|
ADVERTISEMENT
1. Medical Board Mail Stolen in Sacramento;
Physicians Encouraged to Guard Against Identity Theft
An unknown quantity of mail was stolen March 4 from the general mailbox at a Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) facility in Sacramento, which houses the Medical Board of California and seven other professional licensing boards. Law enforcement and the U.S. Postal Service have been notified and are investigating the matter.
As license applications and renewals contain personal and financial information, licensees could potentially be exposed to identity theft. Physicians who mailed medical license applications, renewals, or other mail containing personal information between February 25 and March 3 to the DCA Howe Avenue facility are encouraged to contact the medical board (916/263-1080) to determine if their applications have arrived safely. If your application has not arrived, please visit the DCA Office of Privacy Protection (COPP) website at
http://www.privacy.ca.gov for information on steps you can take to protect yourself from the possibility of identity theft. COPP can also be reached by phone at 866/785-9663
Also affected by this mail theft are the Board of Podiatric Medicine, the Physician Assistant Committee, the Physical Therapy Board of California, the Board of Psychology, the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board, the Committee on Dental Auxiliaries, the Veterinary Medical Board, the Structural Pest Control Board, and the California Athletic Commission.
To mitigate this risk in the future, DCA has changed procedures, and mail will be delivered to the Howe Avenue facility only during normal business hours when staff are present in the building. The theft took place on a Saturday.
Click here for more information.
Contact: Medical Board of California, 916/263-1080.
BACK TO TOP
ADVERTISEMENT
2. DMHC’s Financial Solvency Reporting Rules Do Not Apply to
Individual Physicians, Do Apply to Risk-Bearing Groups/IPAs
CMA has learned that the current issue of PacifiCare’s provider newsletter includes inaccuracies about the Department of Managed Health Care’s (DMHC) financial solvency reporting requirements (under SB 260). The article, “How to Comply with SB 260,” erroneously states that all physicians with health plan contracts must submit quarterly and annual financial statements and “corrective action plans” to DMHC and to each contracting health plan.
CMA reminds physicians that the state’s financial solvency regulations apply only to risk-bearing medical groups/IPAs. (A “risk-bearing organization” is one that receives capitated health plan payments and is responsible for paying and processing claims from physicians who care for the plan’s members.) The financial solvency standards and the reporting requirements do not apply to individual physicians.
The PacifiCare article also incorrectly implies that the regulations require risk-bearing organizations (RBOs) to submit financial statements to each health plan with which they are contracted. The regulations only require RBOs to submit financial statements to DMHC. Some health plan capitation contracts may require RBOs to regularly submit financial statements, but this is not something that is required by state law.
PacifiCare, per CMA’s request, will issue a correction in its next newsletter.
Click here for more information. Contact: Aileen E. Wetzel, 916/444-5532 or awetzel@cmanet.org.
BACK TO TOP
3. Physician Labs Lacking State Registration
Will Have Federal Lab Certificates Terminated
Physician-operated laboratories that are not in compliance with a newly implemented state law that requires state registration/licensure will have their federal CLIA laboratory certificates terminated as early as next week. Without a CLIA certificate, labs will not be able to receive Medicare or Medicaid payments.
The labs that are impacted by this law have received multiple notices from the Laboratory Field Services (LFS) division of the California Department of Health Services.
The state legislature in 1996 passed a law requiring physician-operated laboratories (labs operated in a physician’s office that are used by five or fewer physicians) that perform moderate- and high-complexity tests to be either licensed by or registered with DHS, subjecting them to fees and regulations beyond those imposed under the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) program. Although the law requiring this dual oversight took effect in 1996, the regulations were delayed in large part due to CMA opposition. It has always been CMA’s position that dual fees and dual regulations create unnecessary costs and administrative obligations, without any benefit to patients.
Despite CMA objections, DHS finally implemented the dual oversight regulations last summer. DHS is seeking an exemption from federal CLIA requirements, which would allow physician labs in California to be licensed by DHS alone. CMA is currently sponsoring a bill (AB 2452) that would suspend state licensure/registration requirements until a federal CLIA waiver is obtained. In the meantime, however, labs must comply with the new regulations.
Physician labs that were in existence prior to January 1, 1996—when the original lab licensing law took effect—are exempt from state licensure requirements, providing they have not since that date had a change in status (e.g., location, partners). Laboratories that perform only “waived” tests (classified by FDA or CDC to be so simple that there is little risk of error) and labs that perform only “provider-performed microscopy” tests are exempt from the state licensure requirements, but do have to register with the state. Labs must renew their registration and licenses annually.
Click here for more information. Contact: Robin Flagg, 415/882-5110 or rflagg@cmanet.org.
BACK TO TOP
4. Photos Online from CMA’s 150th Anniversary Kickoff
 |
CMA current president Michael Sexton, M.D., greets CMA's first president,
Benjamin Franklin Keene, played by Sacramento medical historian
Robert LaPerriere, M.D. |
|
 |
| Assemblyman Keith Richman, M.D., presents CMA with an official state resolution honoring the association on its 150th anniversary. |
|
 |
CMA media relations director Karen Nikos,
who spearheaded this wonderful event,
dressed in period costume poses with
Dr. LaPerriere, who played CMA's first president, Benjamin Franklin Keene. |
CMA last week kicked off its 150th anniversary celebration with a press conference and historical presentation at the site of the association’s first meeting in what is now Old Town Sacramento. One of the event’s highlights was a reenactment of the speech given at that first meeting in 1856 by Benjamin Franklin Keene, M.D., the association’s first president. Dr. Keene was played by Sacramento medical historian Robert LaPerriere, M.D, who arrived by horse-drawn carriage in period costume. CMA was presented with official state resolutions honoring CMA on its 150th anniversary, authored by Assemblyman Bill Maze (R-Visalia) and Senator Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento). The Assembly resolution was coauthored by Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) and Keith Richman, M.D. (R-Northridge). The Senate resolution was coauthored by David Cox (R-Fair Oaks).
Also in attendance were CMA officers, trustees, and staff.
CMA has launched a special anniversary section of its website. There you will find photos from the kickoff event, a brief history of CMA (including historical photos), and a copy of Dr. Keene’s remarks. The anniversary pages will be regularly updated throughout the year.
Click here for more information.
Contact: CMA Communication Center, 916/551-2072 or mgrant@cmanet.org. BACK TO TOP
5. Deadline to RSVP for CMA’s Annual “Doctor Day” Is Next Week
Physicians seeking insight into and training on how to affect the political process are encouraged to attend CMA’s 32nd Annual Legislative Leadership Conference—aka “Doctor Day”—Tuesday, April 4, in Sacramento. During this one-day event, physicians will hear from legislators about policy proposals that could affect the practice of medicine in California. As always, the day’s schedule includes time for physicians to meet face to face with their legislators for frank discussions of state and local health care issues.
Legislators at the event will discuss and take questions on issues such as health care access, Medi-Cal, health savings accounts, and health care financing in the state budget. The state’s political dynamics will be discussed by a panel of political experts, including Democratic political consultant Richie Ross, Republican strategist Dan Schnur, and San Francisco Chronicle’s Sacramento bureau chief Greg Lucas.
Click here for more information.
Contact: Marlon Cuellar, 916/444-5532 or mcuellar@cmanet.org. BACK TO TOP
6. Online Registration Is Now Open for CMA’s Leadership Academy
Physicians can now register online for CMA’s 9th Annual Health Care Leadership Academy. The conference is May 5-7 at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort near Palm Springs. A dynamic multidisciplinary faculty will discuss trends affecting your economic future as a physician and teach essential leadership skills.
This year’s conference, “Reengineering Health Care: Meeting Future Expectations Without Breaking the Bank,” will address the challenges of cost, quality, and access to care as “locomotives” of health system reform. Noted economists and leaders from the government, business, and labor sectors, as well as from the health care industry itself, will present a variety of perspectives on how to avert a “train wreck” and put the system on track toward a viable future.
The academy also will feature a powerful slate of nuts-and-bolts leadership skills workshops including:
- Leadership skills for managing change
- Conflict resolution techniques
- How to prepare a compelling presentation
- How to maximize committee effectiveness
- How to deliver medicine’s (or your organization’s) message to the public
The value of these workshops alone makes the CMA Leadership Academy’s low tuition a bargain. Participants can earn up to 17 hours of Category I CME.
The California Health Care Leadership Academy has become a must-attend event for its unique dual focus on leading-edge health policy trends and practical skills development. In fact, colleagues from the “other” CMA—the Canadian Medical Association—will attend this year’s conference with an eye toward designing their own annual leadership conference.
Click here to register.
Contact: Leadership Academy Hotline, 800/795-2262 or rpurdy@cmanet.org.
BACK TO TOP
7. Earn 7 CME Hours at CMA Sponsored EMR Conference, March 25 in SF
CMA is cosponsoring the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s electronic medical records conference, “Physicians Adopting Computer Technology.” The one-day program is March 25 at the San Francisco Airport Marriott.
Attendees will receive step-by-step guidance on selecting and implementing electronic medical records (EMRs). Presented by physicians who have been through the process, the conference will explore:
- Choosing the best system for your practice size, budget, and specialty
- Converting successfully from paper to electronic records
- Avoiding common mistakes
- Helping colleagues and staff who aren’t computer savvy
- Ensuring the system integrates with hospitals, pharmacies, and other practices
- Avoiding legal problems and ensuring confidentiality
The conference also includes product exhibits and demonstrations of today’s top EMR products. CMA members pay $189, nonmembers $219. Participants can earn up to 7 hours of Category 1 CME credit.
If you can’t make the San Francisco conference, the program will also be presented March 11 in Denver, March 18 in New York City, April 22 in Dearborn, Michigan, May 6 in Kingsport, Tennessee, and June 24 in Boston.
Click here for more information.
BACK TO TOP
8. CMA Member Benefit of the Week
This week’s featured member benefit is Employment Practices Liability Insurance. Through CMA’s group buying power, members receive significant premium discounts on a number of insurance products—including employment practices liability (EPL) insurance.
EPL insurance is a relatively new insurance product that provides protection against claims made by employees, former employees, or potential employees for harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, or other employment-related allegations. Employers of all sizes face potential damage from EPL lawsuits, which can result not only in financial disaster, but in irreparable injury to reputation as well.
Marsh’s comprehensive employment practices liability program also includes web-based training for physicians and their staff and access to labor attorneys at no extra charge to discuss employment issues.
Special discounts for first-time buyers are available. Members will soon receive details in the mail about this new insurance program. If you have any questions, contact Marsh at 800/842-3761 or CMACounty.Insurance@marsh.com.
Click here for more information about the benefits and discounts available to CMA members.
BACK TO TOP |
No. 2043 
