California Oncology Weekly
"An Oncologists’ Source for Timely Information"
A publication of the
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc.
March 30, 2021
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TOMORROW! Encore presentation about COVID-19 Vaccines MOASC News
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Pfizer begins study of oral drug as a treatment for COVID-19 Industry News
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TOMORROW! Webinar on Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency Industry News
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MOASC held its Annual Oncology Summit on March 27. With more than 150 attendees listening to nationally recognized speakers from City of Hope, UCLA and UCSD discussing current management strategies and exciting advances in Breast, Colorectal, Kidney, Lung, Lymphoma and Management of Toxicity from Immunotherapy. The program was recorded and will be available soon for viewing. If you would like copies of the slides, please email moasc@moasc.org
Thanks to our meeting sponsors Eisai, EMD Serono, Incyte, Merck, Regeneron, Tempus and Seagen for their support of this event.
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MOASC encourages members to self-nominate or recommend a colleague for one or more of the various leadership and committee service roles. All MOASC physicians and clinicians are asked to submit nominations each year. Nominations received are compiled and reviewed by the Nominating Committee, which then makes its recommendations for elected and appointed positions.
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MOASC Programs - Save the Dates - All Times are Pacific
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Tomorrow! March 31, 2021, at 12:30pm, attend the MOASC LunchTime Series webinar, encore presentation, “Talking to Patients About COVID-19 Vaccines: Building Confidence.” Michael Dutro, PharmD, Vaccines Medical Director, California, New Mexico, Hawaii, Pfizer Biopharma, will be presenting specific clinical trial results, general concepts of vaccine confidence, debunk misinformation that prevent people from protecting themselves from the severe effects of COVID-19, recent survey data, process for accelerated development and authorization of COVID-19 vaccines, transparency, safety, personal, community and society reasons for COVID-19 vaccination, general vaccine communication concepts.
There will be a Q&A session to respond to any and all your concerns. This program is important for ALL. Do not miss this important encore presentation.
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MOASC Member, Tanya Siddiqi, MD, Associate Clinical Professor, Director, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Program, Department of Hematology & HCT, City of Hope Medical Center, Duarte, CA will present Advances in Treatment for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). This free telephone/web education program is scheduled for Wednesday, April 7, 10:00am – 11:30am. Topics to be discussed, are: Current and emerging therapies for CLL; Managing side effects to promote a better quality of life; Impact of COVID-19 on CLL treatment decisions. Register online (below) or by phone (855) 922-1531.
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MOASC is partnering with Dr Neil Love and his CME organization, Research To Practice (RTP), for a daylong, live educational event to take place on Saturday, May 15, 2021.
Similar in format to RTP’s Year in Review live series, the virtual webinar will follow a multi-tumor approach with 14 expert clinical investigators reviewing current management strategies and recent advances in breast cancer, AML/MDS, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and lymphomas, gastrointestinal cancers, genitourinary cancers, lung cancer and multiple myeloma. In lieu of traditional didactic lectures, the participating clinical investigator panelists will review recent data as well as review cases provided by MOASC clinicians. In preparation for this event,
Dr. Love and RTP would like to invite MOASC community oncologists to participate in a case-based recorded 60-minute Zoom interview with Dr. Love, which will be utilized during the live activity. There is an honorarium for your time.
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All Californians ages 16 and older will be eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine starting April 15. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that the state would do away with its vaccine eligibility tiers earlier than anticipated. People 50 and older will get a head start, with vaccines opening to them April 1, state officials said.
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The California Partnership for Access to Treatment (CPAT) offers two valuable resources for your review. The Medicine Assistance Tool is a search engine designed to help patients, caregivers and care providers learn more about the resources available through the various biopharmaceutical industry programs. The California Chronic Care Coalition’s My Patient Rights is an online resource for Californians who have been denied coverage, experienced delays, or are dissatisfied by the decisions made by their health plan.
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As reported here, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), Medi-Cal, clawbacks will remain paused for up to 6 months. In early February, as a result of California Pharmacists Association’s (CPhA) legal efforts, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) agreed to continue the voluntary suspend the clawbacks. During this time, the court has ordered CPhA, the DHCS, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to mediation. Mediation can take up to 6 months and during this time the clawbacks will be indefinitely suspended.
The Senate Committee on Health passed SB242 out of committee which would require health plans to reimburse providers for business expenses that are medically necessary to render treatment to patients, protect health care workers, and prevent the spread of disease causing public health emergencies.
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American trained Oncologist looking for a practice opportunity in California. He is a US citizen and available this summer. Please respond to Don Shumate at don@source-md.com if you would like more details concerning this outstanding candidate.
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Modifier -59 and National Correct Coding Initiative is available through Noridian’s On Demand Tutorial. This program offers self-paced training tutorials to assist providers and facilities in better understanding of these and many other coding issues.
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Effective April 1, 2021, CR 12110 provides the quarterly update to the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) Procedure-to-Procedure (PTP) edits, Version 27.1
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On April 13, 2021, an Incident To webinar will be presented on: Overview and Coverage, Substitute Billing, Incident to Criteria, Supervision Criteria, Split/Shared Services, Resources and other noteworthy information.
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Part B Ask the Contractor Teleconference (ACT) on April 14, 2021 will including Appeals, Claims Processing, Electronic Data Interchange Support Services (EDISS), Medical Review (MR), Provider Contact Center (PCC), Provider Enrollment, Provider Outreach and Education (POE), and System Support. Noridian representatives from various departments will be available to address your questions.
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Differences Between Sole Proprietor and Sole Owner webinar will be presented on May 12, 2021. This event includes: Provider Enrollment, Sole Owner Enrolling in Medicare - Part B, Sole Proprietor Enrolling in Medicare - Part B
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CMS News
The special open enrollment period for health insurance plans in states that use the federal exchange will stay open through Aug. 15, according to an HHS statement.
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Democrats are aligned behind the idea of allowing HHS to negotiate the price of brand-name drugs in Medicare to reduce costs, but they would need Republican support in the US Senate to pass any legislation.
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A lack of reference genome data from Black people impedes clinical decision-making regarding immunotherapies and might lead to disparities in treatment and outcomes in Black patients with cancer, according to a study in Precision Oncology. Decisions to initiate immunotherapy are based on the number of mutations in a tumor, and oncologists often use publicly available genomic databases to compare tumor burden, but less than 10% of the data in those databases is from people of African ancestry.
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Implementation of electronic prior authorization reduces the median time between submission and decision by about 69%, compared with the manual process, according to a study from AHIP and RTI International. The findings, based on an analysis of 40,000 manual and electric requests for prior authorization, showed use of the electronic process was associated with faster time to patient care, reduced burdens on health care providers and improved understanding of prior authorization information.
United Healthcare will no longer print and mail paper provider remittance advice (PRAs) and medical prior authorization letters to in-network health care professionals, later this year. In states, and for plans where allowed, health care professionals and facilities will receive emails and be shown where they can view and search for what they need in Document Vault. In response to feedback from health care professionals, UHC will begin the process of transitioning paper claim submissions to electronic submissions through their downloadable payment information for health care professionals and facilities who enroll in Automated Clearing House (ACH)/direct deposit through Optum Pay. For up to 13 months, Optum Pay includes additional payment information and data that you can access at no cost of. UHC’s new Prior Authorization and notification capabilities offers more flexibility. Health care professionals and facilities can check requirements, submit requests, upload medical notes, check status and update cases — without faxing or calling. More information will be provided before the changes go into effect.
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Affiliate Association News
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ANCO News
ANCO, in collaboration with Noridian, will be hosting a 1 hour webinar on Thursday, April 15th at 12pm on Medicare in 2021: E&M Office Changes, Telehealth Status and Other Changes.
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ANCO's three part series of Hematologic Malignancies Updates: Leukemias, Lymphomas, & Myelomas 2021 will kick off online on May 15. Faculty will present the latest research on treatment modalities for hematologic malignancies—leukemias, lymphomas, and myeloma—along with case studies for these diagnoses.
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ASH News
Registration is Open for the 2021 Highlights of ASH Series. This year’s all-virtual experience will take place March 1 – April 2, 2021 and feature program curated annual meeting content derived from all four regions ASH has historically presented in: North America, the Mediterranean, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Attendees will receive full access to the entire program and content on the virtual platform until April 2.
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The 63rd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition, is on December 11-14, 2021 in Atlanta and virtual. ASH is committed to providing its members and meeting attendees with the most rewarding and satisfying experience each year. While the Society is currently planning for both a virtual and in-person component to the meeting, they continue to monitor the feasibility of meeting in person. ASH would like to know your opinion so they can provide the optimal educational experience for all attendees, speakers, and exhibitors.
Please complete this quick survey so that ASH can make the most informed decision possible.
Thank you for your valuable feedback!
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The virtual ASCO Annual Meeting is scheduled for June 4-8, 2021. Register now for the best rates. The early registration deadline is April 28, 2021 at 8:59 PM (PT).
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Do not miss the 2021 Community Oncology Conference, April 8 & 9, 2021. See community oncology from a new perspective. This year’s, free, virtual-conference is so much more than just best-in-class educational programs. Not only does the Conference offer unmatched opportunities to hear from key players in the field of oncology, but more importantly, the content is focused on the needs of independent, community oncology practices. Learn about social determinants of health and how other practices are incorporating this data into their workflow. Economics greatly affect how care is provided and successful patient outcomes. Get a deeper understanding of how oncology care can address the community’s needs. There’s something for every member of community oncology, so bring a large contingent from your practice!
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MOASC acknowledges and thanks Myovant Sciences, Inc. as an annual sponsor. Please welcome and THANK them for supporting your organization, when they call or e-mail you.
Myovant Sciences, Inc. purpose is to improve the lives of millions of women and men, many impacted by diseases during their most productive years of life. Despite the significant burden of common diseases like uterine fibroids, endometriosis, and prostate cancer, many women and men do not have the options they deserve and need.
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MorphoSys US Inc. informed MOASC Members about the permanent J-Code, J9349 for MONJUVI (tafasitamab-cxix), in combination with lenalidomide, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified, including DLBCL arising from low grade lymphoma, and who are not eligible for autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT).
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Agios Pharmacuticals presents three Virtual Disease Awareness webinars on Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency: An Under recognized Cause of Chronic Hemolytic Anemia on March 31st and April 8th.
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Incyte Corporation invites your patients to attend any four of their live webinars about myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), April 13, 15, 22 and 28. These disease education virtual talks are geared for patients diagnosed with a myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN), including: Polycythemia vera, Essential thrombocythemia, Myelofibrosis. The program on 4/28 includes a nutrition talk and MPN. Hear from an Incyte Oncology Clinical Nurse Educator about MPNs, learn and ask questions about your condition. You will receive a workbook of the presentation in the mail to help you organize your thoughts. When you register, Incyte will send you a kit with a workbook, educational resources, and accessories to help raise awareness about MPNs. Have questions or want to register? Register today through any of the below most convenient for you. info@mpnpatientevent.com ; MPNpatientevent.com; MPNwebinars.com or dial 919-256-2479
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Pfizer has begun a US-based Phase 1 study of its investigational oral antiviral drug PF-07321332 as a treatment for COVID-19. The protease inhibitor will be given to healthy adults exhibiting the first symptoms of a coronavirus infection and will be evaluated for its tolerability and safety during the trial.
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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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