Coming April 2018: ALL Medicare patients will carry brand new ID cards

In about six months, more than 57.7 million new Medicare ID cards will enter the postal mail system in the United States - on their way to beneficiaries. Why? The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is preparing an initiative designed to combat fraud and better protect patients.

Click here to learn what you can do to prepare your practice and how you can assist your patients. 

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The Pathology Laboratory - 2018 Member Renewal

Many thanks to The Pathology Laboratory on their 100% physician group participation and continued commitment to the LSMS. The Pathology Laboratory has been in business for more than 50 years and provides a full range of services to Southwest Louisiana including Fine Needle Aspirations, Pap smear screening, full surgical pathology and cytology services, as well as complete clinical laboratory testing.  In addition, The Pathology Laboratory offers courier services throughout the area, picking up specimens within a 60-mile radius at more than 200 locations daily.  With seven pathologists, the lab provides a wide range of expertise including Dermatopathology, Hematopathology, Gastrointestinal Pathology and Cytopathology.

 

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Interested in representing the LSMS?

The Governor's Office is requesting physician names from the LSMS for consideration to the following boards or committees. We consider this a great honor as it confirms that our members are valuable contributors to the future of healthcare in Louisiana. Please click on each listing for more information regarding function, meetings, rules, and past minutes. For consideration on the following boards, please forward the title of the specific board of interest, your CV, and contact information to terri@lsms.org.
 
Fluoridation Advisory Board: 1 seat
Advisory Committee on Polysomnography: 2 seats
Respiratory Care Advisory Committee: 2 seats
State Board of Electrolysis Examiners: 1 seat
Louisiana Medical Disclosure Panel: 2 seats
Louisiana Children's Trust Fund Board: 1 seat
Louisiana Physical Therapy Board: 1 seat
Medicaid Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics Committee: 4 seats
LERN Commission member - Region 3
LERN Commission member - Region 6
LERN Commission member - Region 7
LERN Commission member - Region 8

Physician-Owned Hospitals

CMS Issues Final Rule with Comment Period on the CY 2018 MACRA Quality Payment Program

• Weighting the MIPS Cost performance category to 10% of providers' total MIPS final score, and the Quality performance category to 50%.
• Raising the MIPS performance threshold to 15 points in Year 2 (from 3 points in the transition year).
• Allowing the use of 2014 Edition and/or 2015 Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) in Year 2 for the Advancing Care Information performance category, and giving a bonus for using only 2015 CEHRT.
• Awarding up to 5 bonus points on the MIPS final score for treatment of complex patients.
• Automatically weighting the Quality, Advancing Care Information, and Improvement Activities performance categories at 0% of the MIPS final score for clinicians impacted by Hurricanes Irma, Harvey and Maria and other natural disasters.
• Adding 5 bonus points to the MIPS final scores of small practices. 
• Adding Virtual Groups as a participation option for MIPS.
• Decreasing the number of doctors and clinicians required to participate as a way to provide further flexibility by excluding individual MIPS eligible clinicians or groups with ≤$90,000 in Part B allowed charges or ≤200 Medicare Part B beneficiaries. 
• Providing more detail on how eligible clinicians participating in selected APMs (known as MIPS APMs) will be assessed under the APM scoring standard.
• Creating additional flexibilities and pathways to allow clinicians to be successful under the All Payer Combination Option. This option will be available beginning in performance year 2019.

• Click here to read the release.
• Click here to read the fact sheet.

Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Schedules MACRA Alternative Payment Model Hearing November 8

• Click here to read the release.

Early Voting Began Friday, November 3

Early voting to decide the state Treasurer's race as well as several local elections, including filling the legislative seat in House District 77 (on the Northshore), began yesterday and runs through November 11. The general election date is November 18. 

Download the Geaux Vote Mobile app or visit the Voter Portal website for early voting locations and ballot information.

Don't forget to participate and GEAUX VOTE!
 

The 2017 Pennington Biomedical Research Center Childhood Obesity & Public Health Conference

Making the Grade: Impact of Public Health Report Cards on Physical Activity and Obesity; Wednesday, November 15, 2017

This is the 10th annual childhood obesity and public health conference to be held at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. The topic of this year's conference is on the role of "report cards" in the public health strategy to tackle childhood obesity. This year we are pleased to announce that we have four nationally and internationally recognized speakers who will present their work to improve children's health using public health approaches. Unfortunately, Louisiana does not score well on national health report cards, and this conference will help highlight ways to "improve the grade", especially with respect to childhood obesity and health. 

Learning Objectives

The participants in this conference will be able to:

• describe national and international efforts to monitor children's weight status and other health parameters;
• understand the role of "report cards" in public health surveillance  - what they can tell and what they can't tell us;
• describe the role of schools in improving physical activity, obesity and health;
• understand the role of federal physical activity guidelines in promoting physical activity in children and youth; and
• identify strategies to improve Louisiana's grades on national report cards.

Who Should Attend?

This conference is designed for professionals engaged in public health efforts, including: physicians, nutritionists, physical activity specialists, registered dietitians, nurses, health educators, psychologists, counselors, healthcare policy makers, researchers, media, business and civic leaders, parks and recreation personnel, and early childhood and school-age educators and decision-makers.

• For more information or to register, click here.

Affordable Care Act enrollment begins: shorter, more confusing, cheaper for most

• Click here to read the full article. 

Just two sugary drinks per week may raise type 2 diabetes risk

In the United States, a study from 2012 reports that in that year, 702,308 people died from a cardiometabolic disorder, and dietary factors such as food and beverages seemed to raise the risk of cardiometabolic mortality.

Another recent study suggested that two soda drinks every day makes consumers 2.4 times more likely to develop diabetes, regardless of whether these beverages contain sugar or not.

However, as the authors of the new research explain, the results of such studies have been deemed "controversial."

So, in the new review, the researchers - led by M. Faadiel Essop, Ph.D., of Stellenbosch University in Stellenbosch, South Africa - decided to investigate overall trends in the findings of 36 studies, spanning over a decade.

• Click here to read the full article.

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