President Obama signed the Pathway for SGR Reform Act of 2013 into law on Dec. 26, 2013, preventing a scheduled 24 percent payment reduction for physicians who treat Medicare patients from taking effect on Jan. 1, 2014. The new law provides for a 0.5 percent update for claims with dates of service from Jan. 1 through March 31, 2014. The update is intended to avoid disruptions to the Medicare program while Congress resumes its work on legislation to repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate in early 2014.

Earlier in December, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee and the U.S. Senate Finance Committee passed legislative proposals to repeal the SGR and transition to a new Medicare physician payment system. This bipartisan accomplishment was a significant development, the American Medical Association said in an action alert.

Both committees' versions of the proposal would consolidate and restructure existing quality improvement incentive programs -- including meaningful use, the Physician Quality Reporting System and the value-based modifier -- to reduce the administrative and financial burden on physicians. They also allow for bonus payments for high-performing practices and lessen potential penalties.

For the latest tools and resources on the SGR and to contact your congressional representative and senators, go to the AMA's Fix Medicare Now campaign website.

Note: The deadline to modify your participation status with Medicare has been extended to Jan. 31, 2014. Click here to access the AMA's Medicare Participation Kit to understand your options.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, Colorado Medicaid will cover all recommended preventive and wellness services defined by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) with a rating of A or B and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) without patient cost sharing (co-payments).

Most USPSTF and ACIP recommended preventive and wellness services are currently covered by Medicaid, but beginning Jan. 1, 2014, new preventive and wellness procedure codes will be made available.

Proper coding is critical to receiving accurate payment for the USPSTF and ACIP recommended preventive and wellness services. For more information about the preventive and wellness services procedure codes and their utilization go to Colorado.gov/HCPF/ProviderACAInfo.

The Colorado Medical Society, Denver Medical Society and One Colorado Education Fund have partnered over the past year to address the objective of eliminating health disparities in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) populations. Earlier this year, CMS and DMS were awarded One Colorado's Ally Award for our work.

Our latest collaboration resulted in a new report through which we sought better understanding in how physicians see, include and treat LGBT patients. The report is titled "Becoming Visible: Working with Colorado Physicians to Improve LGBT Health" in recognition that LGBT Coloradans often feel invisible in the health care system.

The report is specific to the LGBT patient population in Colorado and the views of Colorado physicians. It includes data analysis by health policy researchers who worked with a physician advisory committee. Click here to see the major findings in the full article on CMS.org.

In addition to the report, this partnership has produced an accredited online Continuing Medical Education program specific to improving the care experience of the LGBT patient population and resources for physician offices: "Health and Health Care for the LGBT Community: Identifying and Minimizing Disparities." To access the program, go to www.cms.org/resources/health-and-health-care-for-the-lgbt-community.

The Colorado Medicine Political Action Committee (COMPAC) will host an evening fundraiser with Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 5:30 - 7 p.m., at the newly remodeled CMS office. We encourage members to mark the date in your calendars and plan to attend. Light hors d'oeurves will be served.

RSVP and contribute directly to the campaign at tinyurl.com/comedpac. There's still time to add your name to the host committee. The suggested contribution for hosts is $500; $250 for co-hosts. Sign up to be a host or co-host on CMS' website at www.cms.org/contribute. For more information contact Susan Koontz or click here to download the event flyer.

As a physician, the focus of your work is to heal others, which can seem more important than taking care of yourself. This is often directly and indirectly reinforced in medical school and in your workplace, which can lead to burnout. Studies show that physicians who are aware of their own health behaviors are more likely to work with their patients to make positive lifestyle changes.

The Colorado Medical Society has partnered with the Behavioral Health and Wellness Program (BHWP) at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine to enhance awareness, provide information and build skills that facilitate well-being. For physicians to promote wellness, BHWP believes you need to engage in healthy behavior change for yourself as well as advocate wellness for those with whom you work.

Over the next year, CMS and BHWP will present online wellness resources for physicians, culminating in a comprehensive toolkit to be released in the summer. To begin this process, we ask all members to complete a survey that examines the eight dimensions of your personal wellness. Aggregate responses to the survey will assist you and your colleagues by suggesting directions for future CMS web postings and resources, which support physician wellness practices.

Click here to go to the CMS Physician Wellness Survey page on the BHWP website. Click here to explore other wellness resources on the CMS website.

Connect for Health Colorado has made available a new tool for physicians and patients: the provider directory. Anyone shopping for health insurance on the exchange website can search the directory for plans that include their physicians and preferred hospitals, helping to narrow the number of options to review and help maintain continuity of care.

Connect for Health Colorado asks providers to help communicate the availability of the directory to their patients as they shop for a new health plan for 2014.

Physician practices and health care facilities are also encouraged to go online to confirm in which plans they are listed as members. Insurance carriers update the information in the provider directory every month and send it to the exchange to post on the site, completely replacing the prior month's data. Carriers are the only means of changing or correcting information in the directory. The exchange encourages physicians to work closely with them to correct any errors.

To check your information, follow these steps.

1. From the www.ConnectforHealthCo.com home page, click on the "shop now" button under individual and families
2. At top of page, click on "Find a Plan"
3. Click on the second option on the page - "Browse health plans"
4. Fill in the ZIP code and birth month/year of a typical patient
5. Enter a provider name OR practice/facility name and click "Search"
6. Confirm it's the correct office/practice by clicking on the check mark where names are listed at top
7. Select "go back to plans" at the top of the page and view the plans for which you or your facility are listed

Open enrollment on the marketplace extends through March 31, 2014, but Coloradoans had to sign up by Dec. 23, 2013 to enroll for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2014.

For more resources from the Colorado Medical Society, go to www.cms.org/resources/covering-colorado (member log-in required). Available is an on-demand webinar -- What Physicians Need to Know About Connect for Health Colorado -- as well as a comprehensive guide to the exchange.