PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

2020

Unforgettable

2020 has been an unforgettable year. Natural disasters, stock market crashes, a mutated virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns, quarantines, oil price wars, conspiracy theories, black holes, artificial intelligence, human rights marches, novel vaccines, and 1.8 million pandemic related deaths worldwide…

The year has been tumultuous, but the resilience of mankind does shine through. Science prevails. The year has seen record breaking times to create diagnostic tests, protocols for safety, and a vaccine. We have been fortunate to be able to do what we love most – practice medicine and help people during a time like this. We are privileged to be able to work and be part of the healing for so many.

I joined CCMA because I see the importance of scientists and doctors having a strong, clear, and unified voice. Decisions around science and medicine need to come from us. I hope to be a liaison for your concerns and needs so we don’t fall into bureaucratic nexuses.

Some goals for the year will include supporting science, our public health department, and physician and patient rights.

I look forward to 2021, a year of hope and progress.

Stay blessed, Priti Gagneja, MD

State Tobacco Tax-Funded

Program Awards $38.14 Million to Expand California’s Health Care Workforce

101 awardees will help address physician shortage, increase access to care Largest CalMedForce applicant pool, so far, with over $95M requested

Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC) announced more than $38 million in CalMedForce awards across the state to support medical training and residency programs and help grow the physician workforce.

The third round of CalMedForce funding, released by PHC and generated by the voter-approved Proposition 56 tobacco tax in 2016, will support 202 residency positions in 101 graduate medical education (GME) programs at hospitals and clinics, with an emphasis on those serving medically underserved groups and communities. This cycle represented the largest applicant pool: 541 residents and 122 applications requesting over $95 million in funding.

The California Future Health Workforce Commission estimated that California will need 4,700 additional primary care clinicians by 2025 and approximately 4,100 more by 2030 to meet demand. PHC, in partnership with

the University of California (UC), established the CalMedForce grant program to help address California’s looming physician shortage because medical school graduates must continue training in an accredited, specialty-specific GME residency program to obtain a medical license and care for patients independently.

“CalMedForce continues to demonstrate the high demand and need for GME opportunities,” said Lupe Alonzo-Diaz, MPA, PHC president and CEO. “The lack of sufficient residency spots contributes to California’s physician shortage and limits the number of new doctors entering the workforce. With COVID 19 impacting life for the foreseeable future, programs like CalMedForce are even more essential to protect access to care for all Californians.”

The UC is the designated recipient of Proposition 56 funding and has contracted with PHC to administer CalMedForce. All accredited residency programs in the state that meet guidelines are eligible to apply for funding. Of this year’s CalMedForce awardees, approximately 14% of GME programs are sponsored by the University.

To date, CalMedForce has released over $114 million for 261 awards to 121 GME programs across California to retain and expand GME programs in primary care (family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology) and emergency medicine. However, even with the additional funding, the shortage of California residency programs poses an ongoing challenge for expanding the physician workforce.

“We understand the vital statewide need for this program and the funding it provides to support California’s future physicians,” said Cathryn Nation, M.D., Vice President for Health Sciences at UC Office of the President. “The annual demand for funding reflects the importance of this program and its focus on the needs of medically underserved groups and communities.”

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PROTECTING PHYSICIAN PRACTICES DURING COVID-19

COVID-19 is having a profound impact on physician practices across the state. The California Medical Association (CMA) continues to advocate on all fronts during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that the interests of physicians and their patients are considered as local, state and federal governments respond to the rapidly evolving public health emergency. From ensuring physician payments in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to expanding the use of telehealth services, CMA’s advocacy has directly helped thousands of physician practices across California.

CMA also has a wide array of resources and programs to help physicians during the public health emergency:

PPE RELIEF: As physician practices continue to struggle to secure the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need to keep themselves and their patients safe, CMA distributed millions of pieces of PPE – including masks, shields, gowns, gloves and hand sanitizer – free to qualifying practices. Practices with 50 or fewer providers were eligible to receive a 60-day supply to ensure they could see patients with proper safety precautions in place.

VIRTUAL GRAND ROUNDS: CMA is partnering with the California Health and Human Services Agency and academic medical centers across the state to host California COVID-19 Clinical Updates, a regular series of virtual grand rounds for the state’s clinicians on the evolving understanding and management of COVID-19 patients. Participants earn free continuing medical education (CME).

TOOLKITS FOR MEDICAL PRACTICES: CMA understands that things are changing rapidly – sometimes daily – during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our team of experts is distilling the information into easy-to-read toolkits that are updated regularly to keep you informed on the changing policy and regulatory landscape.

COVID-19 WEBINAR SERIES: Since the beginning of the public health emergency, CMA has been hosting free COVID-19 webinars to keep California physicians informed on critical topics – from telehealth and reimbursement to legal and employment issues.

REOPENING GUIDELINES: Many physician practices have had to close or reduce operating hours amid the COVID emergency. A CMA-convened taskforce of practicing physicians from different parts of the state, different sized practices and various specialties helped the state develop guidelines and recommendations for reopening the health care system.

ADDITIONAL MEMBER BENEFITS

CMA members gain access to valuable members-only services, including:

LEGAL RESOURCES

Free access to CMA’s online health law library with 5,000+ pages of information and resources.

REIMBURSEMENT ASSISTANCE

CMA physicians have recouped more than $3 million in the past 11 years with the help of CMA’s reimbursement experts.

PRACTICE SUSTAINABILITY

CMA’s Physician Services Organization ensures that California physicians can practice in the modality of their choosing, armed with bestin-class tools and technologies.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Grow your leadership skills with tools, resources and opportunities for growth.

GROUP-BUYING DISCOUNTS

Our extensive network of benefit partners makes it so that your membership can easily pay for itself.

LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY

Learn how to use your voice as a trusted and powerful tool to protect your patients and the practice of medicine.

We Are Here for You

Your membership makes these programs and resources possible. CMA and its county medical societies have represented California’s physicians for more than 160 years as the recognized voice of the house of medicine. Become a member of CMA today to help strengthen the political voice of the house of medicine, and get the services you need to help your practice adapt during these turbulent times. Together we stand taller, our combined voices stronger, fighting for the future of medicine and our noble profession.

Become a Member Today

Visit cmadocs.org/join or contact CMA’s member resource center at (800) 786-4262 or memberservice@cmadocs.org.