Three Medicare payment reductions are going into effect on January 1, 2022 that add up to a combined 9.75% payment cut. Reps. Ami Bera, MD (D-CA) and Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN) are highlighting the dangers these cuts could have on physicians’ ability to provide quality care for their patients if Congress fails to enact legislation to address them. Reps. Bera and Bucshon are asking their colleagues in the House of Representatives to add their names to a “Dear Colleague” letter and you can too by contacting your representative and asking them to sign-on NOW!

 

You can enhance your leadership effectiveness over eight live online sessions, starting Tuesday, September 21, in the Bay Area Physician Leadership Program. Learn from nationally recognized experts and gain practical skills and insights directly applicable to your practice opportunities and challenges, while earning up to 24 CME credits. Member discount and group discounts are available. Registration ends on September 17. Click here to learn more.

 

CMS has released a new Special Edition Comparative Billing Report on the impact of the Public Health Emergency on Medicare Part B claims for telehealth. Look for an email from cbrpepper.noreply@religroupinc.com to access your report. CMS is also hosting a live webinar on September 8 from 12–1 PM to review this special edition CBR.

Join us on Thursday, October 7 at 6 PM for an online presentation by Reji Varghese, Deputy Director of the Medical Board of California. He will discuss the process of evaluation and intervention, the second phase of the Death Certificate Project investigation, and the current status of the Physician Health Program. All ACCMA members are welcome to join this meeting of our Advisory Committee for Physician Wellbeing for this informative presentation and discussion. If you would like to attend, email rsvp@accma.org.

The fourth funding cycle of the graduate medical education (GME) grant program, CalMedForce, is open through September 17, 2021. GME programs in primary care (family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN) and emergency medicine are eligible to apply. New this year is that combined residency programs with at least one eligible discipline are also eligible to apply. CalMedForce administers annual grants to fund new residency positions at GME programs throughout California from dedicated Proposition 56 revenues. Click here to learn more.

The 2021-22 Nominating Committee report is available for members to review. Members who wish to nominate themselves for a position may do so until September 10, 2021. Those members who have been nominated by the Nominating Committee will be considered elected by acclamation If no additional nominations are received.

Mia Bonta, president of the Alameda Unified School District board and CEO of the nonprofit Oakland Promise, received 55% of the early vote totals. Her opponent, social justice attorney Janani Ramachandran, received 45% and was trailing by roughly 4,500 votes. The two candidates were vying to represent the heavily Democratic district that includes San Leandro, Alameda and 80% of Oakland.

Telehealth’s Limits: Battle Over State Lines and Licensing Threatens Patients’ Options, Kaiser Health News, 8/31/21

Medicaid Vaccination Rates Founder as States Struggle to Immunize Their Poorest Residents, California Healthline, 8/27/21

These Charts Show that COVID-19 Vaccines are Doing Their Job, Science News, 8/31/21

Having SARS-CoV-2 Once Confers Much Greater Immunity Than a Vaccine—But Vaccination Remains Vital, Science, 8/26/21

Loopholes Leave Gaps in Mandated Coverage for Mental Health, The New York Times, 8/31/21

Costa Ricans Live Longer Than Us. What’s the Secret? by Atul Gawande, MD, The New Yorker, 8/23/21

Purdue Pharma Is Dissolved and Sacklers Pay $4.5 Billion to Settle Opioid Claims, The New York Times, 9/1/21 

New Staff Onboarding Series

Now available! Current and new staff can receive on-demand training on HIPAA, OSHA, and customer service. Intended for all staff encountering patients in person or by telephone, this course covers customer service techniques, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). For questions, contact Jenn Mullins, Education and Event Associate, at jmullins@accma.org.

Click here to register. 

The California Medical Association's (CMA) wellness program (CMA Wellness) is pleased to launch free, online wellness engagement groups for health care providers who conduct patient screenings for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Treating patients with multiple ACEs or toxic stress can potentially impact your personal wellness and increase feelings of burnout. CMA Wellness's engagement groups will support providers by offering subject matter experts, best practices, and an open forum to share experiences, facilitated by trained, volunteer physicians. Each monthly webinar is organized around a prevailing theme with a stakeholder co-host to provide a variety of perspectives with a general discussion and breakout rooms. Registration is required, and providers will be joining the Tuesday series for a 6‑month duration.

For more information and to register, click here.

Register here.

Virtual Grand Rounds: The Nocturnists 

Erica Pan, MD, MPH, from the California Department of Public Health will provide an update on COVID-19 in California, including efforts to keep the virus at bay, progress on vaccinations, and the hope for keeping schools open. We will also hear from The Nocturnists, a medical storytelling live show and podcast in which healthcare workers can pause and examine their inner landscapes. The Nocturnists helps us examine the forces that drive burnout and moral distress, and in doing so, provides hope that we can find ways to flourish in the face of the extreme stresses of medical practice, particularly in the setting of a pandemic. 

Register here.

Register here.

State of Reform, one of the most important statewide events in California health care, pulls together practitioners, thought leaders and policymakers — each working to improve our health care system in their own way — into a unified conversation in a single place. Choose to attend in person or virtually; registration fee varies. CMA members receive a 20% discount on registration with promo code CMA20.

For more information and to register, click here.

Two of the most pressing issues facing medical practices now are telehealth and COVID-19 vaccine administration. This webinar will help ensure that your practice can avoid billing challenges with both of these crucial services. Members’ staff: To receive a promo code for free registration, email Becky Paplanus at events@cmadocs.org with your physician’s California medical license number.

Register here. 

Join us for an online presentation by Reji Varghese, Deputy Director of the Medical Board of California. He will discuss the process of evaluation and intervention, the second phase of the Death Certificate Project investigation, and the current status of the Physician Health Program. All ACCMA members are welcome to join this meeting of our Advisory Committee for Physician Wellbeing for this informative presentation and discussion.

If you would like to attend, email rsvp@accma.org. 

Learn more and register here.

Review some of the most critical privacy and security standards in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Rules. In this one-hour webinar with expert HIPAA and practice management consultant David Ginsberg, you will receive important updates on who is covered, what information is protected, how you can stay secure in the Information Age, and how to avoid costly mistakes, as well as learning what is new for compliance. For questions, contact Jenn Mullins, Education and Event Associate, at jmullins@accma.org.

Click here to register.

Thursday, October 21 | 6:15 – 7:30 PM

FREE | CME Available

 

In this webinar, we will start with the core — you — and then expand. You will have time to think about your attitudes, the way you treat yourself and others, how you spend your time, your purpose, and resilience. The speaker is Linda Clever, MD, of RENEW. For questions, contact Jenn Mullins, Education and Event Associate, at jmullins@accma.org.

 

Click here to register.