LSMS Executive Vice President Provides a MACRA Update to the Capital Area Medical Society
On Tuesday, September 28th, LSMS Executive Vice President & CEO Jeff Williams briefed LSMS and Capital Area Medical Society (CAMS) members on CMS' proposed rules related to the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Mr. Williams' presentation included a brief history of the Act, how it will affect physician reimbursements, and an overview of a few troubling provisions contained within the MACRA rules. Click here to review LSMS comments on the proposed rules and click here to review AMA comments on MACRA.
Left to right: Reece Newsome, MD, Susan Bankston, MD, CAMS President Carol Patin, MD, Will Freeman, MD, and LSMS CEO and EVP, Jeff Williams
Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016 | 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Hyatt Regency New Orleans 601 Loyola Ave.
The rising costs of healthcare and changes under the Affordable Care Act are a concern among many business leaders in the Greater New Orleans area.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and GNO, Inc. will host a forum on Tuesday, Oct. 25, where we will bring business leaders and community organizations together with doctors, health plan executives, government officials, advocates and others to discuss what you can do to promote better health among your employees and rein in costs.
Breakout session topics at this forum will include:
- Basic business compliance with the Affordable Care Act
- What's the business value of patient-focused programs?
- Rising pharmacy costs and what businesses can do to address them
- Best practices of peers: Employee health and wellness programs
- How to implement a worksite wellness program
- Medicare education: What your employees turning 65 should know
- Healthcare priorities for the state (with Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee)
There is no cost to register for this event. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to register and guarantee your attendance on Oct 25.
For more infomation or to register, click here.
LSMS members can visit Mickey and earn CME this fall, November 19 - 22, at the Boardwalk Inn. This event is hosted by the Mississippi State Medical Association and our physicians can attend at their discounted member rate. 10 hours of CME, discounts on park tickets and hotel rates, and a private character breakfast will make this a great family vacation. For more information click here or complete and return the registration form to MSMA.
The Physicians Foundation once again received an overwhelming response with over 17,000 physicians providing a glimpse into their current practice environment and anticipated future of medicine.
What can we learn from these findings?
The bottom line is that physicians are struggling to maintain morale levels, adapt to changing delivery and payment models, and to provide patients with reasonable access to care. While respondents agreed the most satisfying part of their job is the patient relationship, about two-thirds said third-party intrusions detract from the quality of care they can provide.
Even more striking, nearly half (49 percent) of survey respondents say they are either often or always feeling burnt out. This may lead to shifting practice patterns that could reduce the physician workforce by tens of thousands of full-time equivalents (FTEs).
This survey allows the Foundation to highlight the rising challenges facing U.S. physicians today in order to influence change and improve the quality of healthcare for all patients.
Please visit the Physicians Foundation website or click here for the release for more information.
Remember the Louisiana Drug Card during cold & flu season
The Louisiana Drug Card says that Web MD reports that the "Percentage of the U.S. population that will ge the flu, on average, each year is between 5% and 20%. The number of Americans (who are) hospitalized each year because of flu complications is 200,000 on average. And the number of people who die each uyear from flu-related causes in the U.S. ranges from 3,000 to 49,000."
So, during the cold and flu season, the Louisiana Drug Card is reminding physicians in the state that their patients who have high-deductible plans or who do not have prescription coverage or who take prescription drugs that aren't covered by their health insurance plan can use the Louisiana Drug Card to obtain savings of up to 75 percent off the retail price for brand and generic FDA-approved medications.
Louisianians can print the Louisiana Drug Card for free atwww.louisianadrugcard.com. They can request to receive savings at any CVS/pharmacy in the state, or they can request a hard by sending an email to Annie C. Bass at ac@louisianadrugcard.com.
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