California Oncology Weekly
"An Oncologists’ Source for Timely Information"
A publication of the
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc.
June 8, 2021
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A message from MOASC President. MOASC News
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A Treatment Option for HER2 and Metastatic Breast Cancer. MOASC News/MOASC Programs
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California oncology sponsoring SB 310. California News
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MACs Resume Medical Review on a Post-payment Basis. Medicare News/Noridian News
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A message from MOASC President
As President of MOASC, my goal in the 2021-22 year is to lead the organization into the future, ensuring long-term sustainability.
The top three priorities for this year are to:
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Focus on diversity and inclusion, becoming representative of oncology in California, supporting community, academic and large institutions equally;
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Bridge the gap between community and academia through engagement and continued clinical education, and
- Create a Clinical Trial Network to promote trials throughout California and increase recruitment.
Despite the rapidly changing landscape, my goal is to help the delivery of oncology in California be the best it can be, to serve you and continue as the voice of oncology in California.
Ashkan Lashkari, MD
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MOASC continues their Membership drive. Your Membership in MOASC is an investment in your patients. MOASC has advanced oncology in California, and influenced national dialogue for the past 31 years. MOASC provides you access to California oncology colleagues, clinical education and support for delivery of oncology patient care, no matter the setting or the stage of your career.
Contact the MOASC Office at moasc@moasc.org, or 909-985-9061 ext. 1, for more information on how MOASC benefits you.
MOASC is a member of ASCO’s State Affiliate Council, an advisory group to its Board of Directors. To increase engagement with oncology professionals throughout the country, MOASC Members are invited to join the State Society Network, a new online community for State Society members. As a member of this community, you can participate in discussions with peers in other states, as well as your own, ask questions, share information, access resource documents, and communicate with the leadership and members of ASCO’s State Affiliate Council. To make it as convenient as possible, you can control your communication settings for staying up to date on community posts and discussions. Join the State Society Network and begin networking with your peers. After navigating to the community, please login using your ASCO username and password and select Join Community located in the top right corner of your browser. Please feel free to reach out to Lisa-Marie Pratt with any questions.
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MOASC Programs - Save the Dates - All Times are Pacific
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June 9, 6:00pm, A Treatment Option for HER2 and Metastatic Breast Cancer, presented by Maria Theodoulou, M.D., New York Oncology and Hematology, sponsored by Seagen
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The MOASC virtual Spotlight On Clinical Oncology has been scheduled for Saturday, August 14, 8am – 12pmPDT.
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Oncologists seeking positions in California.
Husband & wife, hematologists & medical oncologists, currently practicing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the past three years, have long had a desire to move to the west coast to raise their family in a progressive and community-conscious environment. They are passionate about patient care and education, and take the ability to practice oncology with humility and appreciation.
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If your institution or practice is interested in obtaining more information, please send an email to moasc@moasc.org.
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California oncology, MOASC, ANCO and the American Cancer Society, is sponsoring SB 310. This bill establishes a Cancer Medical Recycling Program overseen by the Medical Board of California to allow for the donation and redistribution of cancer drugs between patients and a participating physician. Earlier this bill passed out of the Senate Business, Professions, and Economic Development Committee with a 14-0 vote. The bill was also featured on ABC7 News.
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In 2018, the California Legislature passed a law (AB 2789) that created a state-level mandate that all prescriptions must be transmitted electronically by January 1, 2022. The law applies to all physicians and almost all prescriptions, with very few exceptions. CMA is hosting a webinar on Thursday, June 17, to help physicians understand their requirements under the new law.
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The California Senate approved legislation to decriminalize the possession or sharing of psychedelic drugs. Senate Bill 519, introduced by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, now heads to the state Assembly.
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American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) California invites you to please join them as they honor top California policy makers who have championed critical, evidence-based policies that advance ACS CAN’s mission to eliminate cancer. Hear from a distinguished panel discussing disparities in colorectal cancer screening.
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The California Dialogue on Cancer (CDOC) has been engaged in a lot of planning after the approval of California's Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan, 2021-2025.
June 9, 9am-12pm, partnering with California Rural Health Board, presents the lifelong journey of chronic disease and cancer survivorship and their Journey of Wellness Conference.
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June 15, 12-1pm, the 2021-2025 Cancer Plan Webinar Series will start with their Treatment and Survivorship webinar.
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June 23, 9am-11pm, partnering, again, with California Rural Health Board, presents the lifelong journey of chronic disease and cancer survivorship and their Journey of Wellness Conference.
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June 29, 12-1pm will focus on Cancer Survivorship Research. |
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MACs Resume Medical Review on a Post-payment Basis. Beginning August 2020, Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) resumed post-payment reviews of items and services with dates of service before March 2020. MACs may now begin conducting post-payment medical reviews for later dates of service. The Targeted Probe and Educate program (intensive education to assess provider compliance through up to 3 rounds of review) will restart later. The MACs will continue to offer detailed review decisions and education as appropriate.
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June 16, the Provider Enrollment and Identity and Access: Connections Part 2 includes: Provider Enrollment and Identity and Access: Connections Part 2, Connections, Access Roles, Managing connections.
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June 17, the Appeals Basics Part A and Part B Providers webinar includes: Overview, Levels of Appeals, When to Submit an Appeal, Resources and questions.
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June 23, Live Chat webinar with Provider Enrollment, hosted by the Noridian Provider Outreach and Education (POE) staff.
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June 29, 9:00am, Q2 - Top Denials and Solutions, webinar includes: Claim Denials, Returns/Dismissals, EDI, Medical Review, and Resources
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June 30, the Provider Enrollment Options webinar includes: Opt Out, CMS 855O and CMS 855I with CMS 855R.
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CMS has acknowledged the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency (PHE) on clinicians across the country and will provide relief where possible. Under § 414.1350(d)(3), the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) cost performance category weight is 15% of the final score for the 2020 performance period/2022 MIPS payment year. CMS would like to inform all MIPS eligible clinicians that we’re reweighting the cost performance category from 15% to 0% for the 2020 performance period. The 15% cost performance category weight will be redistributed to other performance categories in accordance with § 414.1380(c)(2)(ii)(D). Please see below for reweighting for most MIPs participants.
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CMS has released the final ICD-10-PCS codes and guidelines for the 2022 fiscal year.
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International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) and Other Coding Revisions to National Coverage Determinations (NCDs) – October 2021
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Ask your Congressional representatives to cosponsor H.R. 3258! Use the Timely Access to Cancer Treatment (TACT) Act of 2021 COA Advocacy Kit.
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Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 3173) is a bipartisan legislation that would protect patients from unnecessary delays in care by streamlining and standardizing prior authorization under Medicare Advantage plans, providing much-needed oversight and transparency of health insurance for America’s seniors. Use the Advocacy Kit to request support of Congress on HR3173.
The Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act (S.1873) was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate. The bipartisan legislation would allow Medicare to cover Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) technologies as soon as the FDA approves them. MCED technologies combine advances in the study of the human genome and computing power to identify trace cancer cells in the bloodstream through a noninvasive blood draw to identify dozens of deadly cancers with a high degree of accuracy. By detecting dozens of cancers early, MCED can help improve treatment outcomes, especially for patients who have a type of cancer without an available early screening.
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The FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research is pilot testing a data retrieval and analysis tool for use in demonstrating generic-drug bioequivalence. Per CDER, the Bioequivalence Assessment Mate tool automates data functions and provides easy-to-use interfaces and reports, and future versions will use natural language processing for retrieving and summarizing text and generating comments and conclusions.
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Affiliate Association News |
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ANCO Connection's: Connecting with MOASC: Re-opening of California, and what it means for Oncologists. Thursday, July 15, 2021 12:00pm-1:00pm, Speakers - Dr. Truong, ANCO President and Dr. Lashkari, MOASC President.
ANCO is in the beginning stages of planning for their Professional Education Conference for the Fall of 2021. Please take a few moments and help with their planning by completing this very short, 4-question survey. Thank you!
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ASH News
Tuesday, August 3, 11:59 p.m. PDT, is the deadline to submit your best new scientific research in hematology, and showcase your research in front of the brightest minds and influencers in the field of hematology at the 63rd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition, December 11-14, in person & virtually. The abstract submission portal is now open.
Thousands of abstracts will be accepted for presentation. All accepted abstracts will be published in Blood and will be made available for in-person meeting participants in Atlanta as well as those participating via the virtual meeting platform. As a reminder, abstracts describing innovative trials in progress, immunotherapies, and emerging diagnostic tools are eligible for submission and consideration for the ASH annual meeting program. Visit the ASH website for a full list of abstract review categories, policies, and eligibility requirements.
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Register now for the ASH Meeting on Hematologic Malignancies, featuring the top experts in the field of comprehensive clinical content, and the opportunity to interact with colleagues. The 2021 meeting will take place September 10-11, at the Hilton Chicago and online as a virtual meeting.
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Applications are due June 14, 8:59pm PDT for the ASCO Quality Training Program (QTP) summer 2021 course. Meeting 1: July 15-16, 2021 (Virtual); Meeting 2: September 13-14, 2021 (Virtual); Meeting 3: December 10, 2021 (Hybrid Virtual and In-Person).
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Global Blood Therapeutics invites you to their Live Speaker Series presentation on A Treatment Option for Sickle Cell Disease. Hematologist, Zahra Pakbaz, M.D., UC Irvine Medical Center & Chao Family Cancer Center, will present on Thursday, June 17, 5:30pmPDT. Please RSVP at least 3 days in advance to ensure your participation.
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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 material contained in the California Oncology Weekly is intended as general information for 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 accepts no liability for any statements or articles herein. CPT codes are owned and trademarked by the American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
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