Michigan Osteopathic Association (MOA) Board of Trustee Emily Hurst, DO, MOA President Jeffrey Postlewaite, DO, FACOOG, MBA, and MOA Executive Director, Kris Nicholoff hosted a COVID-19 Update webinar. MOA members were invited to provide questions and join the Zoom webinar that featured Governor Gretchen Whitmer. After a brief update on the COVID-19 situation in Michigan, Gov. Whitmer took questions from Drs. Hurst and Postlewaite. The webinar is posted on the MOA YouTube channel and is embedded below.

After surveying our membership and analyzing the current situation regarding COVID-19, the Michigan Osteopathic Association has made the decision to cancel the in-person convention that is annually held in Grand Rapids. In its place, the MOA will provide CME sessions online in the same manner Spring CME sessions were presented. The speakers for this event are being selected and registration is open. If you participated in the Spring CME program, your Online Learning Center profile has been created. Simply register using the link below and the program will show in your profile one week before the event. If you are new to the Online Learning Center, you should also register using the link below. Your profile will be created and the program will be added a week before the event. All registrants will receive instructional emails before the event.

Michigan Osteopathic Association (MOA) Immediate Past President, Craig Glines, DO, MSBA, FACOOG, has been appointed to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Bureau of Osteopathic Education (BOE). The BOE works to advance osteopathic medicine and strengthen the osteopathic community.

With a plethora of international medicine experience, Lawrence Prokop, DO, FAAPM&R, FAOCPMR-D, FAOASM, has been appointed to the AOA, Bureau of International Osteopathic Medicine (BIOM).

A past President of the MOA, Dr. Prokop will be working with familiar faces. "I have worked with Amy Byerwalter, AOA VP for International Affairs and Josh Prober, JD, Counsel to the AOA, in the past on my South Korea activities and the Memo of Understanding between the Korean Society of Manual Medicine & AOA. It will be great to work with her again," said Dr. Prokop.

Annual Medscape report reveals which specialties get paid the most and least, and how residents feel about their earnings. Continue to the full story from The DO>

Eligible DOs can obtain the certification after spending 1,000 practice hours on addiction medicine over a two-year period. Continue to the full story from The DO>

Clinicians have a distinct perspective to contribute to policy development, especially now, when the world is tuned in to their heroic work on the front lines of the pandemic.

The show, currently available for streaming, follows the professional (and often personal) lives of four New York City physicians in a major hospital. Continue to the full story from The DO>

Peer support is essential, attest the two DOs, who also share the additional routines and habits they have in place to prioritize their wellness.

Learn more about the changes to telemedicine billing and coding procedures brought on by CMS’ Waiver 1135. Continue to the full story from The DO>

The MOA would like to thank our network of Strategic Partners. Without their help, programs like the Spring and Autumn CME events could not take place. Their support has been vital as the MOA pivoted from in-person meetings to establishing an online learning platform. As our state, our country and the world struggle to find a balance in a time of COVID-19, please take a moment to reflect on how essential these healthcare groups are in protecting our communities.

Congratulations to Kerr Russell who have 16 members have been selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2021®. Among those receiving Best Lawyer honors was Health Care Law expert, Dan Schulte. The MOA is honored to have Schulte as an asset to our organization and to our members.

Link:

COVID-19 regulatory updates from the last week include a new resource for rural healthcare and new policies for inpatient and long-term care hospitals, and rehab facilities.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) has released a Rural Crosswalk: CMS Flexibilities to Fight COVID-19. This new resource documents all current COVID-19-related waivers and flexibilities issued by CMS that impact Rural Health Clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Critical Access Hospitals, rural hospitals generally, and long term care facilities, and describes the significance of each provision for these rural providers and facilities.

CMS released guidance for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 admitted to an inpatient or long-term care hospital, or rehabilitation facility on or after September 1, 2020, to comply with provisions of the CARES Act to allows for a 20% payment increase. Eligible claims must have a positive COVID-19 laboratory test ICD-10 code (B97.29 or U07.1) documented in the patient’s medical record.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced $1.4 billion will be allocated to 80 free-standing children’s hospitals through the Provider Relief Fund. As the healthcare system continues to grapple with the financial hardships caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), children’s hospitals have been uniquely impacted. This distribution is targeted for children’s hospitals that are not affiliated with larger hospital systems. Qualifying free-standing children’s hospital must either be an exempt hospital under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) or be a HRSA defined Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education facility. Eligible hospitals will receive 2.5 percent of their net revenue from patient care starting next week.

CMS will resume all routine inspections for Medicare and Medicaid providers and suppliers. CMS previously suspended non-urgent inspections to prioritize infection surveys during the COVID-19 pandemic to prioritize infection control and immediate jeopardy situations, and to give health care providers and suppliers time to respond to the spread of the virus.

Office Hour Calls provide an opportunity for hospitals, health systems, and providers to ask questions of agency officials regarding CMS’s temporary actions that empower local hospitals and healthcare systems to Increase Hospital Capacity, Rapidly Expand the Healthcare Workforce, Put Patients Over Paperwork; and Further Promote Telehealth in Medicare. Next week’s Office Hours Call is Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 5 – 6 p.m., ET.

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: (833) 614-0820

Access Passcode: 8579003

The Michigan Health and Hospital Association (MHA) conducted a media call June 15 to announce the launch of its statewide “Big Changes Ahead” public education campaign and website, DriveProtected.org.

Reporters from several media outlets, including the Lansing State Journal and MiBiz, participated in the call and asked questions about the scope and messaging of the Big Changes Ahead campaign, cost savings mandated by the new law and medical costs associated with auto accidents. 

The DriveProtected.org homepage provides a video overview of the law, and the site outlines information on the levels of medical and rehabilitation coverage drivers can choose to protect against potentially large out-of-pocket costs, including long-term medical and rehabilitation expenses. It answers questions about how the law will work and provides links to news coverage providing background.

The website also offers downloadable resources that members and others may use to help explain the new law and available choices, including an infographic, templates for letters to the editor of local news outlets, a sample newsletter article and more.

For more information, contact Ruthanne Sudderth at the MHA.

June 26, 2020, saw the passing of Milton A. Raskin, DO

June 12, 2020, saw the passing of Waldo "Doc" Erhardt Robert Frankenstein, DO

May 26, 2020, saw the passing of Harold Rexford Ruettinger, DO

February 18, 2020, saw the passing of Rowland W. Hinds, DO

Click here for a local obituary

December 5, 2019, saw the passing of Jack Quarters, DO