Year: 2019
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Competing Surprise Billing Measures Released
Early this week, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Greg Walden (R-OR), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee announced an agreement on legislation to end surprise medical bills. The two members issued a…
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Medical Association Convenes “Treatment Hurdles” Work Group
Earlier this week, the Medical Association convened a work group of stakeholders to discuss hurdles and or delays that patients and their physicians face in accessing the tests, treatments and medications the treating physician believes are appropriate. Patient advocacy groups, many of them disease-specific, joined the Association and others in discussing the hurdles patients face…
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Better Together: Physician-Lead, Team-Based Care
Working as a team is unquestionably the best and most efficient way to maximize the skill sets of a specific group of people. In medicine and depending on the particular needs of the practice, a team-based approach can include various combinations of physicians, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, social workers, case managers and other health care…
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Physician Burnout
BACKGROUND While employees in many professions report burnout, physicians appear uniquely susceptible and the consequences can be detrimental. Physicians are fifteen times more likely to suffer burnout than other professions and statistics indicate that at a given time…
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Outpatient Visit Evaluation & Management Changes for 2021
For more than 25 years, the American Medical Association has utilized the 1995 or 1997 guidelines for Evaluation and Management (E/M) services in the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT). The E/M codes have expanded over the years but until now, there has been no update to the elements, in which, we choose a level of service.…
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Medical Association and Specialties Begin Work on 2020 Legislative Agenda
Earlier this month, the Medical Association hosted a legislative roundtable with leaders from the various physician specialties. The event included a discussion of the prior legislative session and our past priorities, as well as an open forum for specialty delegates to discuss items and issues important to their physicians. Each legislative session presents new and…
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ALAPAC Supported Candidates Win Elections
In the past two weeks, both ALAPAC supported candidates were victorious in their special election campaigns to the House of Representatives: Van Smith, who won the seat for HD42 on November 4, and Charlotte Meadows, who was elected to serve HD74 just this past Tuesday. Smith, a former Autauga County Commissioner, received ALAPAC’s support was…
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Call for Elective Offices
The following are positions for offices in the Medical Association which will be elected at the 2020 Business Session. Nominations for statewide offices are presented through a Nominating Committee process. District offices (*) are nominated from district caucuses. Qualified candidates shall have been regular, government or academic employee members of the association for at least…
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PEEHIP Transitioning to Humana Effective January 1st
Medicare-eligible retirees of the Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP) will be moving to the Humana Group Medicare Advantage Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan for their healthcare coverage, effective January 1, 2020. Humana will be hosting a series of webinars as they lead up to the PEEHIP transition on January 1st. These will be…