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1. Physicians Targeted by Professional Corporation "Compliance" Scams
Physician offices frequently receive official-looking mail telling them that they need to send money to keep their professional corporations “in compliance with state law.” Such solicitations often appear at first glance to come from legitimate sources and imply that if you don’t act quickly to keep your “corporate status” you may be exposed to lawsuits or audits. Don’t be fooled by these scams.
California law does require that each corporation keep accurate books and records of its board, committee, and shareholder meetings. Corporations are also required to annually file a Statement of Interest with the Secretary of State’s office and pay a $25 filing fee. The form can be filled out electronically at the Secretary of State’s website.
Professional corporations are also required to pay an annual franchise tax. For information on this obligation, go to the California Franchise Tax Board’s website and talk with your tax adviser.
Professional corporations are not required, as some solicitations imply, to file official minutes with the state or use “one size fits all” corporate documents. Because the specific needs of each corporation differ, CMA recommends that physicians consult with an attorney familiar with corporate law to be sure that their corporate records are properly kept.
If you receive a solicitation that you suspect may be a scam, send it to CMA by e-mail (legalinfo@cmanet.org) or by fax (415/882-5143). CMA will forward these solicitations to the California Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Postal Inspector.
For more details on the legal requirements for physician corporations, see CMA ON-CALL. Document #0230, “Medical Partnerships and Corporations,” provides a general overview of medical corporations, and document #0214, “Statutory Close Corporations,” discusses the relaxed corporate requirements for “close” corporations, which apply to most small physician practices.
Click here for more information.
Contact: CMA’s legal information line, 415/882-5144 or legalinfo@cmanet.org. BACK TO TOP
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2. New Federal Medicaid Rule Requires States to Obtain Proof of Citizenship
Effective July 1, federal law will require all Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) applicants—including U.S. citizens—to prove their citizenship status. Federal law permits only citizens and qualified aliens to receive full Medi-Cal benefits, although others, including undocumented persons, can receive emergency medical services through the program.
Previously, citizens seeking full benefits needed to certify in writing under penalty of perjury their citizenship status, but states are now required to obtain and verify documentation of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate. This change was part of the 2006 federal budget—the Federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005—signed into law by President Bush last month.
CMA is concerned that many United States citizens applying for Medi-Cal will not have these documents in hand (or even at all). According to some estimates, as many as 3.2 to 4.6 million citizens may lose their Medicaid coverage because they cannot produce the necessary documentation. Of particular concern are those Medi-Cal beneficiaries in nursing homes many of whom are disabled or incompetent.
CMA and AMA are urging federal lawmakers to either repeal the requirement or provide a long transition period. Physicians are urged to inform their Medi-Cal-eligible patients of this change so that the patients will have time to collect the needed documents before applying or reconfirming their eligibility for the program.
Click here for more information. Contact: Robin Flagg, 415/882-5110 or rflagg@cmanet.org.
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3. Emergency Drug Coverage for Medi-Medi’s Extended 2 Weeks
Governor Schwarzenegger Wednesday announced that the state’s emergency drug coverage program for “dual-eligible” seniors has been extended until April 16.
Nearly 1 million “medi-medi’s” (California seniors who are covered by both Medicare and Medi-Cal) were transferred on January 1 into the Medicare Part D prescription drug program. Previously, these low income and disabled seniors received drug coverage through Medi-Cal. Unfortunately, the transition went badly, and many seniors had difficulty getting their prescription medications. As a result, 37 states—including California—stepped in and began providing emergency drug coverage. California’s coverage, originally set to expire March 31, has been extended until April 16.
A variety of additional problems may be encountered by these new Part D participants once the emergency state program ends. Patients may or may not need to change prescriptions depending on the formulary of the Part D plan they have selected. If patients find that their plans’ formularies do not cover their drugs, they or their physicians can request an exception (coverage authorization for nonformulary drugs). If an exception is denied, the decision can be appealed. Unlike Medi-Cal, Part D exceptions or appeals cannot be submitted by pharmacists, only by Medicare beneficiaries and their prescribing physicians.
Click here for more details, including drug plan contacts and information on appealing a coverage decision.
Contact: Elizabeth McNeil, 415/882-3376 or emcneil@cmanet.org.
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4. Deadline to Apply for Loan Repayment Program Is April 7
The deadline to submit an application for this year’s Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program is April 7.
In addition to a salary, physicians selected for the program will be eligible for medical school loan repayment grants of up to $105,000 in exchange for a three-year service commitment in a medically underserved area of the state. The list of “eligible practice settings” includes official “health professionals shortage areas” (HPSAs) and federally qualified “health center look-alikes,” community health centers, migrant health centers, and public housing centers.
The law requires that most participants be selected from the specialty areas of family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology. Up to 20 percent of the participants may be selected from other specialties.
CMA was able to secure in the 2005-2006 budget $3 million in tobacco tax money to fund this year’s program. The association is still seeking a permanent funding source. Created under a CMA-sponsored law in 2002, the program was renamed in honor of Thompson, CMA’s longtime vice president of government relations, who passed away in August 2004 after a short but precipitous battle with cancer.
A CMA-sponsored bill (AB 327) that took effect on January 1 authorizes the medical board to invite physicians, as part of the licensing and renewal process, to make a voluntary $50 contribution to the loan repayment program. CMA encourages physicians to donate to this very important program.
Click here for more information.
Contact: Joe Greaves, 916/444-5532 or jgreaves@cmanet.org.
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5. Sixth Annual Adult Immunization Summit Is May 1 in Oakland
CMA is again sponsoring the California Adult Immunization Summit. This year’s summit, which is presented by the California Adult Immunization Coalition (CAIC), will be held May 1 in Oakland.
The summit brings together a diverse group of stakeholders including physicians, public health officials, members of the media, health plan representatives, and vaccine manufacturers to discuss a wide variety adult immunization issues. Topics covered at this year’s summit include avian flu, pertussis, vaccine distribution, immunization registries, immunizations for special populations (such as college students and nursing home residents), and new and developing vaccines.
The summit features keynote and plenary presentations by Litjen Tan, M.D., AMA’s director of infectious diseases, immunology, and molecular medicine, Raymond Strikas, M.D., CDC’s associate director for adult immunization, Robert Frenck, M.D., from UCLA’s School of Medicine and Center for Vaccine Research, and Howard Backer, M.D., chief of the California Department of Health Services’ Immunization Branch.
CAIC has applied for 6.5 hours of CME for this event. Register by April 10 and pay the early-bird rate of $50. After April 10, registration is $75.
Click here for more information. Contact: Robin Flagg, 415/882-5110 or rflagg@cmanet.org.
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6. CMA Foundation’s 4th Annual Golf Classic Is May 6 in Indian Wells,
During CMA’s Health Care Leadership Academy
The CMA Foundation will host its fourth annual Golf Classic in conjunction with the CMA Health Care Leadership Academy. This year, the Leadership Academy will be May 5-7 at the Renaissance Esmerelda in Indian Wells. The golf classic will be May 6 at the Golf Resort at Indian Wells, selected last year by Golf Digest as one of its “Best Places to Play.” The style of play is a scramble, with a best ball format. Play begins with a shotgun start at 1 p.m.
Your participation in the golf tournament will help support the foundation’s many valuable public health programs, including appropriate antibiotic use, childhood obesity, diabetes, smoking cessation, and health disparities.
Click here for more information.
Contact: Donna Astrinidis, 916/551-2054 or dastrinidis@cmanet.org.
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 7. Did You Know?
Did you know that on March 18, 1870, a California law was enacted that established the State Board of Health, with Thomas M. Logan, M.D., heading up as secretary? Dr. Logan was then president of the Medical Society of the State of California (now CMA). This was only the second state health board in the United States; Massachusetts had formed its board just a few months earlier.
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Thomas Logan, MD
CMA president 1870 |
The first meeting of the State Board of Health was held at Dr. Logan’s office (2nd and K in Old Town Sacramento) in a building now occupied by an old-time saloon. This board went on to establish health guidelines for prisons, smallpox inoculation requirements for all school children, and a system for recording births and deaths in the state.
CMA is celebrating its 150th birthday!
Visit
http://www.cmanet.org/150 for more information.
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8. CMA Member Benefit of the Week: Magazine Discount Program
The CMA Magazine Program gives members up to 50 percent off subscriptions to hundreds of popular magazines. The same low rates apply to new subscriptions and renewals. Renewals with the discount are available no matter how your subscriptions were originally ordered.
If you find a lower advertised price for any magazine offered through this program, simply send in the promotional offer with your order and pay the lower amount. Subscriptions for both office and personal use are available through this membership program.
For more information, call 800/603-5602, e-mail cma@BUYMAGS.com, or visit
http://www.buymags.com/cma.
Click here for more information about the benefits and discounts available to CMA members.
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No. 2044 
