Below, please find a letter sent by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) and 14 other Republican Governors to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) expressing support for a "block grant" model that could "work for the repeal and replacement of Obamacare." The Governors emphasize that "adequately funded block grants to the states, along with maximum flexibility and control, is the best option on the table."

With respect to the legislation released by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), et al, the Governors indicate they appreciate the Senators' effort "to draft language that embraces this simple, yet profound concept," adding that they "call on the members of the United States Senate to move quickly to repeal Obamacare and replace it with flexible block grants to the states."

The letter was signed by Republican Governors Scott Walker (WI), Asa Hutchinson (AR), Eric Holcomb (IN), Kim Reynolds (IA), Sam Brownback (KS), Matt Bevin (KY), Paul R. LePage (ME), Phil Bryant (MS), Eric Greitens (MO), Pete Ricketts (NE), Doug Burgum (ND), Mary Fallin (OK), Dennis Daugaard (SD), Bill Haslam (TN) and Gary Herbert (UT).  

Click here to read the letter.

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Bipartisan Governors Send Letter to Senate Leaders Opposing Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson Proposal

Below, please find a letter sent Tuesday by a bipartisan group of 10 state Governors to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) asking the leaders to "not to consider the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson amendment," and instead "renew support for bipartisan efforts to make health care more available and affordable for all Americans."   The letter was signed by Republican governors John Kasich (OH), Brian Sandoval (NV), Charlie Baker (MA), and Phil Scott (VT); Democratic governors John Hickenlooper (CO); Tom Wolf (PA), John Bel Edwards (LA), Terry McAuliffe (VA) and Steve Bullock (MT), and independent governor Bill Walker (AK).   
 
The Governors assert that "only open, bipartisan approaches can achieve true, lasting reforms," and they cite support for the recent Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee initiative to develop "bipartisan efforts to bring stability and affordability to our insurance markets."
 
The Governors close by noting that legislation "should receive consideration under regular order, including hearings in health committees and input from the appropriate health-related parties."  They state that they look forward to working with Congress on efforts designed to "control costs, stabilize the market, and positively impact coverage and care of millions of Americans, including many who are dealing with mental illness, chronic health problems, and drug addiction."   
 
The text of the amendment introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Dean Heller (R-NV), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) is also attached here.

Click here to read the letter.

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HHS OIG Finds Medicare Inappropriately Paid Acute-Care Hospitals for Certain Outpatient Services

Below, please find a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) report issued Thursday that examined whether Medicare appropriately paid acute-care hospitals for outpatient services they provided to beneficiaries who were inpatients of long-term care hospitals (LTCHs), inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs) and critical access hospitals (CAHs). The OIG notes that Medicare "generally" should not pay an acute-care hospital for outpatient services provided to an inpatient of another facility, such as an LTCH. Instead, the services should be provided under arrangements between the two facilities, and Medicare should pay the inpatient facility for all services provided to a beneficiary.

Based on its review, the OIG found Medicare "inappropriately paid" acute-care hospitals for outpatient services they provided to beneficiaries who were inpatients of LTCHs, IRFs, IPFs, and CAHs from 2013-2016. Specifically, the OIG found that "none of the $51,640,727 we reviewed, representing 129,792 claims, should have been paid because the inpatient facilities were responsible for payment." The OIG also found that beneficiaries were held responsible for unnecessary deductibles and coinsurance of $14,365,590 paid to the acute-care hospitals for those outpatient services. 

The OIG determined that Medicare made these overpayments because "the system edits that should have prevented or detected the overpayments were not working properly." If such Common Working File (CWF) edits were working properly since 2006, the OIG estimates that Medicare could have saved almost $100 million, and beneficiaries could have saved $28.9 million in deductibles and coinsurance.

To correct these issues, the OIG recommends that Medicare contractors: (1) recover the $51,640,727 in identified improper payments to acute-care hospitals in accordance with CMS's policies and procedures, (2) instruct the acute-care hospitals to refund beneficiaries up to $14,365,590 in deductible and coinsurance amounts that may have been incorrectly collected from them or from someone on their behalf, (3) identify and recover any improper payments to acute-care hospitals after the audit period and instruct those hospitals to refund to beneficiaries any deductible and coinsurance amounts that may have been incorrectly collected from them or from someone on their behalf and (4) correct the Common Working File (CWF) edits.

CMS concurred with all of the recommendations and provided information on actions that it had taken or planned to take to address the OIG recommendations.

Additional information can be found in the report here.

This past weekend at the Louisiana State Coroner's Association Conference, a new slate of officers were elected and installed. LSMS members installed included William "Beau" Clark, MD (EBR Parish Coroner) as President and Gerry Cvitanovich, MD (Jefferson Parish Coroner) as First Vice-President. Todd Thoma, MD, Former President of the LA State Coroner's Association, was recognized for his dedication to the Association for the past five years. 

 AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana, a Healthy Louisiana Medicaid managed care health plan and part of the AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies, has earned a Commendable Health Plan Accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

NCQA awards a status of Commendable to organizations with service and clinical quality that meet NCQA's rigorous requirements for consumer protection and quality improvement. Through ongoing evaluation and continuous quality improvement, AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana improved its accreditation status based on a review of the health plan's most recent Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems scores.

In 2016, AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana had the highest HEDIS rankings of all Healthy Louisiana plans in ten of the measured categories, and has continued to show growth in key quality measures.

"Achieving Commendable status through NCQA's rigorous accreditation process directly reflects our commitment to excellence in providing the highest level of quality care for our members," said Kyle Viator, market president of AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana.

NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information for consumers, purchasers, health care providers and researchers.

NCQA Health Plan Accreditation is a nationally recognized evaluation that purchasers, regulators, and consumers can use to assess health plans. NCQA Accreditation not only involves a rigorous review of a health plan's consumer protection and quality improvement systems, but also requires health plans to submit audited data on key clinical and service measures (e.g., mammography screening rates; smoking cessation; consumer satisfaction) in order to achieve the highest levels of accreditation.

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BRCC extends registration for evening Medical Assistant training program to Sept. 29

The deadline to register for Baton Rouge Community College's twice weekly evening Medical Assistant training program has been extended through Sept. 29. The classes which will be held at BRCC's Acadian site, 3250 N. Acadian Thruway E., will now begin Tuesday, Oct. 3 and run each Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. through April. 

Taught through classroom instructional units totaling 140 contact hours, the program seeks to prepare students for employment in private and large group physician offices, clinics, hospitals, laboratories and insurance companies. Books and supplies needed to complete the course are the responsibility of the participant.

The program is designed to provide thorough didactic and practical instruction, a basic systems overview of the role of the medical assistant in a practical setting. Didactic lectures cover the theory, anatomy and terminology pertaining to each system. Practical instruction provides hands-on training in procedures verified through a skills check-off system. Upon successful completion of the program, students will receive a certificate noting the fulfillment of the training requirements, and would further be eligible to take the national Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) exam from the National Healthcareer Association. 

The minimum requirements to enroll in the program are the possession of a high school diploma or equivalent; the ability to pass a state level criminal background check; and a health screening. Potential students should note a key responsibility of a medical assistant is the ability to put patients at ease and explain physicians' instructions, therefore a likely successful candidate would possess the personality traits to perform such tasks. 

To register, visit www.mybrcc.edu > Workforce Education >Register for Course, or call (225) 216-8239.

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Other State News & Information

• State leaders voice concerns over U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy's last-ditch health care push, theadvocate.com
• Louisiana infants born exposed to drugs, alcohol triples in 8 years, nola.com
• Tulane University's medical school gets $25 million gift for research, nola.com
• Louisiana's uninsured rate falls to 10.3 percent in new data, nola.com
• Pennington wins $6.7 million grant to improve soldiers' nutrition, theadvocate.com

The first approval of a biosimilar drug to treat cancer was announced Thursday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Mvasi (bevacizumab-awwb) was approved as a biosimilar to Avastin (bevacizumab) for the treatment of adults with certain colon, lung, brain, kidney and cervical cancers.

A biosimilar is a biological product that is approved because it is highly similar to an already-approved biologic drug and has no significant differences in safety and effectiveness from the first product, the FDA explained.

"Bringing new biosimilars to patients, especially for diseases where the cost of existing treatments can be high, is an important way to help spur competition that can lower health care costs and increase access to important therapies," FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in an agency news release.

Click here to read the full story.

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Other Science and Technology News

• Mayo Clinic arms Amazon Alexa with first-aid skill, healthcareitnews.com

 

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