Coastal Physician - March 2023

Directors

Alejandro Francisco Centurion, MD Walter W Mills II, MD**

Eloy Romero, MD Guadalupe Arreola, MD

*Elected CMA Delegate | **Elected CMA Alternate

The Cypress Foundation Board of Directors

Chairman Alfred Sadler, MD

Secretary/Treasurer Donna Odryna, Executive Director Directors: Valerie Berry, MD, Alexandra Klick MD, Melissa Nothnagle, MD

The Monterey County Medical Society and Santa Cruz County Medical Society are non-profit professional associations led by and for physicians. In partnership with the California Medical Association, (CMA), The Societies are dedicated to promoting excellence in the provision of quality, ethical health care; the health of our community; physicians’ personal, social, and professional integrity and well-being; and the common goals of similar organizations.

Opinions expressed by authors are their own and not necessarily those of Coastal Physician, MCMS. SCCMS or CMA or any of their related organizations. Contact the Editor at (831) 295-0100 with your questions or corrections.

President Steven Harrison, MD*

2023 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Treasurer James Hlavacek, MD Secretary Alfred Sadler, MD

Immediate Past President Maximiliano Cuevas, MD

Tira Hepker Editor SCCMS | MCMS Staff

Donna Odryna Executive Director SCCMS | MCMS Staff

President Anthony Sturzu, MD*

2023 BOARD OF GOVERNORS

President-Elect Daniel Greene, MD

Clay Angel, MD*

Brian Brunelli, MD**

John B Christensen, MD*

Dawn Motyka, MD**

Inemesit U. Newsome, MD

Christopher O’Grady, MD

Treasurer Amy McEntee, MD**

Governors

Immediate Past President Ciara Harraher, MD

CMA Trustee & CA Association of Neurosurgeons President-Elect

Joyce Orndorff, MD

John C. Pestaner, MD*

Jeannine M. Rodems, MD**

Kuntal Thacker, MD**

Jack Watson, MD*

*Elected CMA Delegates | **Elected CMA Alternates

Advisor to the Board

Donaldo Hernandez, MD CMA President

Physicians

Advisor to the Board Gail Newel, MD, Public Health Officer

for a Healthy Central Coast Foundation Board of Directors

President Jack Watson, MD

Treasurer Grant Hartzog, PhD | Secretary Donna Odryna, Executive Director Directors Violetta Barroso, MD, Amy McEntee MD, Jeanine Rodems, MD

The Cypress Foundation in Monterey and Physicians for a Healthy Central Coast in Santa Cruz are collaborative physician and community-led subsidiary 501(c)(3) public benefit corporations dedicated to improving community health, supporting physicians throughout their career, and serving as a leader in fostering careers in medicine. It is a of the Monterey County Medical Society and the Santa Cruz County Medical Society.

Coastal Physician reserves the right to edit all contributions for clarity and length, and to reject any material submitted in whole or part. To contribute to the Coastal Physician publication, contact the Editor at 831-295-0100.

Original text found on CMA website

The California Medical Association (CMA) will host its 49th annual Legislative Advocacy Day in Sacramento on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet with legislators on priority health care issues. The meetings will be scheduled and coordinated by your local county medical societies.

This unique event is free of charge to all CMA physician members, residents and medical students. Plan to join your colleagues as they prepare to lobby their legislative leaders and serve as champions for the house of medicine!

Set April 19 aside to become an advocate for your patients and colleagues!

(Registered attendees will also receive webinar training on legislation and policy affecting the practice of medicine on March 29.)

Click here now to register!

Questions? Contact Carli Stelzer, (916) 551-2543 or cstelzer@cmadocs.org.

Welcome new members!

MONTEREY COUNTY

Anthony A. Razzak, MD

Monterey Bay GI Consultants

Gastroenterology

Michael S. Le, MD

Monterey Bay GI Consultants

Gastroenterology

Richard W. Hell, MD

Monterey Bay GI Consultants

Gastroenterology

Jan P. Kamler, MD Monterey Bay GI Consultants

Gastroenterology

Isabelle C. B. Moonan, MD

Monterey Bay GI Consultants

Gastroenterology

Jeffrey P. Fiorenza, MD Monterey Bay GI Consultants

Gastroenterology

Toby J. Katz, MD

Monterey Bay GI Consultants

Gastroenterology

Steve Hu, MD Monterey Bay GI Consultants

Gastroenterology

Kathryn A. Swanson, MD

Monterey Bay GI Consultants

Gastroenterology

Jorge M. Davidenko, MD Hospital Based Cardiovascular Disease

Michael J. Mendoza, MD

Monterey Bay GI Consultants

Gastroenterology

Vincent J. Defilippi, MD Central Coast Cardiology

Thoracic Surgery

Welcome new members!

MONTEREY COUNTY

Abidan D. Alarcon, MD

Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas

Family Medicine

Leonard Caputo, MD, MBA

Academic Practice

Surgery

Juana Lucio, MD

Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas

Family Medicine

Armando A. Moreno, MD

Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Olga M. Padron, MD

Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas

Family Medicine

Edgard U. Robles, MD

Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas

Family Medicine

Georgina A. Centeno, MD

Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Welcome new members!

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

Alex M. Kasman, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Urology

David G. Sheldon, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) General Surgery

Jeremy R. Fowler, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Family Medicine

Krish Gandhi, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC)

Gastroenterology

Eric M. Seronick, DO Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Rheumatology

Zefu Liu, DO Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Orthopaedic Surgery

Caitlin I. Billingham, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Pediatrics

Kirsten E. Barnes, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Family Medicine

John G. Barber, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Pediatrics

Suzanne M. Kerley, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Plastic Surgery

Lauren N. Larrabure, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Dermatology

Solmaz Nabipour, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC)

Anesthesiology

Welcome new members!

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

Vatche K. Bezdikian, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Anesthesiology

Robert J. Becker, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Anesthesiology

Taynet T. Febles, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Infectious Disease

Claire E. D. Helbig, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Internal Medicine

Elisabeth L. Day, MD Palo Alto Medical Foundation (SC) Obstetrics and Gynecology

EXECUTIVE NOTES

Donna Odryna Executive Director

I am very excited about what’s new and changing in 2023. Your Medical Society leaders are recharging the organization’s batteries and embracing opportunities to serve the professional needs of our members and enhance the value you experience locally and statewide. Board leadership from Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties have continued to convene and discuss opportunities for greater collaboration and alignment that will help ensure the future of this regions voice and leadership in organized medicine in California. Stay tuned!

On April 19, 2023, a contingent of Santa Cruz County and Monterey County physician leaders will join more than 500 physician leaders from throughout the state in Sacramento for the Annual Legislative Lobby Day and Conference. Attendees will meet with legislators on priority health care issues. This is a unique and free of charge opportunity to all physician members, residents, and medical students. If you’d like to join us, set aside April 19, and come to Sacramento with us to advocate for your patients and colleagues. Simply contact me at 831-334-8484 to register, and I’ll give you the details for travel options.

And last, but certainly not least – this week, March 25-31 is National Physician Week, with March 30th as the day set aside in 1933 to honor physicians! So, on behalf of all of us who live, work, and play in this beautiful region, THANK YOU! Thank you for your unselfish acts, dedication, and compassion in service to us all and a healthy community!

Sincerely

Donna Odryna

Support is just a click away!

The Medical Societies of Santa Cruz County and Monterey County are working collaboratively to support Central Coast physicians who are experiencing stress and burnout.

Stress, anxiety, depression, and grief are common, but they’re manageable. Our resiliency sessions provide relief, an increased ability to cope, healing, and an opportunity for personal fulfillment.

Through the Resilience in Medicine Program (RIM), physicians can access up to two (2) annual resiliency sessions with approved and vetted RIM providers. Sessions are confidential, convenient, and FREE to physicians living and practicing in Monterey or Santa Cruz Counties.

Participation in RIM is confidential.

We pay for RIM directly, discreetly, and anonymously. Insurance will never be asked for nor billed.

Physicians may extend their participation at their expense after the second visit. The first two visits are made available through grants and private donations.

Please ask for help. Visit the RIM to learn more about how to take advantage of these free, confidential resiliency sessions.

A Physician Wellness Program of the Physicians for a Healthy Central Coast & the Cypress foundations.

2023 Update Highlights

(Find the full text for the law by following the hyperlink or click here to see all the updates)

AB 1666 (Bauer-Kahan) – Abortion: civil actions - CMA Position: Support

This bill declares another state’s law authorizing a civil action against a person or entity that receives or seeks, performs, or induces, or aids or abets the performance of an abortion, or who attempts or intends to engage in those actions, to be contrary to the public policy of California…(full text on page 4)

SB 245 (Lena Gonzalez) – Health care coverage: abortion services: cost sharing

This bill prohibits a health care service plan or an individual or group policy or certificate of health insurance or student blanket disability insurance that is issued, amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 2023, from imposing a deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or any other cost-sharing requirement on coverage for all abortion and abortion-related services, as specified… (full text on page 5)

AB 1954 (Quirk) – Physicians and surgeons: treatment and medication of patients using cannabis - CMA Position: Neutral

This bill prohibits a physician and surgeon from automatically denying treatment or medication to a qualified patient, as defined, based solely on a positive drug screen for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or report of medical cannabis use without first completing a case-by-case evaluation of the patient that includes a determination that the qualified patient’s use of medical cannabis is medically significant, as defined, to the treatment or medication… (full text on page 9)

SB 107 (Wiener) – Gender-affirming health care - CMA Position: Support

This bill prohibits a provider of health care, a health care service plan, or a contractor from releasing medical information related to a person or entity allowing a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care in response to a criminal or civil action, including a foreign subpoena, based on another state’s law that authorizes a person to bring a civil or criminal action against a person or entity that allows a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care… (full text on page 13)

SB 923 (Wiener) – Gender-affirming care - CMA Position: Neutral

This bill requires a Medi-Cal managed care plan, a PACE organization, a health care service plan, or a health insurer, and delegated entities, as specified, to require its staff to complete evidence-based cultural competency training for the purpose of providing trans-inclusive health care, as defined, for individuals who identify as transgender, gender diverse, or intersex (TGI).…(full text on page 17)

SB 1338 (Umberg) – Community Assistance, Recovery,

Program - CMA Position: Support

and

Empowerment Court

This bill, […] which authorizes specified adult persons to petition a civil court to create a voluntary CARE agreement or a court-ordered CARE plan and implement services, to be provided by county behavioral health agencies, to provide behavioral health care, including stabilization medication, housing, and other enumerated services to adults who are currently experiencing a severe mental illness and have a diagnosis identified in the disorder class schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and who meet other specified criteria… (full text on page 22)

SB 367 (Hurtado) – Student safety: opioid overdose reversal medication

This bill requires the governing board of each community college district and the Trustees of the

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From 2001 to 2021, Medicare physician pay fell 22% after adjusting for inflation1. Meanwhile, the Medicare physician payment system lacks an adequate annual physician payment update, unlike those that apply to other Medicare provider payments2. We are deeply worried that many more practices will be forced to stop taking new Medicare patients—at a time when access to care is already inadequate. Read what physicians are seeing on the ground:

The COVID pandemic has taken an incalculable toll on our physician colleagues who faced burnout from excessive work hours, high stress levels and mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. More than ever before, I’m attending early retirement parties for colleagues and the rest of us are left wondering how we are to manage increased demand from patients while juggling increase cost of practice due to inflation and reduced payment from sources such as Medicare.

– Jack Chou, M.D., Family Medicine

As a dermatologist who has practiced in Sacramento County for many years, I’ve always helped my senior patients by referring them to a primary care physician. I was always able to help... until recently. Over the past couple of years, I have not been able to find a primary care physician who is accepting new Medicare patients in Sacramento. It is a stunning and disturbing trend for patients in my community. It is really difficult for seniors who have moved here to be near family, or aged into Medicare and cannot find a Medicare primary care physician or whose long- time physician retired early and they can’t find a new one. While I am still able to see Medicare patients, Sacramento is a high-cost region in which to run a medical practice and more physicians here are not able to cover their higher rents and skyrocketing staff wages on the low Medicare rates. The financial instability and administrative burdens caused by Medicare, along with the growing demands from sicker patients who delayed care during the pandemic, and the inability to maintain nurses and other staff are causing a tide of physician burnout. We are deeply dedicated to physician wellness in our community, and we are concerned that unless we fix Medicare, physicians will not be able to practice, and the escalating numbers of seniors will be challenged to find timely care. I tell every patient who can’t find a primary care physician in Sacramento to call their Member of Congress.

– Maggie Parsons, M.D., Dermatology

I have practiced in primary care for over 20 years in an underserved area of Southern California. I have always felt it important to accept Medicare, but about eight years ago, I finally had to make the difficult decision to not take any new Medicare patients because I wouldn’t be able to pay staff and keep up with increased overhead and operating expenses. During the past three years, I responded to the COVID pandemic much like my physician colleagues did by working around the clock and making great sacrifices that often put ourselves and our families at risk. I took on additional expenses by seeing patients who I really couldn’t afford to take, like those with Medicare, out of my sense of duty. To now be faced with the Medicare fee cut, my physician colleagues are at a breaking point.

– Eric R. Hansen, D.O., Family Medicine

Last year, I closed my private psychiatric practice in northern San Diego County and began work as an employee of a growing behavioral health care company that will not accept Medicare because of low payment rates. I therefore had the terrible task of finding other psychiatrists in the community to assume care of my Medicare patients. This proved to be very difficult. The situation worsened when the largest psychiatric group in San Diego also sold to this company later in 2022. These psychiatrists are no longer permitted to accept new Medicare patients. During a meeting of the San Diego Psychiatric Society’s governing council, it was reported that while some psychiatrists are serving their current patients, there isn’t a psychiatrist in San Diego County who is able to accept NEW Medicare patients because of the inadequate Medicare payment rates. As we come out of the COVID pandemic, I am concerned about patient’s access to critical mental health care services during these difficult times.

– Timothy A. Murphy, M.D., Psychiatry

I practice in Montebello, where I regularly see Medicare patients from 25-30 miles away because they simply cannot find physicians that take Medicare in their area. These are seniors who are already struggling on fixed incomes that must make long commutes to their doctors. I worry that with gentrification and the rise of commercial real estate, it’s only a matter of time that Medicare patients will experience worsening access problems in Montebello as well.

– Hector Flores, M.D., Family Medicine

You may be wondering why a pediatrician is discussing the impact of low Medicare payment rates on senior patients’ access to care. First, all my private contracts are tied to Medicare rates, so Medicare has a real impact on my practice. But even more important, I just turned 65 and enrolled in Medicare. I soon realized that my current physician is no longer accepting NEW Medicare patients and I cannot find a single primary care physician in my community to take me as a patient. No one can even offer their services as professional courtesy to a fellow physician. Thus, I have been forced to look for a primary care physician as far away as Los Angeles. Until now, I never knew that the completely inadequate Medicare payment rates are causing significant access to care problems for patients in my tight-knit community and I am concerned about these forthcoming physician shortages and what it will mean for the future health of our entire community.

– Rene Bravo, M.D., Pediatrics

I am an emergency physician in the Central Valley of California. I grew up here and returned after my medical school training to serve my community and help address the access to care problems that have always existed in the Valley’s rural communities. But the physician shortages are getting worse. More and more patients here are having a hard time finding primary care and specialist physicians to care for them so they seek care in my emergency department or travel long-distances to find specialists. The demands are overwhelming at times. This winter, with the resurgence in COVID, the spread of the new RSV virus and bad influenza, our hospital and emergency department were overwhelmed with patients. With the increase in sicker patients, the difficulty keeping essential nursing and other staff, the increased administrative burdens and the low Medicare payments that do not cover our costs to operate an ED, physicians are burning out and retiring. We may be seeing record retirements in the Valley. The low MediCal and Medicare payments must be fixed to help our underserved communities survive.

– Omar Guzman, M.D., Emergency Medicine

I am one of only three OB/GYNs left in Santa Clara County who accept new Medicare patients. According to Medicare, Santa Clara is also one of the highest cost regions in the country to practice medicine, yet Medicare reimbursement rates do not cover our higher costs. I feel terrible when I must turn patients away because I do not have the capacity to take one more patient and my colleagues can no longer run a viable medical practice on Medicare. Access to vital women’s health care is in jeopardy in one of the wealthiest communities in the nation. I am worried what it must be like for women in lower income underserved communities. Preventive gynecological and primary care for women in their sixties and beyond is important and potentially lifesaving. We need Congress to transform the Medicare program to ensure that women in my community and across the country get access to timely care.

– Tanya Spirtos, M.D., OB/GYN

Please help us find a solution to inadequately low Medicare payments for physicians. We want to be able to provide care for our Medicare patients but it is no longer feasible financially. Our Central Valley area is already extremely challenged with medical access due to shortages of physicians. Many patients have to travel long distances to get specialty care. A long time ENT specialist in town, Dr. Edmund Fisher, recently had to stop taking Medicare altogether because it was not sustainable for him to provide the care at the reimbursement rate and pay his rent and his staff. My husband and I are both physicians who moved to the Central Valley, drawn to its beauty, both of its landscape and its people. It is hard for us to continue to practice here if we cannot carry out our mission to provide medical care for as many patients as possible, which includes Medicare patients. In the end, we ourselves will not be able to find physicians to care for us once we reach Medicare age. It is a crisis for the entire already underserved Central Valley.

– Chang Rim Na, M.D., Occupational Medicine

The Monterey and Santa Cruz Medical Society offers a great service in our community by helping patients find physicians – primary care and specialists. However, I am saddened to say that recently we have not been able to find primary care physicians who are accepting NEW Medicare patients. The primary care physicians in our community report that Medicare pays such a low rate, that these physicians cannot operate a viable medical practice. Physicians say that Medicare is unsustainable and has forced them to stop taking NEW patients despite the higher numbers of seniors living on the Central Coast. Our physicians are concerned about the growing hurdles for patients to find care, particularly the farmworkers in Salinas and other underserved areas. The medical association has always been active in ensuring patients have access to physician services in our region, but we are starting to lose the battle, partly because the low Medicare rates have caused such widespread instability in the physician community.

– Donna Odryna, CEO of Monterey and Santa Cruz Medical Society

For 165 years, CMA and its component medical societies have represented California’s physicians as the recognized voice of the medical profession. Together we stand taller, our combined voices stronger, fghting for the future of medicine and our noble profession.

A RECORD OF SUCCESS: Through aggressive political and regulatory advocacy, CMA has positioned itself as one of the most infuential stakeholders in the development and implementation of health policy. CMA also gives members direct access to our state’s and nation’s legislative leaders so they can have a direct impact on the practice of medicine in California.

MICRA MODERNIZATION: Facing another statewide ballot proposition that would have effectively eliminated MICRA’s cap on non-economic damages, CMA seized an opportunity to end one of the longest running political battles in California. The lewgislative deal (AB 35), which modernizes MICRA while preserving its underlying principles, has ushered in a new and sustained era of stability around malpractice liability.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS: California has a long history of protecting and defending reproductive health care rights. CMA strongly believes that medical decisions— including those around abortion and contraception—should be made by patients in consultation with their health care providers.

TOBACCO TAX: CMA has fought tirelessly for decades to decrease the harmful impacts of tobacco, including passing the Prop. 56 tobacco tax in 2016. Prop. 56 provides $2.7 billion a year dedicated to increasing access to quality health care by improving MediCal provider payments and addressing the critical physician workforce shortage. CMA

also passed a 2021 bill to impose a 12.5% tax on e-cigarettes to reduce their use and generate revenue for important health care initiatives.

COVID-19: CMA supported and informed physicians throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. CMA distributed more than $100 million worth of PPE at no cost to physician practices across the state to ensure they were able to safely serve the patients of California. CMA also continues to advocate on all fronts to ensure that the interests of physicians and their patients are considered as local, state and federal governments respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and other future public health threats.

TELEHEALTH: Through CMA’s advocacy, both public and private payors were pushed to expand their coverage of and reimbursement for services provided via telehealth, so physicians could continue to safely provide care during the pandemic. CMA in 2022 also successfully pushed to extend the COVID-19 telehealth waivers into 2023 and to permanently extend key MediCal telehealth payment parity.

PHYSICIAN WORKFORCE: CMA is committed to ensuring California is training enough physicians to meet current and future demand. CMA’s foundation, Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC), administers CalMedForce, a GME grant program that to date has allocated over $189 million to 143 GME programs across California to retain and expand residency programs in primary and emergency medicine.

LOAN FORGIVENESS: Administered by PHC, the CalHealthCares program provides loan repayment on educational debt for California physicians and dentists who provide care to Medi-Cal patients. Eligible physicians can receive up to $300,000 in exchange for a fve-year service obligation. To date, 1,077 California providers received a combined total of $256 million to pay down student debt.

LEGAL EXPERTS: CMA’s Center for Legal Affairs provides members with information about laws and regulations that impact

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the practice of medicine. Our health law information specialists—with the help of CMA legal counsel—will help you fnd information on a multitude of health-law related issues.

REIMBURSEMENT ASSISTANCE: Members receive one-on-one assistance from CMA’s reimbursement experts, who have recouped $40 million from payors on behalf of CMA physicians in the past 14 years. These monies represent actual physician reimbursements that would have likely gone unpaid without CMA intervention.

CMA provides many avenues to get involved with federal, state and local opportunities.

IMPACT

Be a physician advocate and have a direct impact the future of medicine in California.

CONNECT

Connect, network and learn with physician colleagues from across the state.

CMA and its county medical societies have represented California’s physicians for more than 165 years as the recognized voice of the house of medicine. Together we stand taller, our combined voices stronger, fghting for the future of medicine and our noble profession.

QUESTIONS?

CMA’s call center is available Monday–Friday during business hours at (800) 786-4262 or via live chat at CMADOCS.ORG .

PHYSICIAN SERVICES

CMA’s Physician Services Organization empowers physicians and their practices by delivering best-in-class solutions to improve administrative processes, diversify revenue streams and maximize autonomy.

+ In-offce practice transformation support

+ Vendor service and tool evaluation, design and negotiation

+ Physician-led network management and support

Contact physicianservices@cmadocs.org

PHYSICIANS SEEKING FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS MUST HAVE DIRECT GOV’T LOAN BY MAY 1, 2023

Originally posted on CMA website

The U.S. Department of Education has released the final rule on the national overhaul of the broken Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). Included in the rule is the specific fix sought by the California Medical Association (CMA), so that all eligible California and Texas physicians can participate in the program, despite our state prohibitions on physician employment by private non-profit hospitals. The rule allows California and Texas physicians who work full-time in public or private non-profit hospitals, clinics or medical offices to be eligible for loan forgiveness, regardless of whether they are employed by a for-profit medical group. Therefore, California and Texas physicians are now eligible if they provide services in a non-profit facility owned by a non-profit entity that is otherwise prohibited by state law from employing physicians,

Physicians may begin applying to the new PSLF program on July 1, 2023.

Most important, physicians should be aware that to be eligible for the PSLF program and to have past time worked counted towards the program requirements, they must have a direct government loan or consolidate their loans into a direct loan by May 1, 2023. Physicians must convert any non-qualifying loans into direct loans so they can take advantage of the PSLF program, although some non-qualifying loans cannot be converted into direct loans.

While it is not mandatory that physicians consolidate their loans, they cannot obtain loan forgiveness without a direct government loan. This is particularly important for physicians with older loans from the FFEL program.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE CMA’S GUIDE, “PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS: WHAT CALIFORNIA PHYSICIANS NEED TO KNOW.”

KEY CREDENTIALING CHANGE HAS BIG UPSIDE FOR PHYSICIAN WELL-BEING

Originally posted on AMA website

Momentum is growing for a nationwide effort to remove stigmatizing mental health questions from applications for state licensing and credentialing applications used by medical groups, hospitals and health plans.

The goal is to remove the barriers that have been shown to deter physicians from getting the care they need. Psychiatrist Lisa MacLean, MD, led the effort to change the question on the credentialing application at Henry Ford Health, where she is the chief clinical wellness officer of the Henry Ford Medical Group.

Henry Ford Health is part of the AMA Health System Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.

Previously, the credentialing application included a question asking physicians to disclose whether they ever received mental health care. These questions, according to Dr. MacLean, are not indicators of future competency. The question used to ask: “Have you been diagnosed with and/or received treatment for a physical, mental, chemical dependency or emotional condition which could impair your ability to practice medicine?”

The application now appropriately focuses on current impairment and asks: “Are you diagnosed with or receiving treatment for any condition (physical, mental, emotional or substance-dependence related) that currently impairs your ability to practice medicine?”

Continue reading

“The goal is to remove the barriers that have been shown to deter physicians from getting the care they need.”

Phase II of Medi-Cal Rx Transition (source: CMA)

“Physicians are reminded that Phase II of the DCHS Medi-Cal Rx transition began January 20, 2023. In Phase II—which will be implemented in two waves—Medi-Cal Rx prescribers are again required to submit prior authorizations for the remaining drug classes.”

CMA files complaint about Anthem’s unlawful denial of claims for emergency services (Source: CMA)

”The California Medical Association (CMA) has submitted a formal complaint with the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) regarding Anthem Blue Cross’ ongoing pattern of denying payment for emergency department services in violation of California law.”

PHC partners with CA Quits to provide free tobacco cessation resources for physicians (source: CMA)

“The California Medical Association (CMA) foundation – Physicians for a Healthy California – has partnered with CA Quits to provide you with free tobacco cessation resources and learning opportunities.”

Facing care denial, oncologist sees 4-week wait for P2P consult (source: AMA)

“Peer-to-peer (P2P consults are often required to overcome prior authorization hurdles. But with metastatic cancer, care delayed is care denied. Debra Patt, MD, PhD, shares her experiences navigating this frustrating process.”

What physicians need to know about the end of the COVID-19 state of emergency (source: CMA)

“After three years of pandemic operations, both the State of California and the federal government are winding down the COVID-19 public health emergency. California’s State of Emergency ended on Tuesday, February 28, 2023, while the federal public health emergency is scheduled to expire on Thursday, May 11, 2023.”

SAVE THE DATE

Webinar: Working with Different Generations

Hosted by CMA

When: April 4, 2023 … 12:15-1:15

Where: Online

Webinar: Leading the Charge: Embedding Health Equity into the Forefront of Value Based Care

Hosted by CMA

When: April 6, 2023 … 12:15-1:15

Where: Online

Webinar: CMA Data Exchange Explainer Series #2Data Exchange Policy & Legal Environment

Hosted by CMA

When: April 13, 2023 … 12:15-1:15

Where: Online

Webinar: Introduction to Value-Based Care for Physicians

Hosted by CMA

When: April 20, 2023 … 12:15-1:15

Where: Online

Retreat: The Mindful Healers Connect In Nature Retreat

Hosted by Pause & Presence with Jessie Mahoney, MD

When: July 14-16, 2023 (Friday-Sunday)

Where: Green Gulch Farm & Zen Center

CALPAC, the California Medical Association Political Action Committee, works to elect candidates who share our vision for the future of health care in California, as well as to maintain relationships with these legislators in offce.

Please donate today by scanning the code with your smartphone or visiting: calpac.org/donate.

CALPAC is a voluntary political organization that contributes to candidates for state and federal offce who share our philosophy and vision of the future of medicine. Contributions are not deductible for state or federal income tax purposes. More information available at CALPAC.org