastro-esophageal cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer. Contact
moasc@moasc.org to register.
|
|
|
- The Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology is now accepting applications for the 2018 Young Investigator Award (YIA). The Association of Northern California Oncologists (ANCO) is funding one 2018 YIA for a qualified northern California applicant, and urges all eligible northern California physicians to apply. The YIA is a one-year, $50,000 grant that provides research funding to promising physicians to support their transition from final years of training to faculty appointment and to encourage and promote quality research in clinical oncology. Applications in all areas of cancer research are accepted from U.S. and international applicants. For 2018, CCF has dedicated funding for the following areas: breast cancer, northern California researchers, global oncology, kidney cancer, lung cancer, pediatric cancer, sarcoma, and supportive care. Other areas of interest include cholangiocarcinoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, gynecological caners, and melanoma. YIA applications opened on July 1 and are due by 11:50PM ET on September 21. Eligibility criteria, award details, and the request for proposals are available on the CCF website (
www.conquer.org/young-investigator-award
). For questions about the YIA or assistance with your application, please e-mail
grants@concquer.org
.
- ANCO's 2017 Professional Education Meeting will take place on September 6 at the San Jose Fairmont and feature talks on QPP/MACRA, ASCO's COME HOME Project, USP 797/800, and California Legislative/Regulatory Updates. Download the meeting announcement and registration form at
www.anco-online.org/ProfEduc2017.pdf
.
- SAVE THE DATE ANCO's 3Q2017 Hematologic Malignancies Update will take place on September 9 at the Stanford Park Hotel. Watch for a meeting announcement in late July.
|
|
|
- House Energy & Commerce members on both sides of the aisle recently said transparency could help the Health Resources and Services Administration oversee the 340B program, but while some Republicans argued growth in the program contributes to rising drug costs, Democrats said 340B is separate from the broader problem of high drug prices and raised concerns with CMS' proposed changes to hospitals' 340B reimbursement. CMS' hospital outpatient pay rule (see
CMS News
below), released last week, would cut hospitals' pay for Part B drugs purchased through 340B from Average Sales Price plus 6% to ASP minus 22.5%.
- As Congress renegotiates the FDA Reauthorization Act, a piece of legislation that lets the Food and Drug Administration collect fees from pharmaceutical companies that submit their products for FDA review, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has threatened to hold up the bill unless the Senate adds a "right-to-try" amendment to the House version currently on the Senate calendar. Despite its intention to help patients without approved treatment options gain access to drugs in development, right-to-try legislation threatens the integrity of clinical trials, which remain the safest way for patients to try experimental drugs. Adding 'right to try' to FDA user fee bill would undermine the agency's work.
- In
testimony
before CMS, the MGMA outlined the importance of the agency releasing a regulation establishing a national standard for electronic attachments.
Attachments are typically used during a practice's revenue cycle in support of claims, prior authorization, referrals, and other transactions. More than 90% of respondents in a recent MGMA member survey indicated that the lack of a standard was burdensome to their practice. In its testimony, the association outlined the current manual process of collecting and sending supporting clinical documentation and the time and cost savings associated with moving to an automated electronic attachments approach.
- A new fact sheet (PDF) on the United States Cancer Statistics has been posted by the CDC along with the release of the 1999-2014 data set. Information on the fact sheet includes an overview of the most recent data and the new data visualization tool which shows the data in graph and chart formats.
|
|
|
- The next CMS Physicians, Nurses & Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum is scheduled for Wednesday July 26, 2017 at 11:00 am Pacific Time (PT). Some topics will include:
Calendar Year 2018 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed; PQRS and Value Modifier Policies; Comment Solicitation on Initial Data Collection and Reporting Period for Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule; Comment Solicitation on Biosimilars; Appropriate Use Criteria for Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Services and Open Payments.
To participate by phone: 1-800-837-1935. ID: 60388319. Persons participating by phone do not need to RSVP.
Encore audio will be available 2 hours after live call and expires 2 days post call: 1-855-859-2056; Conference ID: 60388319.
|
Affiliate Association News
- Fewer than one in four physicians feel ready to meet CMS QPP reporting requirements according to a survey of 1,000 physicians conducted by the American Medical Association (AMA). Over half of those surveyed (56%) plan to participate in MIPS in 2017, while 18% are expecting to qualify for higher and more stable payments as APM participants. The survey also found that a majority (51%) of physicians who are involved in practice decision-making feel somewhat knowledgeable about MACRA and the QPP, but only 8% describe themselves as "deeply knowledgeable" about the program and its requirements. Additionally, 90% felt the reporting requirements were "somewhat" or "very" burdensome. To help physicians understand the payment reforms and prepare for the transition, CMA has published a MACRA resource page at
www.cmanet.org/macra
where you will find an overview of MACRA and a comprehensive list of tools, resources and information from CMA, AMA, and CMS. New to the resource center is a brief instruction video by AMA entitled One Patient, One Measure, No Penalty: How to Avoid a Medicare Payment Penalty with Basic Reporting. Finally, ASCO's MACRA resource page (
www.asco.org/macra
) includes ASCO's Top Ten List for MACRA Implementation in 2017 and ASCO's MACRA decision tree, amongst other resources.
- Attention PHYSICIANS, NP's, PA's, ADMINISTRATORS, CARE MANAGERS and NURSE NAVIGATORS! You are invited to participate in the Oncology Patient Engagement Trend Report. You are being held accountable for costs of patient care, yet there is a gap between your perception of care and your patients'. By participating in this report, you can close that gap. How do you: Improve the quality of the patient experience? Engage patients in a way that saves on total costs of care? Avoid downstream gaps? Leverage payer contracts with this information? This Report will inform your practice and stimulate the discussions that we all need. Your assistance, and the assistance of your care team, is greatly needed.
Please access the survey at
www.oncologytrendssurvey.com
A completed survey from each of these perspectives, from your practice, will be of great value. This Report is part of the solution. You can be part of the solution. You are strongly encouraged to participate in the Oncology Patient Engagement Trend Report survey. Each respondent will receive an honorarium and the final report free. The Report will be an important resource and a catalyst for improvements across the country in patient engagement. Care providers, payers and employers across the country will use the report's results as a benchmark and platform for increased patient engagement activities and utilization of patient engagement resources in their own markets. Participating in the oncology trend survey at
www.oncologytrendsurvey.com
will help you, other oncologists and oncology practice managers manage their practice more wisely. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call or email Dawn Holcombe at 860-305-4510 or
dawnho@aol.com
. Thank you.
- ASCO's COME HOME, an oncology medical home program, offers direct support to practices as they transition to value-based reimbursement and provides patients with greater access to evidence-based care, while offering practices tools to evaluate their readiness for the move to an alternative payment model--in compliance with the QPP--as well as implementation of tools to help practices make the change. ASCO is currently accepting practices for the fee-based program. Visit
http://www.asco.org/practice-guidelines/practice-support/asco-consulting-services/asco-come-home?
or contact
clinicalaffairs@asco.org
for more information.
- ASCO has issued a position statement aimed at contributing to the national dialogue on rising drug prices. The statement, which asserts that any solutions must also preserve patients' access to care and foster innovation, analyzes a wide array of options and recommends that a panel of stakeholders be established to determine which proposals will be effective and develop a uniform approach for assessing the value of drugs. The ASCO position statement highlights that new cancer drugs routinely cost more than $100,000 per year, and prices on many existing treatments continue to rise, causing serious financial hardship even for many patients with insurance. Drug are the fastest growing component of cancer care costs, which are expected to increase by more than 25% between 2010 and 2020. Read ASCO's statement at
http://www.asco.org/advocacy-policy/asco-in-action/asco-offers-path-addressing-affordability-cancer-drugs-new-position?
.
- Learn how cutting-edge scientific data can be translated into new strategies for diagnosis and treatment, and find out what to do in cases where there are no data, at the ASH Meeting on Hematologic Malignancies, September 8 - 9, 2017, Chicago, IL. Participate in panel discussions on each of the core malignancies, including leukemia, lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndromes, myeloma, and myeloproliferative neoplasms. Engage in stimulating conversations on specific disease topics with the meeting's expert presenters during lunch on both Friday and Saturday. This is a unique opportunity to get additional treatment insights and answers to your most challenging patient care questions.
Schedule & Program
Register NOW
-
NCCN has published the following updates to their Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology
and associated products for malignant pleural mesothelioma (V2.2017), neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas, non-small cell lung cancer (V8.2017) uterine neoplasms (V3.2017). For the complete updated versions of the NCCN Guidelines, et.al., please visit
NCCN.org
.
|
|
|
- Innovative medicines developed by America's biopharmaceutical research companies are instrumental in helping patients live longer and healthier lives. Today, thanks in part to innovative medicines and through the use of innovative therapies, death rates from cancer in the U.S have fallen 23 percent since their peak in 1991. And now 2 out of 3 patients diagnosed with cancer are living at least 5 years after their diagnosis.
- AMGEN informs ANCO and MOASC that the FDA has approved Blincyto to treat relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia in adults and children.
- Merck informs ANCO and MOASC that the FDA has approved a new formulation of Emend for injection that has a lower concentration of edetate disodium (EDTA), an inactive ingredient. The new formulation (5.4mg EDTA, NDC 0006-3061-00) will replace the existing formulation (18.8mg EDTA, NDC 0006-3941-32).
- Puma Biotechnology informs MOASC & ANCO that the FDA has approved NERLYNXTM (neratinib), formerly known as PB272, a once-daily oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor for the extended adjuvant treatment of adult patients with early stage HER-2 overexpressed/amplified breast cancer, following adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy. For more information click here.
|
|
|
|
MOASC CALENDAR
Spotlight On...
Clinical Oncology
July 29, 2017
Professional Educational Series
November 8-9
|
(ANCO Member Discount Code ILC17ANCO,
Huntington Beach, July 27-29)
3Q2017 Hematologic Malignancies Update
(Palo Alto, September 9)
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
| |
|
