Today, March 30, is National Doctors' Day and the Colorado Medical Society wants to express our gratitude to all Colorado physicians who work to improve the health of patients and communities and make a meaningful difference in the lives of your colleagues, families and friends. Thank you for all that you do to help people lead healthier lives.

Contact Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner immediately and urge them to support HR 2, "Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act," which passed the House on Thursday, March 26 by an overwhelming margin of 392-37.

1. Call your senators using the AMA's toll-free Grassroots Hotline: (800) 833-6354.
2. Send an urgent email to your senators reinforcing the need for SGR repeal now.
3. Contact key senators still undecided on this most critical issue directly through their own social media channels and share with your own Facebook friends and Twitter followers as well.

The Senate delayed the vote on Friday, March 27 after a handful of senators blocked efforts to reach agreement on the rules for debate. Congress has now gone on a two-week recess but senate leaders have pledged to bring up the bill on April 13 when they return.

The current Medicare payment patch expires on April 1, which means that all physician services provided on or after April 1 will be subject to a cut of 21 percent. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is instructing its carriers to "hold" for 10 business days any claims for services provided on April 1 and beyond, until legislation can be passed and signed into law that reverses the 21 percent cut.

Click here to read more on CMS.org.

Do you want more benefit from your health benefits? Join Engaged Public for a full-day conference on Thursday, April 16, to learn about a unique Colorado program that combines value-based insurance design principles with shared decision-making. CMS members can receive 20 percent off registration by entering the discount code "EBDfriend".

The purpose of the 2015 Engaged Benefit Design Conference is to take stock of what we as health care leaders are learning and to chart a course for how Coloradans can become the wisest consumers of health care in the nation.

The event will be held at Anschutz Medical Campus. Registration is $50 and includes breakfast, lunch and parking. Click here to read more on CMS.org or click here to go straight to the event registration page. This project is funded by a grant through the CMS Foundation.

The Office of the State Registrar of Vital Statistics will be implementing the Electronic Death Registration (EDR) system on May 1, 2015. All persons who need to gain access to this system -- either to complete death certificates and/or sign/certify -- will need to request access using this form. Once the department has received and processed a request, personnel will email the submitter a user ID and password (if the user will be entering information on death certificates), or a user ID, password and PIN (if the user will be signing a death certificate).

CDPHE is asking that those planning to use the EDR system in early May submit their requests as soon as possible, as high demand could cause delays. They recommend early submission of the form even for physicians who are planning to attend training and/or start using the EDR system at a later date. Please send competed forms to [email protected]. Questions? Click here for more information or contact Renee Bear, field liaison, at (303) 692-2179 or Michelle Cowell, field unit manager, at (303) 692-2183.

COPIC announced that Gerry Lewis-Jenkins has been promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer. She will continue to focus on market growth and expansion, legislative activities, and the oversight of COPIC's Information Technology, Marketing and Communications, and Sales departments along with COPIC Financial Service Group. Additionally, she will oversee COPIC's Underwriting department and the operational areas of COPIC's Patient Safety and Risk Management department.

Lewis-Jenkins has been with COPIC since 1991 and held the position of Executive Vice President before this promotion. Prior to joining COPIC, she was Executive Director of Humana Health Plans of Colorado. She also has a background as a registered nurse with more than 15 years of experience in clinical and hospital management. Click here to read more on CMS.org.

Register today for the Colorado Medical Society's 2015 CMS Spring Conference, "Breaking down barriers: Reunifying physicians and patients." The conference will be held May 1-3, 2015 at the Sonnenalp Hotel in Vail. This activity has been approved for 5.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and 3 COPIC points.

Registration and hotel reservations are available on the spring conference page of CMS.org, www.cms.org/events/spring-conference.

Attention delegates and alternate delegates to the CMS House of Delegates: HOD Speaker Robert Yakely, MD, and Vice Speaker Brigitta Robinson, MD, will host a webinar today, Monday, March 30, to provide you with a mid-year update and discussion on the opportunities and vulnerabilities in the political, economic and regulatory landscape, and actions CMS is taking between meetings of the HOD. It will start at 6 p.m. and will include time to answer your questions and take suggestions.

Click here to read more on CMS.org.