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Noridian Will Begin Deactivations on May 31 for Failure to Revalidate

May 10, 2016 Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), all Medicare providers and suppliers have been required to revalidate their Medicare enrollment information under new enrollment screening criteria in an effort to prevent fraud within the Medicare system. Once a Medicare enrollment application is validated, the clock starts ticking on a five-year revalidation cycle. Now that five years have passed since the ACA's revalidation requirement took effect, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has initiated a second cycle of revalidation requests. According to CMS, Medicare Administrative ...

Medicare EHR Incentive Program Hardship Application Deadline Now July 1

The Medicare EHR Incentive Program Hardship Application Deadline Is Now July 1, 2016 Today (Friday, February 26, 2016), CMS is extending the application deadline for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program hardship exception process that reduces burden on clinicians, hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs). The new deadline for Eligible Professionals, Eligible Hospitals, and Critical Access Hospitals is July 1, 2016. CMS is extending the deadline so providers have sufficient time to submit their applications to avoid adjustments to their Medicare payments in 2017. In January, CMS posted new, streamlined hardship exception ...

2015 Medicare Meaningful Use Hardship Exception Applications Now Available

APPLYING FOR A MEANINGFUL USE EXCEPTION Because of a delay in the publication of regulations governing the Medicare meaningful use program, CMS is allowing eligible physicians and hospitals to apply for an exception under the “extreme and uncontrollable circumstances” category. Physicians are urged to preemptively file for a 2015 hardship exception to avoid penalties in 2016. Physicians are encouraged to apply even if they are uncertain whether they will meet the program requirements this year. Doing so will not preclude physicians from receiving an incentive if they do meet meaningful ...

CMS’ Open Payments Posts Full Year of 2014 Financial Data

Financial Transactions Between Doctors and Medical Manufacturers Total $6.49 Billion — June 30, 2015 By the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today published 2014 Open Payments data about transfers of value by drug and medical device makers to healthcare providers. The data includes information about 11.4 million financial transactions attributed to over 600,000 physicians and more than 1,100 teaching hospitals, totaling $6.49 billion. Acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt said, “Consumer access to information is a key component of delivery system reform and making the ...

MACRA Summary / Timeline From AMA

HR 2, the “Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015” or “MACRA,” was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 26 (by a vote of 392 to 37) and the Senate on April 14 (by a vote of 92 to 8), and signed into law on April 16, 2015. This bipartisan legislation permanently repeals the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula and stabilizes Medicare payments for physician services with positive updates from July 1, 2015, through the end of 2019, and again in 2026 and beyond. It ...

Long-overdue Legislation to Update Medicare Passed by U.S. Senate and Signed by President Obama

California Medical Association Applauds President Obama's Signing HR 2 The California Medical Association (CMA) congratulates the U.S. Senate for passing monumental Medicare reform and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) extension, and thanks President Obama for signing the legislation. The 92–8 Senate vote demonstrates the extreme need for the overhaul. The legislation, HR 2, known as the “The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act,” will reform the broken Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) physician payment system and extend the expiring Children’s Health Insurance Program. Both of these important reforms will help ...

CMA Responds to Release of Medicare Part B Payment Data

California Medical Association Responds to Release of Medicare Part B Payment Data — April 9, 2014 Sacramento — Richard Thorp, MD, president of the California Medical Association (CMA), issued the following statement in response to Medicare Part B payment data released today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). “CMA joins our partners in organized medicine, including the American Medical Association (AMA), in our commitment to transparency, and, to that end, we support any release of data that will help to improve patient safety and quality of care. “Our concern with ...

Medicare EPs Must Attest by March 31, at 11:59pm ET to Receive 2013 Incentive

Reminder: Medicare Eligible Professionals (EPs) Must Attest by March 31, 2014, at 11:59 pm ET to Receive 2013 Incentive! From the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Due to the large volume of providers attesting, please submit your data as soon as possible and during non-peak hours to avoid system delays. If you are an eligible professional, the last day you can register and attest to demonstrating meaningful use for the 2013 Medicare EHR Incentive Program is March 31, 2014. You must successfully attest by 11:59pm Eastern Daylight Time on March ...

DON’T PATCH IT, REPEAL IT! Call Congress Now! (800) 833-6354 (Takes 2 Min.)

Dear Physicians, CMA needs all physicians to call Congress and tell them to FIX THE MEDICARE SGR NOW! The deadline is March 31, 2014, and Congress is starting to schedule floor votes. To overcome the opposition and political brinksmanship going on in Congress right now, we need a massive number of physicians to call and email Congress. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST GRASSROOTS CALL TO ACTION Here’s the latest from Washington, DC. Later this week, the House Republican leadership has scheduled a vote on the SGR repeal and Medicare payment reform ...

House, Senate Leaders Introduce SGR Replacement Bill

House, Senate Leaders Introduce SGR Replacement Bill Bipartisan, Bicameral Proposal Ends the Cycle of Annual ‘Doc Fix’ Crises, Shifting Medicare to Reward Quality, Efficiency, and Innovation  February 6, 2014 By the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee WASHINGTON — House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-Mich.), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), and House Energy and ...