Using his art as his vehicle, Erik channels success strategies in a unique and entertaining way. His painting seamlessly becomes a visual metaphor for the fabric of his message. You won’t want to miss the dramatic conclusion of his program! His skill as an artist, a dynamic performer and a speaker will leave you with a message that is as memorable as it is impactful. Erik’s sought after paintings hang in executive offices and corporate headquarters around the country.
SEATING IS LIMITED…
LIMIT 1 GUEST PER MEMBER – NO CHARGE
RESERVATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY SEPTEMBER 2ND.
RSVP to Julie at 813.253.0471 or kmills@hcma.net
CMS TO REVIEW PECOS ENROLLMENT PROCESS
Medicare Working with Ordering and Referring Providers and Suppliers to Streamline Enrollment Process
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is working with providers to address concerns about enrollment in the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries continue to receive the health care services and items they need. PECOS is the electronic system used to enroll physicians and eligible professionals into the Medicare program.
As part of those efforts, CMS will, for the time being, not implement changes that would automatically reject claims based on orders, certifications, and referrals made by providers that have not yet had their applications approved by July 6, 2010. While more than 800,000 physicians and other health professionals have enrolled and have approved applications in the PECOS system, some providers have encountered problems. CMS is continuing to update and streamline the process, and more providers have been enrolled in the past few days.
CMS issued an interim final regulation on May 5, 2010 implementing provisions of the Affordable Care Act that permit only a Medicare enrolled physician or eligible professional to certify or order home health services, durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) , and certain items and services under Medicare Part B. The new law applies to orders, referrals and certifications made on or after July 1. The comment period for the regulation closes on July 6, after which the comments will be reviewed and considered before a final regulation is issued.
The Affordable Care Act provisions and the regulation were designed as steps to prevent fraud in Medicare by ensuring that only eligible and identifiable providers and suppliers can order and refer covered items and services to Medicare beneficiaries.
Many physicians and other providers and suppliers have continued to make good faith efforts to comply with the requirements of the law and regulation. These efforts will be a significant factor in determining the procedures and processes that will be incorporated in the final rule.
While the regulation will be effective July 6, 2010, CMS will not implement automatic rejections of claims submitted by providers that have attempted to enroll in PECOS. However, until the automatic rejections are operational, providers should not see any change in the processing of submitted claims, they will continue to be reviewed and paid as they have historically been reviewed and paid.
Additionally, though CMS is taking a more deliberative approach to using the PECOS enrollment system, the agency will employ a contingency plan to meet the ACA requirement that written orders and certifications are only issued by eligible professionals effective July 1.
CMS will continue to send informational notices to providers reminding them of the need to submit or update their enrollment and will work with the provider community to provide guidance on enrollment and will process all applications expeditiously.
SPECIAL UPDATE: MEDICARE PHYSICIAN PAYMENT CUT BLOCKED
The House of Representatives just passed the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 (H.R. 3962) by a vote of 417 to 1. This legislation contains provisions that block the 21.3 percent cut to Medicare physician payments until Nov. 30. The Senate passed identical legislation late last week. The president is expected to sign the bill into law shortly. Practices will then see a 2.2 percent increase to Medicare physician payment for claims with dates of service from June 1 through Nov. 30. Look for further information in the MGMA Washington Connexion.
MGMA encourages members to use this six-month period of Medicare payment stability to urge Congress to comprehensively address Medicare physician payment cuts through the immediate repeal of the Medicare sustainable growth rate formula.
FMA PAC MAKES LEGISLATIVE AND STATEWIDE CANDIDATE RECOMMENDATIONS
The FMA (Florida Medical Association) PAC Board of Directors met in Tampa on June 25th & 26th to issue endorsements for statewide and legislative candidates.
“The FMA PAC’s endorsement and support provides a significant resource to candidates,” said FMA President-Elect and PAC President Madelyn E. Butler, MD. “We are proud to stand behind those candidates who share our mission of protecting patients’ access to care. We rely upon our county medical societies to interview candidates and make recommendations, and we are grateful to our Candidate Evaluation Committees for vetting the candidates to ensure that we continue putting our resources behind viable candidates who will truly champion our priorities.”
The FMA PAC Board of Directors unanimously endorsed Attorney General Bill McCollum in the race for Governor of Florida and Marco Rubio in the race for U.S. Senate. Other highlights are as follows:
Statewide Races
Attorney General - Neutral
Chief Financial Officer - Jeff Atwater
Commissioner of Agriculture - Adam Putnam
Florida Senate Endorsements
SD 2 – Greg Evers
SD 8 – Senator John Thrasher
SD 6 – Bill Montford
SD 12 – Jim Norman
SD 14 – Senator Steve Oelrich
SD 16 – Jack Latvala
SD 20 – Alan Hays
SD 24 – Senator Thad Altman
SD 25 – Ellyn Bogdanoff
SD 27 – Kevin Rader (Democrat Primary)
SD 32 – Senator Jeremy Ring
SD 36 – Miguel Diaz de la Portilla
SD 38 – Anitere Flores
SD 40 – Rene Garcia
Florida House of Representatives Endorsements
HD 1 – Greg Brown
HD 2 – Clay Ingram
HD 3 – Rep. Clay Ford
HD 6 – Rep. Jimmy Patronis
HD 7 – Rep. Marti Coley
HD 8 – Rep. Alan Williams
HD 9 – Rick Minor
HD 10 – Rep. Leonard Bembry
HD 15 – Reggie Fullwood
HD 18 – Rep. Ron Renuart, DO
HD 20 – Rep. William Proctor
HD 22 – John Patrick Deakins
HD 24 – Dennis Baxley
HD 25 – Rick Joyce
HD 27 – Rep. Dwayne Taylor
HD 28 – Rep. Dorothy Hukill
HD 30 – Rep. Ritch Workman
HD 31 – Rep. John Tobia
HD 33 – Open Seat – Jason Brodeur
HD 34 – Rep. Chris Dorworth
HD 35 – Speaker-Designate Dean Cannon
HD 36 – Rep. Scott Randolph
HD 38 – Rep. Bryan Nelson
HD 40 – Rep. Eric Eisnaugle
HD 41 – Rep. Steve Precourt
HD 42 – Rep. Marlene O’Toole
HD 44 – Rep. Robert Schenck
HD 45 – Katherine Starkey
HD 48 – Rep. Peter Nehr
HD 49 – Rep. Darren Soto
HD 50 – Rep. Ed Hooper
HD 51 – Rep. Janet Long
HD 52 – Rep. Bill Heller
HD 53 – Rep. Rick Kriseman
HD 54 – Rep. Jim Frishe
HD 55 – Darryl Rouson
HD 56 – Rep. Rachel Burgin
HD 57 – Open Seat – Dana Young
HD 58 – Rep. Janet Cruz
HD 60 – Open Seat – Shawn Harrison
HD 61 – Rep. Will Weatherford
HD 64 – Rep. Kelli Stargel
HD 65 – Rep. John Wood
HD 66 – Ben Albritton
HD 67 – Greg Steube
HD 68 – Jim Boyd
HD 69 – Rep. Keith Fitzgerald
HD 70 – Rep. Doug Holder
HD 71 – Rep. Ken Roberson
HD 73 – Jason Moon
HD 75 – Rep. Trudi Williams
HD 79 – Rep. Mike Horner
HD 80 – Rep. Debbie Mayfield
HD 83 – Patrick Rooney
HD 85 – Rep. Joseph Abruzzo
HD 86 – Lori Berman
HD 87 – Bill Hager
HD 88 – Rep. Mark Pafford
HD 90 – Open Seat – Irv Slosberg
HD 95 – Rep. Jim Waldman
HD 96 – Rep. Ari Porth
HD 98 – Rep. Franklin Sands
HD 100 – Rep. Evan Jenne
HD 101 – Rep. Matt Hudson
HD 102 – Rep. Eddy Gonzalez
HD 104 – John Patrick Julien
HD 108 – Rep. Ronald Brise
HD 109 – Cynthia Stafford
HD 111 – Rep. Erik Fresen
HD 112 – Jeanette Nunez
HD 113 – Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera
HD 114 – Ana Rivas Logan
HD 115 – Jose “Pepe” Diaz
HD 117 – Michael Bileca
HD 119 – Katie Edwards
HD 120 – Rep. Ron Saunders
GOLF COAST OIL SPILL FACT SHEET FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS
In response to the Gulf Coast oil spill, the Florida State Emergency Response Team (SERT) has released a fact sheet for health care providers. To download the fact sheet, click here.
DEA’S INTERIM FINAL RULE ON CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE E-PRECRIBING
On March 31, 2010, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) published an interim final rule (IFR) permitting physicians to prescribe controlled substances electronically as of June 1, 2010. The IFR specifies the rules that physicians and other health care providers must follow in order to e-prescribe controlled substances. E-prescribing for controlled substances remains optional for physicians… Read More.
EMR/EHR SURVEYS TALLIED
The results of the March 2010 HCMA EMR/EHR survey have been compiled. The HCMA received seventy-five responses.
65 respondents were in a single specialty group – 26 have an EMR system
10 respondents were in a multispecialty group – 7 have an EMR system
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being completely satisfied) the thirty-three respondents who have an EMR system in place have an average 7.5 satisfaction rate.
The EMR systems most represented in the survey are:
Name of system* |
Number of respondents |
Satisfaction ratings |
Allscripts |
4 |
3, 7, 7, 8 |
E Clinical Works |
4 |
10, 6, 9, n/a |
Intergy/Sage |
4 |
10, 7, 9, 6 |
Athena Clinicals |
3 |
8, 7, 8 |
Centricity/GE |
2 |
8, 8 |
*Additional systems were represented
To receive the excel file which tallied the survey results, please contact Elke Johnston at the HCMA office: Elke Johnston or 813.253.0471.
Please note: the results of this informal survey are for HCMA members’ information only. The results of this survey in no way reflect the thoughts and opinions of the Hillsborough County Medical Association, Inc., its officers, or its members.
PHYSICIAN LEGAL ALERT: THE COMING THREAT OF RAC ADUITS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
On October 8, 2008, without great fanfare within the physician community, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken the next steps in the agency’s “comprehensive efforts” to identify “improper Medicare payments and fight fraud, waste and abuse” in the Medicare program by awarding contracts to four permanent Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) designed to “guard the Medicare Trust Fund.” See Attachment to read more…
FORE!!!! (TEEN)
Sponsor, Golf Volunteer Today…the HCMA Foundation’s 14th Charity Golf Classic will be held Thursday, October 21st at the beautiful Tournament Players Club of Tampa. It’s never too early to secure your spot. $130 per golfer includes greens fees, cart, lunch, dinner, and a great day out of the office – all for a good cause! Sponsorship opportunities are also available.
The HCMA Foundation is a network of physicians and local businesses dedicated to enriching our community. Partnership with the Tampa Bay business community is a fundamental goal of the HCMA, the HCMA Alliance, and the HCMA Foundation; and has been an essential component for success of the Foundation Charity Golf Classic. Due to the success of the Charity Golf Classic we have been proud to award grants to such organization as: The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, The Judeo Christian Health Clinic, MoreHealth, The Evelyn Shaver Scholarship Fund through the HCMA Alliance, and many others. The deadline for 2010 HCMA Foundation Grant Applications is February 15, 2010.
Contact Julie (kmills@hcma.net) or Elke (EJohnston@hcma.net) at the HCMA office for more information (813.253.0471).
STAT LAW
A monthly one page publication of the Physicians’ Counsel, offers the latest breaking news on medical-legal developments affecting physicians and health care providers. Please review the attached July 2010 edition. The information will also be published in the upcoming issue of The Bulletin.
THE HCMA HAS OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE
In Historic Hyde Park…10’ x 9.5’ (95 square feet), available immediately. $350.00 per month lease inclusive of all utilities and parking. Easy access to downtown and Tampa International Airport. Additional amenities include: use of conference rooms, use of in-house copy, postage, and fax machines, complete kitchen, security system and janitorial services. Private entrance and restroom. Security deposit required and minimum one year lease. For additional information call Debbie Zorian, Executive Director, or Martha Brooks, HCMA Accountant, at 813.253.0471.
WELCOME KAY MILLS, HCMA’S NEW PROJECT COORDINATOR!
We are pleased to announce that Kay Mills, a professional administrative assistant with successful event management, has joined the HCMA team. Be sure to stop by and say hello to Kay at the September 23rd HCMA/USF Dean’s Lecture!
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