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
.
August 14,
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- This Friday, August 17, is the deadline to respond to ACCC's comprehensive survey (Affiliate Association News)
- Application deadline August 21, 2018 to receive funding for the CDOC Cancer Plan Implementation Project (California News)
- COA exposes inhumane pain, suffering, and anxiety inflicted by PBMs on patients with cancer (Affiliate Association News)
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California News
- Application deadline is next Tuesday, August 21, 2018. The California Dialogue on Cancer (CDOC) Cancer Plan Implementation Project is looking to fund organizations in California to conduct interventions that align with the state's cancer plan strategies on
colorectal cancer
,
HPV vaccination
and
cancer survivorship
. Funding will not be awarded in the form of a grant, selected organizations will receive funding upon completion of activities. To learn more about this opportunity, read more in this announcement, or download the description here:
CDOC Cancer Plan Implementation Project Description
- The California Medical Association, in collaboration with the California Department of Justice and Medical Board of California, will offer a webinar entitled CURES-Preparing for the New Duty to Consult Requirements on August 22 at 12:15pm. CURES is a database of Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substance prescriptions dispensed in California. Effective October 2, physicians must consult CURES prior to prescribing these medications to a patient for the first time and at least once every four months thereafter if that medication remains part of the patient's treatment. Register at
https://www.cmadocs.org/event-info/sessionaltcd/CMA18_0822_CURES/t/cures-preparing-for-the-new-duty-to-consult-requirement
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- Noridian/JEMAC has the following updates on their website
- MLN Connects Provider eNews:
Announcements: Help Your Medicare Patients Avoid and Report Scams; Quality Payment Program Exception Applications Due By December 31; Quality Payment Program: 2017 MIPS Performance Feedback and Payment Adjustment; Quality Payment Program Performance Feedback and Targeted Review Videos; Reporting Changes in Ownership
Events:
Publications: Implementing Epoetin Alfa Biosimilars, Retacrit for ESRD/AKI Claims MLN Matters Article-New; ASP Medicare Part B Drug Pricing Files and Revisions: October 2018 MLN Matters Article-New; Quality Payment Program Year 2 Overview Web-Based Training Course-Revised; Quality Payment Program: MIPS Promoting Interoperability Performance Category Year 2 Web-Based Training Course-Revised; Safeguard Your Identity and Privacy Using PECOS Booklet-Reminder; PECOS FAQs Booklet-Reminder
* Provider Enrollment Requirements for Writing Prescriptions for Medicare Part D Drugs-Rescinded SE1434
* ASP Medicare Part B Drug Pricing Files and Revisions to Prior Quarterly Pricing Files-October 2018 CR10899
* PIK3CA Gene Tests Billing and Coding Guidelines-R1
* EDI Dial-Up Model Support Ending October 1, 2018
* Eligibility and Entitlement for Persons with Medicare Advantage Now Available
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Effective with dates of service on or after July 12, 2018, Q5108 is payable by Medicare. The short descriptor for Q5108 is: Injection, fulphila. The long descriptor is: Injection, pegfilgrastim-jmdb, biosimilar, (fulphila), 0.5 mg. The Type of Service (TOS) Codes for Q5108 are 1, P and the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Database (MPFSDB) Status Indicator is E. Note that MACs should hold claims for Q5108 until CR10834 is implemented.Read the complete update
- Upcoming Noridian/JEMAC webinars include:
* Recovery Audit (RAC) Program Webinar (September 19)
Visit http://med.noridianmedicare.com/web/jeb/education/training-events for more information and to register.
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- Save-The-Date! Wednesday, August 22, 2018 at 12:00PM-PST for a webinar presented by MOASC sponsor, Walgreens Oncology Specialty Pharmacies. This webinar will better help you to understand Walgreens approach to partnership with community based Oncology practices.
Speakers include: Matt Farber, Senior Director of Patient Advocacy; Stan Quintana, Enterprise Partnership Director - Walgreen Co.; Marianne Do, Registered On-Site Manager for the Community Specialty Pharmacy specializing in Oncology in Orange, CA. Contact moasc@moasc.org for webinar details.
- SAVE THE DATE! Don't miss MOASC's Educational Series Program Thursday, September 20, 8:00am to 12:30pm at the Waterfront Beach Resort, Huntington Beach. For practice administrators & managers, topics include: utility and value of COA Analyzer Tool, Pharmacy Standards Update and Value Based Care and bundled payment negotiation. Billers' topics will address: Navigating Denials; Billing Updates; Telemedicine in Oncology, Care Management reimbursement opportunities; proposed changes for 2019 Medicare physician fee schedule and much more. Contact moasc@moasc.org for meeting information.
- MOASC and ANCO are jointly conducting a 2018 staff salary survey
. The survey will be USPS mailed, e-mailed/FAXed to all MOASC members in mid-May and is available online at
www.anco-online.org/salsrvy.html
. A $50 Visa gift card for respondents is included in this year's survey. Return your completed survey no later than September 30; results will be analyzed and reported in 4Q2018.
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- The Conquer Cancer Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2019 Young Investigator Award (YIA), including the YIA dedicated to a northern California Fellow. Learn more about the YIA at https://www.conquer.org/young-investigator-award and submit your application no later than September 25. In addition, ASCO is accepting applications for Career Development Awards (CDAs) that provide research funding to clinical investigators who have received their initial faculty appointment as they work to establish an independent clinical cancer research program. Applications for CDAs are also due by September 25 at www.conquer.org/career-development-award.
- ANCO and MOASC are jointly conducting a 2018 staff salary survey. The survey will be USPS mailed, e-mailed/FAXed to all ANCO members in mid-May and is available online at www.anco-online.org/salsrvy.html. A $50 Visa gift card for respondents is included in this year's survey. Return your completed survey no later than September 30; results will be analyzed and reported in 4Q2018.
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ANCO'S
ASCO Highlights 2018
will take place on August 25 at The Claremont Resort in Oakland. Download the announcement and registration form at www.anco-online.org/ASCOHL2018.pdf.
- ANCO is organizing a series of Hematologic Malignancies Updates in 2018. These updates are supported by AMGEN, Janssen Oncology, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Novartis Oncology, and Seattle Genetics. Download the presentations www.anco-online.org/education.html. The next
Update
takes place on September 15 in Palo Alto; download the meeting announcement/registration form at www.anco-online.org/3Q2018HemeMaligUpdate.pdf
- SAVE THE DATE: ANCO'S 2018 Professional Education Meeting will take place on September 19 at The Claremont Resort in Oakland. The agenda will focus on the oncology care model. Watch for a meeting announcement in early August.
- ANCO members may take advantage of complimentary registration at the Best of World Conference on Lung Cancer organized by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and taking place in San Francisco on November 17. Register for an "Early Bird ANCO Member" ticket at https://bestofwclc2018.eventbrite.com.
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National News
- AHIP's new Medicaid Primer online course gives you a solid understanding of the landmark public program that delivers health coverage to millions of Americans. You'll master Medicaid's fundamentals and ongoing innovations, including funding and administration, eligibility rules, long-term services, waivers, and regulation of managed care, including the Final Rule. Learn more about Medicaid Primer and enroll today.
- Oncologist, Dr. Donald Chamberlain paid $428,700, to resolve state and federal False Claims Act allegations due to medical practice billing Medicare, Medicaid and the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program for foreign-sourced anticancer drugs not approved by the FDA. The United States further alleged that Chamberlain purchased unapproved drugs because they were less expensive than the drugs approved by FDA for marketing in the United States. Thus, Chamberlain allegedly profited by administering the cheaper unapproved drugs.
- Physician practices should buy cyber-insurance because it covers compensation for loss of income and payment of fines and fees to hire IT experts in the event of a data breach, according to an article in Medical Economics. "Even though you're a small practice, the motivation to attack is still there. People who say they haven't been targeted simply haven't been targeted yet," said HIMSS Director of Privacy and Security Lee Kim.
Physician's Briefing/HealthDay News
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CMS News
- COA strongly opposes CMS's decision to allow Medicare Advantage plans to employ step therapy across physician-administered and self-administered drugs under Medicare Part B and Part D. Belpw is a link to COA's opposition in response to CMS's announcement that it will allow Medicare Advantage plans to employ step therapy policies that would require patients to try and fail lower cost medications before they could access more expensive medications originally prescribed by their health care provider. Step Therapy MA PartB COA Statement.
- Participants in MIPS for 2017 can review their MIPS final score and performance feedback at
http://qpp.cms.gov
and may request that CMS review their performance feedback and final score through a process called targeted review. If you believe an error has been made in your MIPS payment adjustment calculation, then you can request a targeted review until September 30.
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Affiliate Association News
- The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) continues to expose the inhumane pain, suffering, and anxiety inflicted by Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) on patients with cancer with the release of another paper documenting real-life PBM horror stories. Telling the real stories of cancer patients and oncology professionals across the country, the paper "Danger, Delay, Denial: Pharmacy Benefit Manager Horror Stories" features stories provided to COA by community oncology practices. The serious, sometimes dangerous, stories include PBM bureaucracies causing severe lapses in a leukemia patient's care; filling prescriptions with the wrong dose; and standing in the way of timely treatment while a patient's window of opportunity to treat a deadly breast cancer closed.
- This Friday, August 17 is the deadline to respond to ACCC's 9th annual Trending Now in Cancer Care comprehensive survey that will explore how cancer programs across the country are moving forward and adapting in the midst of increasingly rapid advances in cancer care. The survey will examine the hottest topics in oncology today. If you have questions about the survey, please contact
Amy Marbaugh
, Senior Clinical Content Manager, ACCC. Participants who complete the entire survey will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 Amazon gift card (20 participants will be chosen).
TAKE THE SURVEY
ACCC really needs to hear from you!
- Early bird discount through Monday, August 20 to attend the 35th ACCC National Oncology Conference, "HOW-TO STRATEGIES FOR THE CANCER CARE TEAM."October 17 - 19, 2018, Phoenix, AZ. Benefit from STRATEGIESthat have the power to OPTIMIZEyour delivery of exceptional patient care, TRANSFORMyour cancer program's PERFORMANCE, and SUPPORT your professional WELL-BEING.
View the conference brochure
.
Don't miss your chance to SAVE up to $125 off registration, registration is easy!
Register online, call the ACCC concierge at 301.984.9496, ext. 200, or email us.
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Thursday, August 23, 9am -10am PDT, learn the nuances of chimeric antigen (CAR) T-Cell therapy
, including appropriate patient selection, referral coordination and how to optimize communication among members of the multidisciplinary cancer team.
REGISTER
.
Scheduling conflict? You can still participate. All registrants will receive a link to the webinar recordings.
- There is less than one month left to participate in the 2018 ASCO Practice Census which closes on August 31. This annual survey of the U.S. oncology practice community captures key information on today's practice environment and is chronicled in ASCO's State of Cancer Care in America initiative. Complete the survey at
https://redcap.asco.org/surveys/?s=7HFF8TYKYC
by August 31.
- Attend the 2018 ASCO Oncology Practice Conference, September 27, 2018 at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge. Learn and share strategies as we address advancing models of care in competitive markets, value-based care, biosimilars, PBMs, policy and tools to improve patient care, and disruptive technologies such as telemedicine, and quality and real-world data platforms. Register and Reserve a Hotel
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Join The ACCC Immuno-Oncology Institute for presentations that explore exciting new directions in immune-oncology,
covering topics that are most critical to the effective delivery of coordinated, patient-centered care. These live and on-demand webinars, accessible from your home, practice or on your mobile device, are available at no cost.
Access all upcoming ACCC webinars and on-demand recordings.
- NCCN has published the following updates at
www.nccn.org
: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (V1.2018), bone cancer (V1.2019), cervical cancer (V1.2019), chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL; V5.2018), colon cancer and rectal cancer (V3.2018), gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (V1.2019), occult primary (cancer of unknown primary; V1.2019).
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- AMAG Pharma is hosting a presentation entitled Emerging Perspectives in Management of Adult IDA: Including results from a large head to head trial with IV irons with Amit R. Mehta, M.D., on Tuesday, August 21 at 7M at Ruth's Chris, Sacramento. RSVP to Dane Gibson at dgibson@amagpharma.comor (916) 541-8198.
- Genentech BioOncology will host an expert-led educational presentation entitled Tecentriq for Previously Treated Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer with Robert Weber, M.D., on Saturday, August 25 at the Claremont Club & Spa, Oakland (Temescal Room). RSVP no later than August 18 to Lee Urabe at (559) 974-3609 or
urabe.lee@gene.com
.
- Sanofi Genzyme is hosting an evening discussion entitled What's Behind Your Patient's Hematological Abnormalities with Bradley Lewis, M.D., on Wednesday, August 29 at 6PM. The discussion will take place at The Cavalier, 360 Jessie Street, San Francisco. RSVP to Lorin Sylvia at
lorin.sylvia@sanofi.com
; (415) 272-5674.
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MOASC CALENDAR
LunchTime Series
August 22, 2018
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SAVE THE DATE
ANCO 2018 Professional Education Meeting (Oakland,
September 19)
SAVE THE DATE
19th Multidisciplinary Management of Cancers: A Case-based Approach
(Napa, March 15-17)
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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
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