CONGRESS REPEALS SGR … BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
Tuesday, April 14, on a bipartisan vote of 92 to 8, the Senate passed H.R. 2, the "Medicare Access and Chip Reauthorization Act," or MACRA. All six members of the Arkansas Congressional Delegation supported this legislation. The measure replaces the Medicare SGR formula for physician payments in place…
Supreme Court rules providers cannot sue states for higher Medicaid rates.
The Washington Post (4/1, Barnes) reports that the Supreme Court “narrowly ruled” Tuesday “that neither the Constitution nor federal law authorizes doctors and other health-care providers to go to court to enforce the law’s directive that the reimbursement rates set by states be ‘sufficient to enlist enough providers…
ACTION NEEDED ON FEDERAL LEGISLATION
This is not a test. Repeat: This is not a test. Serious movement is underway in Congress to permanently repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) before the March 31 deadline; repeal legislation, H.R. 1470/S. 810 is expected on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives next week.…
House leaders unveil draft bill to repeal SGR
Congressional leaders are all but predicting the final product will win enough support from both parties to move this year. Congressional leaders on Thursday released a bipartisan bill to permanently repeal Medicare’s sustainable growth rate formula. Most media analyses note that while there is broad, bipartisan support for…
Private Option Funded Through June 2016.
The AP (2/6, Demillo) reports that the Arkansas Legislature reauthorized the state’s “private option” Medicaid expansion program on Thursday, meaning the plan “will survive another year.” The Arkansas House voted 82-16 to reauthorize funding through June 2016. The measure now heads to Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), “who had…
What CMS’ meaningful use changes could mean for physicians
From AMA Wire, 1-29-15: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Thursday its intent to modify meaningful use requirements, the notoriously burdensome electronic health record (EHR) incentive and penalty program, potentially making it easier for physicians to meet meaningful use. The agency said it would “engage…
New Certification Selection Process on the AHIN Provider Portal for ADHD
Beginning in February (or before) there will be a new certification selection process on the AHIN provider portal for ADHD. The old selection options presented two questions: Have you treated this patient for ADHD? Is this a severe patient who requires Level II Care? The new method presents…
Private Option, Budget and Tax Cuts on Legislative Agenda this Week
Capitol action will be plentiful during a short week as lawmakers and Gov. Asa Hutchinson return Tuesday for the state's legislative session. Hutchinson is scheduled to release his budget for 2015-2016 early in the week, have his tax cut proposal head to a state Senate committee Wednesday and…
United Health Care Credentialing Delay
As many of you are aware, AMS has received numerous complaints regarding delays in physician credentialing with United Health Care. Several months ago, executives from UHC were asked to sit down with AMS and attempt to solve the issues. That meeting failed to bring about results and the…
CDC director urges physicians to use antivirals against flu
Reuters (1/10, Steenhuysen) reported CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden stated the flu season in the US looks to be especially harsh and urged physicians to prescribe antiviral drugs when patients present with flu-like symptoms. Dr. Frieden noted that some doctors do not believe antiviral drugs like Tamiflu (oseltamivir)…
Updated Ebola Sinage for Your Office
The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) is redistributing the current English and Spanish ADH Ebola signs as of 12/23/2014. There have been quite a few changes in affected countries since the original was distributed back in August. It is critical that the most current signs (click images…