The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program (LRP) announced the opening of the 2012 application cycle is taking place during the last week of January 2012. With two levels of funding, the NHSC LRP offers primary health care providers loan repayment assistance in exchange for working in rural, urban and frontier communities. Full-time and half-time options are available for primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, certified nurse‐midwives, physician assistants, dentists, dental hygienists and mental health providers to provide culturally competent, interdisciplinary primary health care services to underserved populations located in selected Health Professional Shortage Areas. Learn more about eligibility requirements and qualifying educational loans by visiting the NHSC site.

A federal judge has issued a tentative decision blocking California from cutting reimbursements to health care providers who treat low-income patients by 10 percent. SFMS/CMA, California Dental Association (CDA), California Pharmacists Association (CPhA), National Association of Chain Drug Stores, National Community Pharmacists Association, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, American Medical Response and the California Association of Medical Product Suppliers filed the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the California Department of Health Care Services in November 2011. The organizations believed that if the cuts went through, access to care for Medi-Cal patients would be eroded or cut off completely. "The court's tentative ruling is encouraging to those of us practicing medicine," said Dr. James T. Hay, the president of the California Medical Association in a statement. "The state's repeated attempts to slash Medi-Cal reimbursement rates is a short-sighted solution that balances the budget on the backs of the poorest and the most vulnerable Californians." In March of 2011, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 97, which cut the reimbursement rate for physicians, hospitals, dentists, pharmacists and other Medi-Cal providers by 10 percent. The bill was part of the state's strategy to reduct its budget deficit. In November, the California Medical Association went to court to block the cuts. Because California’s Medi-Cal rates are already extremely low and many prescription medications are reimbursed at breakeven rates, many providers cannot afford to participate. Kaiser State Health Facts lists California as the lowest reimbursed state in the nation. U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder issued a 25-page tentative order, wherein she favored the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction. A final order, if consistent with her tentative ruling, will enjoin the cuts and is expected in the near future.

It’s been three years since Congress approved a nearly $30 billion plan to digitize health care records, yet much of the health care industry is still drowning in paper. The Bipartisan Policy Center released a 43-page report detailing the gaps in health IT implementation–the biggest concern being a delay in getting the various systems to be able to talk to one another. The government initiative, passed as part of the 2009 financial stimulus package, gives doctors, hospitals and other providers funding incentives to switch to digital record systems. That effort is also considered one of the key elements to overhauling the country’s health care system. Proponents say that electronic records will reduce medical errors and help cut costs by reducing duplicative tests and care. It can also provide enhanced population data to find out the most effective procedures. Part of that law, known as the HITECH Act, called for health care systems to be able to share patient information. But so far, the new report notes that “the level of electronic health information exchange is very low in the U.S.” The effort has been slowed, the report notes, partially because of federal delays in setting standards for how systems should be able to communicate with one another. The report identified six barriers to successfully implementing the technology around the country and made recommendations in each of those areas. The barriers include privacy and security concerns, a lack of consumer engagement and the number of changes that providers are juggling as a result of the health care law. The report suggest that doctors, hospitals, and other providers might be more inclined to embrace the digital exchange of patient information  if they had a business incentive to do so. The report notes that other causes of delays include a lack of enthusiasm among consumers, who often have misperceptions about how electronic records work and security concerns. Previous research, as the report highlights, shows that “health information exchange has a positive impact on both the cost and quality of care.” Source: Kaiser Health News, January 27, 2012.

The California Cancer Research Act (CCRA), or Proposition 29,  is a ballot initiative that will be on the June 5 primary ballot. Through a $1 per-pack tax on cigarettes, the CCRA delivers over $855 million per year to pursue potential cures of cancers and other tobacco-attributed diseases including Heart Disease, drive down smoking rates by investing in proven smoking cessation and tobacco control efforts, and assist tobacco law enforcement.

Prop. 29 will increase tobacco taxes for research and prevention; the SFMS carried a resolution to the CMA annual meeting last year urging support of CRCA and the CMA endorsed the initiative last week (scroll down to view the SFMS resolution).

Wednesday, February 1

3:00 pm to 3:30 pm

San Francisco City Hall, Polk Street Entrance Steps

 

SFMS President Peter Curran, MD will be among the speakers at the campaign launch for the California Cancer Research Act this Wednesday at 3:00 pm on the steps of City Hall. Please join the rally and support our speakers.

Speakers:

Mark Di Giorgio, American Lung Association

David Veneziano, CEO, American Cancer Society, California Division

Eric Mar, Member, San Francisco Board of Supervisors

Peter Curran, MD, President, San Francisco Medical Society

Karen Licavoli, VP for Program Development, BREATHE CALIFORNIA

Sandra Peters Kaiser, American Heart Association

 

 

SFMS Resolution: SUPPORTING THE CALIFORNIA CANCER RESEARCH ACT

Author: Robert Margolin, MD

Endorsement: San Francisco District VIII

Whereas, the California Cancer Research Act (CCRA) qualified for California's next statewide ballot after its supporting coalition submitted over 600,000 verified voter signatures; and

Whereas, Cigarette smoking and other uses of tobacco remain the leading causes of cancer in California, and a leading cause of many other life-threatening health problems, including heart disease and emphysema.

Whereas, California’s cigarette tax is currently 87 cents per pack (with an equivalent tax on other types of tobacco products) and is levied on cigarette distributors who supply cigarettes to retail stores; and the CCRA would increase the existing excise tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack effective 90 days after its passage; and

Whereas, the state-mandated independent analysis of the CCRA indicates that it would have the following major impacts: Increase in new cigarette tax revenues of about $855 million annually by 2011-12, declining slightly annually thereafter, for various health research and tobacco-related programs; Increase of about $45 million annually to existing health, natural resources, and research programs funded by existing tobacco taxes; and Increase in state and local sales taxes of about $32 million annually; and

Whereas, the funds would be allocated thus: 60% provide grants and loans to support research on prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and potential cures for tobacco-related diseases such as cancer and heart disease; 15% to provide grants and loans to build and lease facilities and provide capital equipment for research on tobacco-related diseases; 20% would be used for to- bacco prevention and cessation programs administered by the California Department of Public Health (DPH) and the California Department of Education; 3% would be allocated to state agencies to support law enforcement efforts to reduce smuggling, tobacco tax evasion, illegal sales of tobacco to minors, and to otherwise improve enforcement of existing law; and 2% deposited into an ac- count that would be used to pay the costs of tax collection and expenses of administering the measure; and

Whereas, the coalition supporting CCRA is led by the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association in California, American Heart Association, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Stand Up To Cancer, and Livestrong; with CMA conspicuously absent thus far; now be it

RESOLVED: That CMA will support the California Cancer Research Act (CCRA) and advocate its passage by California voters: and be it further

RESOLVED: that CMA will join the coalition of other organizations such as the American Cancer, Lung, Heart, and anti-tobacco groups in educating and advocating for the CCRA’s goals and passage.

For more information, visit http://californiansforacure.org/.

The nation's second-largest health insurer is shaking up its approach to paying doctors, putting a major investment behind the idea that spending more for better primary care can save money down the road. Starting this summer, WellPoint Inc., which insures some 34 million Americans, will offer primary-care doctors a fee increase, typically of around 10%, with the possibility of additional payments that could boost what they get for treating the patients it covers by as much as 50%. Wellpoint said Friday it will increase the fees it pays to doctor practices, and it will start paying for services like preparing care plans for patients with complex medical problems. It also will offer doctors an opportunity to share in some savings when better patient care leads to a reduction in costs. WellPoint said it wants to give doctors a chance to do more for patients outside of episodic care, or just treating people when they become sick. That means, for example, working with overweight people who have diabetes to develop an exercise plan and then making sure they stay on it. Source: Associated Press, January 27, 2012.