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NEED TO KNOW
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Resources, Volunteer Opportunities for Flood Relief
In light of yet another year of intense rain and flooding in Vermont, communities are again seeking assistance. Volunteer and donation opportunities are outlined by Vermont Public here. Mental health and support resources are also available through Starting Over Strong VT, which can be reached through calling 211, and Vermont’s crisis resources – the 988 hotline and mobile crisis. |
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Cuts Proposed to Medicare Professional Fee Schedule for 5th Year in Row
Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the proposed rule for the 2025 Medicare physician payment schedule. While the American Medical Association (AMA) staff will analyze and develop a summary of the 2,000+ page proposal, we wanted to make you aware of a handful of key issues.
The 2025 Medicare conversion factor is set to decrease for the fifth straight year by approximately 2.80 percent from $33.2875 to $32.3562. Similarly, the anesthesia conversion factor would be reduced from $20.7739 to $20.3340. This cut is largely the result of the expiration of a 2.93 percent temporary update to the conversion factor at the end of 2024 and a 0 percent baseline update for 2025 under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Unfortunately, these cuts coincide with ongoing growth in the cost to practice medicine as CMS projects the increase in the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) for 2025 will be 3.6 percent.
Physician practices cannot continue to absorb increasing costs while their payment rates dwindle. Both the Medicare Physician Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and the Medicare Trustees have issued warnings about access to care problems for America’s seniors and persons with disabilities if the gap between what Medicare pays physicians and what it costs to provide high-quality care continue to grow. This is why the AMA, VMS and our partners in organized medicine strongly support H.R. 2474, the Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act, which would provide a permanent, annual update equal to the increase in the MEI and allow physician practices to invest in their practices and implement new strategies to provide high-value care. Visit the AMA’s Fix Medicare Now site and join the fight for financial stability for practices to preserve access to care for Medicare beneficiaries.
You can also join the AMA for an informative virtual webinar where we will review the current state of federal legislation and ways in which physician advocates can engage Congress during the month of August and beyond. Join us August 1 at 8 pm ET for our "Fix Medicare Now August Recess Campaign" webinar.
The text of the proposed rule can be accessed at: https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2024-14828.pdf
Additional links include:
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Congress Considering Medicare Advantage Prior Authorization Reform
There are only a handful of legislative days left on the calendar before the upcoming August recess and time is of the essence to make sure Congress works to fix the cumbersome and outdated prior authorization system that continues to hamper physicians and patients alike.
Contact Representative Balint and Senators Sanders and Welch today and ask them to help advance the "Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2024" (S. 4532/H.R. 8702)!
A bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives recently reintroduced the "Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2024" (S. 4532/H.R. 8702). Rep. Balint and Sen. Welch are currently cosponsors on the legislation. The Act would reduce the administrative burden placed on physicians by streamlining and standardizing electronic prior authorization processes within the Medicare Advantage program and mandate greater transparency and oversight of utilization management techniques used by health insurers.
More specifically, the legislation would:
- Require the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to submit a report to Congress on the use of prior authorization in Medicare Advantage and what constitutes "real-time decisions" for "routinely approved services."
- Delegate explicit authority to CMS to implement this newly defined real-time prior authorization decision-making process for routinely approved services in Medicare Advantage.
- Delegate explicit authority to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enforce the real-time prior authorization processes for routinely approved services and issue tighter timelines for health plans to make utilization management decisions, such as 24 hours for emergency services.
- Permit Medicare Advantage plans to institute gold-card policies.
- Mandate compliance with federally developed uniform electronic prior authorization technical standards, bar MA plans from utilizing faxes or proprietary payer portals, and institute robust transparency requirements pertaining to utilization management policies deployed by health insurers.
Please contact Representative Balint and Senators Sanders and Welch today and ask them to help advance the "Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2024" (S. 4532/H.R. 8702) before the recess! Thank Rep. Balint and Senator Welch for cosponsoring the legislation! |
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Registration Now Open – VMS Fall 2024 Legislative Candidate Meet & Greet Series
Relax with colleagues while getting to know the candidates running
for the Vermont legislature from your district. VMS is inviting all Vermont
State House and Senate legislative candidates from Addison, Bennington,
Chittenden, Essex-Orleans, Rutland and Washington counties to these member-led
receptions. All physicians and PAs who work or practice in the county are
invited. The receptions run from 6-8 pm at the following dates/locations:
Middlebury (August 6th), Bennington (September 10th),
Burlington (September 17th); Rutland (October 1st);
Essex/Orleans County (October 3rd); and Montpelier (October 16th).
Register here for all
events. For questions, please email Birdie at bpauley@vtmd.org. |
MISC.
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Survey: Blueprint Education on SUD, MH and SDOH
The Blueprint is seeking input on what educational resources or modules would be most valuable in the areas of screening and intervening for mental health, substance use, and health related social needs.
Please see the survey link here: https://forms.office.com/g/JWyGjDzbuZ
Surveys can be completed by clinicians responsible for assessment, diagnosis, and/or treatment of patients’ mental health and substance use needs, including MD, DO, ND, PA, NP, RN, LPN, and LCSW. |
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Medicare Part D Vaccine Update Access to Part D vaccines can be cumbersome and is not as straightforward as Part B vaccine coverage and payment. To help physicians navigate this process, CMS has recently published an updated fact sheet on Part D vaccines outlining the various ways in which patients with Medicare Part D can obtain vaccines and physicians who administer Part D vaccines can be compensated, even if they are out of network. Read more. |
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Next Commissioner Call Thursday, August 1, 2024
The
Commissioner of Health, Mark Levine, MD, will hold his next Public Health
Update with VMS Members Thursday, August 1st at 12:30 pm. You can join the
zoom meetings here.
He held his most recent VMS
member call on June 6th. Notes from the call are here. |
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EVENTS
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Vermont Opioid Response Network Xylazine Webinar Series
July 17, July 31, August 14, August 28, 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
- July 17 - Xylazine in the Era of Synthetic Street Drugs by Fernando Montero
- July 31 - Wound Care Education by Jason Bienert
- August 14 - Wound Care Outreach: Brief Negotiated Interview Guided by Motivational Interviewing by Stephanie Rozen
- August 28- Additional Resources and Strategies by Michael Chaple
- September 10 Compassion Fatigue Conversation by Paul Warren
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Birth Certificate Quality Improvement Initiative Learning Series
September 9, 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.
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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.
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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.
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Vermont ACP Chapter Annual Scientific Meeting
October 18, 2024
Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe, VT
The Vermont ACP Chapter's Annual Scientific Meeting will occur on
Friday, October 18, 2024.
This will be an in person meeting. We will
again host a poster competition for resident and student members.
Update your medical knowledge, engage with colleagues.
Meeting details and agenda forthcoming.
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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.
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For more information about offerings from UVM
CMIE, visit here. |
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Vermont Medical Society 134 Main Street Montpelier, VT 05602 -- Unsubscribe -- |
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