Medical Society of New Jersey e-Newsletter
 
October 15, 2015

   
In This Issue
 
CME/Events /Training

Check out the MSNJ Calendar for upcoming meetings!

Seabrook House is offering a complimentary CME event on "Identifying and Addressing Addiction in my Private Practice" on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at Collingswood Community Center. Click here for more information and registration. 

The next General Meeting of Union County Medical Society will be held on Wednesday, October 21st at L'Affaire Caterers in Mountainside at 7:30 pm.  Michael Schoppmann, Esquire will speak on Healthcare Audits - Legal Red Flags and the program is approved for one (1) hour of Category 1 CME. Register online. 

MCMS Fall Meeting: The Secret to Leadership: Emotional Intelligence
October 21, 2015 at 6:00pm
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital 

NJMGMA Fall Educational Event - 2016 Health Care Update Forum
Hosted on two different dates and locations:
  • October 23, 2015: 8:00am to 12:00pm - Adelphia Restaurant, Deptford, NJ
  • October 27, 2015: 8:00am to 12:00pm - Hotel Woodbridge at Metropark, Iselin, NJ

More information and registration


MSNJ Corporate Partner, Brach Eichler will host a free seminar, "Is Your HIPAA Security Rule Compliance Missing the HITECH Express Train?" on Tuesday, October 27 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm at the Offices of Brach Eichler. Hundreds of covered entities and business associates will be targeted by the Office for Civil Rights. Brach Eichler will provide guidance on how to identify your areas of non-compliance and how to fix them. More information and registration. 

NJ Pure will host a free Knowledge is Power Presentation on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at Forsgate Country Club. They have reserved 25 seats for MSNJ members. First come, first served! You must register by October 22. RSVP to 877-265-7873 x7720, or email to [email protected], or fax to 609-297-5511 and mention MSNJ. More information.  

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School will host a Brown Bag Lunch and Learn Seminar on The Conversation: A Revolutionary Plan for End-of-Life Care on Tuesday, November 3 at 12:00pm at Rutgers Conference Room 1302, Clinical Academic Building. More information. 

Novitas Solutions will host their 2015 Medicare Symposium in our area on the following dates:

  • November 10, 2015 - East Windsor, NJ
More information.
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ATTENTION PHYSICIANS:
Renew your dues ONLINE by
11:59PM TONIGHT
and receive a 5% discount on your state dues*
 
When prompted enter discount code msnj5, then click "update price."

*Applies to physician dues only
 

MSNJ PSP meeting, October 22, 2015 at 5:30pm in MSNJ Conference Room
 
Please join us for a special presentation on the Horizon OMNIA announcement.  
In addition, we will discuss two recent New Jersey cases that will impact your practice.
  • Morristown Medical Center Property Tax Case
    • How will it affect the services you provide in hospitals?
  • Corporate Practice of Medicine
    • How will this case impact medical practices that engage management companies?
Guest speakers: WhatleyKallas, LLP
-John Fanburg, Esq. of the law firm Brach Eichler, LLC, an MSNJ Corporate Partner
-Neil L. Prupis, Esq., Founding Member, Lampf, Lipkind, Prupis & Petigrow, PC

Please register online at www.msnj.org/events
A light supper will be provided.
Resolutions Due November 10
The next meeting of the Revolving Reference Committee is Monday, November 23 at 7:00 pm via webinar. All resolutions need to be vetted by your County Medical Society prior to submission to MSNJ. Resolutions are due from the County Medical Societies by November 10. Read the instructions on writing a resolution.
News
MSNJ Weighs in on Reimbursement for Telemedicine
This week MSNJ filed comments with the Small Employers Health Board on proposed regulations that would permit payment for certain telemedicine services in the small employer health plan market. We expressed support for payment to physicians with established relationships, but urged the Board to require that there be an established patient relationship which includes a physical examination before rendering services via telemedicine.

Case of First Impression on 60 Day Return of Overpayment Obligation
A judge in the Southern District of New York has strictly interpreted the Affordable Care Act's requirement that overpayments made to physicians by Medicare and Medicaid be returned within 60 days. MSNJ and others objected to the CMS 2012 rule proposal to implement the requirement because it did not require actual knowledge of the overpayment. While CMS has not finalized the rule and indicated that it was further considering the proposal, the court in U.S. ex rel. Kane v. Continuum Health Partners has strictly interpreted the ACA provision. In that case, the non-profit hospital was made aware of the likely existence of Medicaid overpayments, but did not return the money for two years when it conclusively established the specific amount of overpayments.

Hospital Out-Patient Costs Rise Faster than ASCs  
A recent Health Affairs study has found that hospital out-patient charges are rising faster than charges for the same services at ambulatory surgery centers. Read the report.

ABIM Recommends Significant Changes for Maintenance of Certification
Last month the American Board of Internal Medicine released the report of its Assessment 2020 Task Force that was convened to develop a path forward on internal medicine and associated subspecialty assessment. The report is to inform redesign of certification and maintenance of certification programs. Key findings include: replacing the ten-year MOC exam with more meaningful and less burdensome assessments; focusing assessments on cognitive and technical skills; and recognizing specializations. Read the press release. Read the final report.
MSNJ Supports Federal Funding to Support Quality Measure Development and Technical Assistance
On October 7, MSNJ signed on to a letter to CMS and the Department of Health and Human Services regarding funding for the development of quality measures and technical assistance to small practices under Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).

Legislative Update
Drug Abuse
As a reminder, the new PMP law takes effect November 1st. Read our guidance (please note that delegation is not allowed until regulations are finalized). We are told that the vendor has increased the capacity of its call center so that it can better handle the several hundred requests per day it is receiving from New Jersey prescribers. Please let us know if you have any technical difficulties signing up for access to the database.
 
In addition, Governor Christie signed a bill to prohibit the sale of medications containing dextromethorphan to any persons under the age of 18 unless they have a prescription.

OON/OMNIA
MSNJ continues to oppose legislation that punishes out of network physicians and we are working on a dispute resolution proposal for outlier charges. In light of the OMNIA announcement, we continue to have concerns that carriers do not maintain adequate networks or provide meaningful, affordable access to care.
 
We will be discussing this and other hot topics at this month's PSP meeting on Thursday, October 22nd. More information.
Practice Management
ICD-10: The First Two Weeks 
It has been two weeks since the October 1 start date for ICD-10 and we would like to hear about your experience. While we encourage members to report claims payment and processing issues related to ICD-10, we also want to hear about transitions that went well. Please tell us about your practice's transition experience by emailing [email protected] with "ICD-10 Transition" in the subject line. Resources are available at www.msnj.org/ICD-10.
The AMA has revised its online ICD-10 information and resources.
 
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About the Medical Society of New Jersey:

Founded in 1766, the Medical Society of New Jersey (MSNJ) is the oldest professional society in the United States. MSNJ promotes the betterment of the public health and the science and the art of medicine, to enlighten public opinion in regard to the problems of medicine, and to safeguard the rights of the practitioners of medicine.  The organization and its members are dedicated to a healthy New Jersey, working to ensure the sanctity of the physician-patient relationship. In representing all medical disciplines, MSNJ advocates for the rights of patients and physicians alike, for the delivery of the highest quality medical care.  For more information visit our website or send us an e-mail.

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