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SGR repeal bill passes committee, advances to House
The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee voted yesterday, July 31, to pass legislation to repeal the sustainable growth rate formula as approved last week by their health subcommittee.
H.R. 2810, the Medicare Patient Access and Quality Improvement Act, would repeal and replace the failed SGR formula and provide for a five year period of stability while a new quality reporting program is developed. The bill provides for updates of 0.5 percent and the ability to earn additional updates under the new reporting requirement beginning in 2019. The bill also creates a pathway for the implementation of new and innovative delivery and payment models.
As stated in a letter from the American Medical Association to committee leaders, the bill would "take significant steps toward allowing physicians and other health care providers to design systems of care that best serve their patient populations."
While the AMA did not express full support of the legislation because of outstanding concerns, they did express appreciation for the representatives' work and support for approval in committee to continue the bill's progress down the path to passage. AMA urges representatives to address issues related to the potential complexity of the proposed reporting system and ensure that updates are sufficient to keep pace with the cost of caring for beneficiaries.
The bill will now be considered by the full House.
Click here to read the July 30 letter from the AMA to Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Rep. Fred Upton and Ranking Member Rep. Henry Waxman.
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Register for Aug. 21 webinar: What you need to know
about the Medicaid Accountable Care Collaborative
The Colorado Medical Society presents the next webinar in the practice evolution series, "Medicaid Accountable Care Collaborative: What You Need to Know." Register today for this free program, to be held on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 6-7 p.m.
With over 350,000 Medicaid clients enrolled, the Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC) is now Colorado's predominant Medicaid program and the platform for our state's health care delivery redesign. With Medicaid expansion coming in January 2014, Colorado Medicaid will become the second largest insurance provider in the state.
Join Medicaid Medical Director Judy Zerzan, MD, MPH, as she describes how practices can reap the benefits of a health care program on the leading edge of national health care reform efforts.
Click here to register today.
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Survey: How's the service provided
by your Medicare Administrative Contractor?
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wants to know how satisfied physicians are with their Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC). To gather this information, the federal CMS is asking physicians or physician office staff to complete a form indicating interest in completing the MAC Satisfaction Indicator (MSI).
The MSI is a questionnaire that asks about your satisfaction with specific services your MAC provides you, such as claims processing, Medicare enrollment, educational opportunities and responsiveness to inquiries.
The federal CMS first needs interested providers to complete the MSI Participant Registration form. The form itself is not a survey; it is a method for gathering pertinent contact information such as name, e-mail address, state, etc. This form should take less than one minute to complete. For each MSI administration, CMS will randomly select an MSI sample from a list of providers who register to become participants.
If you are a Medicare FFS provider, or work on behalf of a Medicare FFS provider (such as a billing agency), and are interested in participating, please take a moment to register your contact information by completing the form. Don't miss this opportunity. Click here to register.
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The Colorado Medical Society has joined the social networking site Twitter to keep members up to date with the latest CMS news, initiatives and other health care happenings around Colorado. CMS Communications posts 140-character updates answering the question "What are you doing?" These posts and our interactions with other Twitter users are chronicled on our timeline.
You can join the fun by visiting www.twitter.com/CoMedSoc and choosing to "follow" CMS.
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Exclusive member benefit: DocbookMD
The Colorado Medical Society is proud to present a new, FREE member benefit, DocbookMD. DocbookMD is a HIPAA-compliant mobile app that allows physicians to send messages, text patient information, and exchange images such as X-Rays or EKGs over a secure mobile platform. It functions in a way that complements what we already do daily, but not in a way that adds work, wastes time, or burdens us with new systems. Download DocbookMD from the Apple App store for iPhone, and iPad, or Google Play for Android devices. Click here for more information or go to docbookmd.com. |
 Help your patients save money
with free prescription drug card
The Colorado Medical Society has partnered with Colorado Drug Card to provide savings to your patients of up to 75 percent on prescription drugs at over 56,000 retail pharmacies. You can help by encouraging your patients to print a free Colorado Drug Card at www.coloradodrugcard.com. The cards are even customizable to your practice; click here for more information.
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To comment on something you read in ASAP or to update your contact information,
send an e-mail to [email protected].
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