Department of Health                                         2/16/2012, 10:00 a.m.          Room 412

Department of Health Care Finance                   3/1/2012, 10:00 a.m.            Room 123

Department of Mental Health                              3/8/2012, 10:00 a.m.            Room 412

Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services  3/8/2012, 3:00 p.m.              Room 412

Not-for-Profit Hospital Corporation                     3/9/2012, 2:00 p.m.              Room 500

Continuing to push for the Medicare Patient Empowerment Act

    The AMA and MSDC continue to educate members of Congress about HR 1700, "The Medicare Patient Empowerment Act."  This bill is based largely on policy supported by MSDC at the AMA House of Delegates meeting in 2010, and allows Medicare patients and their physicians to enter into private contracts without penalty to either party. 

AMA urges friends of medicine to encourage members of Congress to repeal the fatally flawed Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate

     On January 23rd, physicians called on Congress to permanently stop a fiscally irresponsible cycle of scheduled cuts and short-term patches by eliminating the broken Medicare physician payment formula. The American Medical Association (AMA), the nation's largest physician organization, MSDC and other state and specialty medical societies sent a letter to the members of the congressional conference committee tasked with addressing this issue. The physicians call for an end to the failed payment formula that threatens access to care for seniors and military families in the Medicare and TRICARE programs. They ask Congress to use projected spending that will not be needed as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down to help pay for ensuring access to health care for military and seniors.

     The cost to taxpayers for permanent repeal of the Medicare physician payment formula has grown dramatically over the years due to Congress' frequent short-term patches. As recently as 2005 the cost of permanent repeal would have been $48 billion. Today it is estimated to be nearly $300 billion. If Congress continues to implement the same temporary patches they have in the past, the cost will double again in only five years.

     Poll results show that an overwhelming number of Americans, 94 percent, believe a massive Medicare cut, like the one scheduled for March 1, is a serious problem for seniors. Congress' own Medicare advisory committee has said that one in four seniors seeking a new primary care physician in Medicare has had trouble finding one.

     The AMA's Patients' Action Network offers an opportunity for patients to contact their elected officials at www.patientsactionnetwork.com or by calling 888-434-6200. Physicians can reach out through the Physicians' Grassroots Network at www.ama-assn.org/grassroots or by calling 800-833-6354.

Clarifying Medicare patient reimbursement for non-enrolled physicians

      The AMA, MSDC, and other state and specialty medical societies have sent a letter to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services requesting that the agency provide written policy guidance regarding how patients enrolled in Medicare may obtain reimbursement for covered services provided by physicians who choose not to enroll in Medicare and bill their patients directly.

     A copy of the letter can be accessed by clicking here.

Tell us: Are you experiencing more claim rejections lately? 

     The AMA has learned of numerous physician practice complaints about claim rejections and is addressing this issue with key stakeholders. Are you experiencing more claim rejections than usual, and are you wondering why? It could be due to the conversion from Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Version 4010 to Version 5010, which happened January 1 of this year.
     If you're having issues with claim submissions or are experiencing more claim rejections in your practice, the AMA Practice Management Center has made it easy for you to register complaints about health insurers and other payers. Please visit www.ama-assn.org/go/clickandcomplainfor instructions and downloadable complaint forms. AMA members may contact the AMA Practice Management Center at (800) 262-3211 for additional assistance.  

     CDC is now into its third year of the Act Against AIDS (AAA) campaign, and we want to take this opportunity to share with you some of the highlights of the first 2 years and the many exciting activities that are underway.

     As you know, Act Against AIDS is a 5-year national communication campaign launched in 2009 by CDC and the White House to combat complacency about HIV and AIDS in the United States. In its first 2 years, the Act Against AIDS campaign, along with its targeted sub-campaigns and its many partners, generated more than 2.1 billion media impressions. The AAA Second Year-End Report provides additional highlights on the media campaigns, events, supporting research, and partnerships that have made the continued growth of AAA possible.

     Atlantic Health Partners is pleased to announce a new program with TransactRx that enables physicians to provide vaccines to most Medicare Part D patients. As you may know, Atlantic offers our members the lowest prices on Sanofi and Merck vaccines, and now with TransactRx your practice can provide vaccines like Zostavax (available from Merck) and Adacel (Tdap) to Medicare patients.

    The TransactRx program endorsed by Atlantic provides you:

• Easy online access to patient specific Part D vaccine coverage
• Ability to get fairly reimbursed for vaccines covered under Part D
• Real-time out-of-pocket (copay) cost and reimbursement information
• Electronic claims submission for vaccines covered under Part D

There is no cost to join Atlantic Health Partners or to benefit from this new service.

      And don't forget these additional Atlantic benefits:

• Discounted medical, surgical and office supply programs
• Discounts on a patient recall program
• Immediate customer service to address any vaccine related issues

     Please contact Jeff or Cindy at info@atlantichealthpartners.com or 1-800-741-2044 to find out how your practice can benefit from Atlantic Health Partners Savings and TransactRx.  www.atlantichealthpartners.com