Medicaid limbo catches 31,400 in Arkansas
Article by By Andy Davis of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 9-10-2015 As of Aug. 2, as many as 31,400 Arkansans had been waiting longer than the maximum time allowed for word that their applications for Medicaid had been approved, according to numbers from the state Department of Human Services.…
Jonesboro Hospital Honors AMS Member with Memorial Dedication
Dr. Micheal Hong practiced as an OBGYN at the NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital for over 17 years and served as a member of the Arkansas Medical Society for 15 years. In honor of his dedication and extraordinary patient care, over 100 of his friends, colleagues and family members…
Fewer Americans skipping care because of cost, survey finds
The Huffington Post (9/1) reports that during the first quarter of this year, “4.4 percent of Americans surveyed said they went without health care at some point in the past 12 months because they couldn’t afford it, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research released on…
AMS Welcomes 94 New Members
By joining the Arkansas Medical Society (AMS) over the last two months, the physicians listed below have illustrated their commitment to improving health care in their communities and our state. “As AMS members, these physicians are part of a statewide network of over 4,300 Arkansas physicians, residents and…
SCHIP Vaccine Shipment Begins Next Week
The Arkansas Department of Health will begin shipping SCHIP Vaccines out to the private sector beginning next week. The process will be: The entire first order request that came in from providers during July and August will be shipped to those providers. If the provider sent a second…
ICD-10 testing: What you need to know
From AMA Wire Physicians have less than 50 days to transition to the ICD-10 code set and should be well into preparations now as the Oct. 1 deadline draws close. One major piece of your prep should be testing your systems and processes. Testing is vital to making…
Governor favors keeping Medicaid expansion, with changes
Governor Asa Hutchinson spoke recently to a joint meeting of the Health Reform Legislative Task Force and the Governor's Medicaid Advisory Council. He told the group that he favored keeping Medicaid expansion — but only if the federal government allowed changes that seemed intended to appeal to conservative…
Urgent Message Regarding Private Option Terminations
News reports have been following the situation of Private Option patients whose coverage has been or will be terminated due to lack of updated income information. There have been major problems in collecting the needed information, compounded by backlogs at local county offices, delayed mail, nondescript envelopes and…
What CMS is saying about ICD-10: Revised guidelines issued
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is making the transition to the ICD-10 code set more flexible. CMS updated its guidance on the ICD-10 coding transition following requests from the AMA to clarify some issues. The revised FAQs are consistent with the original announcement and provide…
1st drug in the world manufactured by 3-D printing wins FDA approval
In a world first, the US Food and Drug Administration has given the go-ahead for a 3D-printed pill to be produced: a dissolvable tablet that treats seizures.” Aprecia Pharmaceuticals announced on Monday that the FDA approved Spritam (levetiracetam), a tablet “manufactured through a layered process via 3-D printing”…
Physician Groups Band Together to Address America’s Opioid Crisis
AMA convened task force engages physicians to curb opioid abuse CHICAGO — Opioid abuse is a serious public health problem that has reached crisis levels across the United States, with 44 people dying each day from overdose of opioids, and many more becoming addicted. Recognizing the urgency and…