September 10, 2024

NEED TO KNOW

What Matters to YOU in Our Healthcare System – Educate Aspiring Lawmakers tonight in Bennington; Next Tuesday in Burlington

Campaign season is when Vermont legislative candidates are most available to listen to their constituents’ priorities and needs.  Come out tonight in Bennington at the Mount Anthony Country Club and next Tuesday, Sept. 17^th at Hotel Vermont in Burlington to educate candidates running for the Vermont House and Senate.  What matters to you and your coworkers?  Recruiting more physicians and health care professionals to Vermont?  Lowering health care costs?  Reforming the hospital budget process?  Increasing access to mental health and substance use disorder services?  No matter your priorities or experiences with advocacy we want you to join us!  

The receptions run from 6-8pm at the following dates and locations:

• September 10th - Mount Anthony Country Club, Bennington
• September 17th - Hotel Vermont, Burlington
• October 1st - Rutland Country Club, Rutland
• October 3rd- Eastside Restaurant, Newport
• October 16th - Barr Hill, Montpelier

Learn more and register here.

2024 Collaborative Meeting - Got Kids? We've Got You Covered with Childcare!

The 2024 Collaborative Meeting of the Vermont Medical Society, American Academy of Pediatrics Vermont Chapter, Vermont Academy of Family Physicians, and Vermont Psychiatric Association being held Friday, November 1^st through Saturday, November 2^nd at Topnotch Resort and Spa in Stowe, VT.

We are happy to offer childcare to those that register for before October 1st!

You don’t want to miss this opportunity to come together to learn, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues around the state. Register today for the meeting and to ensure you have childcare!

GMCB to Release Oliver Wyman Report on Healthcare Transformation Sept. 18

Dr. Bruce Hamory and the team at Oliver Wyman Life Sciences will present a final report on health care transformation and hospital sustainability to the Green Mountain Care Board in a public board meeting on Wednesday, September 18, 2024.  Oliver Wyman’s recommendations focus on issues ranging from hospital operations to housing and transportation.

The public is encouraged to attend the September 18th meeting. The meeting will begin at 10am and is scheduled to end at 3pm. Immediately following the end of the meeting, there will be ample time for public comment.  The Teams link and phone number to join the meeting live is available here.  Meeting materials will be available here.  If you are unable to join the meeting live, a recording will be available on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@GreenMountainCareBoard. 

VMS Comments on Proposed 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule              

VMS submitted comments last week on Medicare’s proposed 2025 fee schedule.  VMS’ comments highlighted concerns that CMS is proposing a 2.8% cut to the fee schedule for 2025 and urges CMS to call on Congress to enact a permanent, annual inflation-based update to Medicare physician payments tied to inflation.  VMS supported proposals in the rule to continue flexible coverage for telehealth services, including audio-only.  VMS’ comments can be found here.  A summary of the proposed fee schedule is available here.  The fee schedule is typically finalized in November to take effect in January.

Reminder: Medicaid Coverage Change for COVID-19 At-Home Over-the-Counter Tests

Effective October 1, 2024, Vermont Medicaid will no longer cover over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits in the pharmacy benefit program. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 required coverage for at-home COVID-19 tests, which ends September 30, 2024. Coverage will continue for COVID-19 tests administered by a Medicaid-enrolled provider when provided in an office, clinic, inpatient, or outpatient hospital setting.  Please contact the Provider Services Unit at Gainwell Technologies at 1-800-925-1706 with any additional questions.

MISC.

Mental Health Urgent Care Public Town Hall Webinar

This October, Howard Center will open a new Mental Health Urgent Care (MHUC) in partnership with the University of Vermont Medical Center, Community Health Centers, and Pathways Vermont at 1 South Prospect Street in Burlington. MHUC will offer mental health support services, peer support, and medical care for adults over 18, in a trauma-informed, suicide-safe setting as a therapeutic alternative to emergency department care.

Please join us on September 10 from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. for a public town hall webinar. Come learn more about the program and have an opportunity to ask questions. Register here: Webinar Registration - Zoom.

Medicaid Timely Filing – Reconsiderations Due to Change Healthcare Cyberattack

In recognition of the fact that practices may be experiencing increased administrative burden due to the Change Healthcare Cyberattack, the Agency of Human Services will offer affected providers the opportunity to submit a timely filing reconsideration request for Medicaid claims that deny for timely filing.  Reconsideration requests must be received by December 31, 2024 and may be submitted only for denied claims with dates of service between January 15, 2024 – April 30, 2024.  A required certification form and more information can be found here.

Final Federal Rules Issued to Strengthen Access to Mental Health, Substance Use Disorder Benefits

Yesterday, the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury issued final rules to clarify and strengthen protections to expand equitable access to mental health insurance benefits as compared to medical and surgical benefits and reduce barriers to accessing these services. 

Specifically, the rule requires that:

• Health plans evaluate their provider networks, how much they pay out-of-network providers, and how often they require – and deny – prior authorizations. The outcomes of these evaluations will show plans where they are failing to meet the law’s parity requirements, and where they will need to make changes to come into compliance;
• Health plans not use more restrictive prior authorization, or other medical management techniques, or narrower networks to make it harder for people to access mental health and substance use disorder benefits than their medical benefits; and
• Non-federal governmental health plans, like those offered to state and local government employees, comply with parity requirements.

For additional information, see the Department of Labor news release here.

VMS Announces Physician Wellness Retreat, Jan 25-28^th

Join the Vermont Medical Society from Sunday, January 25th at 3pm through Tuesday, January 28th at 12pm for deep rest and a reprieve from the busy-ness of medicine.  Experience the benefits of mindfulness, restorative yoga practices and culinary medicine. Cultivate relationships with other physicians while you re-connect with what matters most to you in a grounding, natural environment. Instructors include Dr. Anna Benvenuto, a practicing OBGYN hospitalist, and Doug Wysockey-Johnson, the Program Director of Lumunos. Included with registration are all meals, overnight accommodations at Setu Retreat Center in Brattleboro, 1 massage, and all yoga/meditation/ group sessions & activities. Registration is open until October 18th.  Learn more and register here.

Next Commissioner Call Thursday, October 3rd

The Commissioner of Health, Mark Levine, MD, will hold his next Public Health Update with VMS Members Thursday, October 3rd at 12:30 pm. You can join the zoom meetings here.

He held his most recent VMS member call on August 1st. Notes from the call are here.

EVENTS

Vermont Opioid Response Network Xylazine Webinar Series

September 10 at 6:30 pm

Please join Vermont Department of Health in collaboration with the Opioid Response Network for a webinar series on xylazine and wound care.  The curriculum will include an overview of the risks associated with xylazine use, best practices for identifying and treating wounds, conversational strategies for enhancing engagement in wound care among PWUDs, as well as harm reduction focused resources and recommendations for improving the health of this population. 

Vermont: Xylazine & Overdose Prevention Webinar Series – Registration Link for all Sessions

1. September 10 Compassion Fatigue Conversation by Paul Warren 

Save the date: 2024 Vermont Suicide Prevention Symposium

September 13, 2024

Join the Vermont Collaborative for Practice Improvement & Innovation in-person on September 13, 2024 at the Vermont State University Randolph campus for a day-long conference that will include presentations, workshops, and networking opportunities featuring leading voices in the field from Vermont, New England, and beyond. Our focus is on equitable, sustainable, and comprehensive suicide prevention with sessions designed for mental health clinicians, peer support workers, advocates & families, individuals with lived experience, healthcare providers, educators, and community members.  This event is presented by the nonprofit Vermont Collaborative for Practice Improvement & Innovation in partnership with the Vermont Department of Mental Health and United Way of Northwest Vermont.

Saving Time: Practice Innovation Boot Camp

September 23 - 24 AMA Plaza, Chicago

This two-day, interactive boot camp from the AMA STEPS Forward® Innovation Academy equips attendees with the time-saving tools and strategies needed to reform their organizations and enhance professional satisfaction. CME eligible.

Learn more here.

Birth Certificate Quality Improvement Initiative Learning Series

October 7, 2024

Virtual

In collaboration with the Vermont Department of Health Division of Family and Child Health and the Division of Health Statistics and Informatics, the Perinatal Quality Collaborative - Vermont (PQC-VT) is embarking on a vital statistics birth certificate quality improvement initiative (BCQII).

The project aim is to improve the accuracy of key birth certificate variables to support public health and quality improvement efforts. The objective is to increase birth certificate data quality in Vermont by providing education opportunities, technical assistance, and shared learning to Vermont hospital teams involved in birth certificate data collection.

Register here for the learning series.

2024 Clinical Quality Symposium - Comprehensive Care Nourishing Minds, Bodies, and Communities

October 16th Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, VT

For more details on the sessions, speakers and to register, please visit here.

Vermont ACP Chapter Annual Scientific Meeting

October 18, 2024

Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe, VT

Join us for the in-person Vermont ACP Chapter's Annual Scientific Meeting.

Meeting Highlights

• Atrial Fibrillation Update
• Lung Cancer Screening
• Update in Hospital Medicine
• Update in General Internal Medicine
• Physician Wellness
• Principles in the Care of Gender Diverse Persons
• Things We Do For No Reason
• Public Health Highlights

Designated for a maximum of 4.5 AMA PRAA Category 1 credit(s) and up to 4.5 medical knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Visit the Meeting Hub for registration, agenda and details of the meeting here.

Learning Collaboratives on In-Basket Reduction and Reducing Regulatory Burden

October 2024 – March 2025

AMA STEPS Forward^® Innovation Academy is launching two new, six-month learning collaboratives on optimizing the in-basket to reduce work burden and rethinking how organizations apply regulatory rules to clinical practice. Each collaborative will convene dyads or triads of leadership representatives from multiple organizations to engage in a longitudinal shared learning experience. Limited space available. Learn more.

For more information about offerings from UVM CMIE, visit here.

Vermont Medical Society

134 Main Street

Montpelier, VT 05602

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