On April 28, a federal appeals court upheld the lower court’s ruling to block industry giant Anthem’s proposed acquisition of Cigna. This is a monumental win for America’s patients and physicians, which was made possible through medicine’s joint leadership — most notably collaboration between the Arkansas Medical Society and the American Medical Association. “These insurance companies were trying to stack the deck,” said AMA President Andrew W. Gurman, MD. “They sought even more negotiating power over you. But, using hard… Read More

According to The Council for Disability Awareness, at some time during their working careers, three out of every ten workers will suffer a disability and be unable to work for a significant period of time.… Read More

The New York Times (1/23, Pear, Subscription Publication) reports that on Monday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-MA) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) unveiled “a partial replacement for the Affordable Care Act” which “would allow states to… Read More

The New York Times (1/23, Picker, Abelson, Subscription Publication) reports Judge John D. Bates of the US District Court for the District of Columbia has blocked the proposed $37 billion merger of insurers Aetna and… Read More

CBO says repealing ACA would result in 18 million losing coverage in first year The New York Times (1/17, A1, Pear, Subscription Publication) reports on its front page that according to the Congressional Budget Office,… Read More

It has been an interesting 2016, has it not? Governor Hutchinson proposed – the Arkansas Legislature passed; and HHS has issued a waiver for – a revision to Arkansas Medicaid Expansion; we have survived a… Read More

AMS has a lot on its plate. We will be asking legislators to file numerous bills that address issues and concerns affecting your practice and your profession. We will be fighting a mountain of legislation… Read More

Late yesterday afternoon (December 27), the DEA reversed its decision and posted a notice that it is retaining its current policy and procedures, with one minor change, regarding registration renewals. The revised announcement states the… Read More

AMS has received numerous calls from physicians asking about the recently passed medical marijuana amendment. While AMS was and remains opposed to the amendment, AMS members should be aware of the implications and responsibilities associated… Read More

CMS has announced that the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015, requires the removal of Social Security Numbers (SSNs) from all Medicare beneficiary cards by April 2019. A new randomly generated Medicare… Read More

QualChoice of Arkansas has contacted AMS with information regarding a change to Individual Metallic Insurance Plans. Beginning January 1, 2017, all members of QualChoice individual metallic plans (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Catastrophic) will be… Read More