Dignity Health and Anthem Fail to Reach New Agreement   

After months of negotiations, Dignity Health California and Anthem Blue Cross failed to reach a new contract agreement. As a result, the contract between Dignity Health and Anthem has terminated. More details about the impact and timeline of the termination can be found here. 

Aetna Creates New Obstacle to Care for Seniors, Highlighting Need for Prior Authorization Reform 

Aetna has created new bureaucratic hurdles for patients that could prevent many from receiving cataract surgery – part of a trend of insurance companies creating new “prior authorization” requirements that create hurdles for patients and physicians, reduce availability of health care services, and increase insurance company profits at the expense of patient care. CMA is sponsoring SB 250 by Senator Richard Pan, MD, which would require state regulators to streamline the prior authorization system to ensure patients have access to critical care. At the federal level, CMA is supporting HR 3173 by Ami Bera, MD, which would standardize and streamline prior authorization processes for routinely approved services performed under Medicare Advantage programs. To read more, click here. 

What Do Great Physician Leaders Know? 

As a physician in today’s dynamic health care environment, you need to be an effective leader in order to ensure organizational and individual success, and you need tangible leadership skills that build on your clinical knowledge and experience. You can develop your leadership skills over eight virtual sessions starting September 21.  

Click here to learn more about member/group discounts and to register. 

AD-18 Special Election Ends August 31 

Since Rob Bonta was appointed to serve as California’s new Attorney General, voters in Assembly District 18 have had a chance to participate in a special election ending August 31 to vote on who will replace him as the representative of most of Oakland, San Leandro, and Alameda. The winner of this special election will be elected to finish Bonta’s term and get a chance to run for re-election next year in the standard 2022 election cycle. To learn more about the AD 18 Special Election, click here.  

How Will the Coronavirus Evolve? The New Yorker, 8/11/21 

Apple Aims to Push More Patient Data to Doctors. But Who Can Gauge Its Impact on Health? California Healthline, 8/11/21 

Six Answers to Parents’ COVID-19 Questions as Kids Return to School, Science News, 8/11/21 

The Best Time-Management Advice Is Depressing But Liberating, The Atlantic, 8/11/21 

Working Life: Over the Baby Bump, Science, 8/6/21 

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.

Mental Health First Aid 101

Mental Health First Aid certification is an evidence-based curriculum with certification conferred by the National Council of Wellbeing. During this overview, participants will be provided a high-level perspective of Mental Health First Aid, what it is, and how it is applied to provide support to adults who may be experiencing the signs and symptoms of mental illness. The workshop will look at current trends in its usage and what MHFA certification can do to support organizations and communities during COVID‑19. Please note: this workshop does not count towards MHFA Certification.

Speaker: Brooke Briggance, Program Director, Cypress Resilience Project

Click here for details and to register. 

Advancing Trauma-Informed Communities

This training for primary care, acute care and behavioral health providers will raise your capacity to advance trauma-informed communities in support of ACE screening and coordinated prevention and treatment to mitigate the toxic stress response.

Click here to learn more and to register.

Click here to register.

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.

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.