Category: Uncategorized
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Discussions with Decision Makers: Senator Linda Coleman-Madison
Senator Linda Coleman-Madison (D- Birmingham) currently serves on the Senate Healthcare Committee for the Alabama State Senate. Supported by ALAPAC, she assumed her current office in 2006 and previously was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives. She also served as a member of the Birmingham City Council from 1985 to 1997. What first…
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Preventing Home-Birth VBACs Attended by Non-Nurse Midwives
For the third installment of an in-depth look into each of the Association’s “Top 10 Highlights” from the 2022 Legislative Session, we will look at the Medical Association’s opposition to home-birth VBACs and support for high national standards that ensure the safety of pregnant woman and their children. In 2017 Lawmakers passed legislation that allows…
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Extending Medicaid Postpartum Coverage – Success on an Medical Association Top Priority
For the second installment of an in-depth look into each of the Association’s “Top 10 Highlights” from the 2022 Legislative Session, we will look at the Medical Association’s successful multi-year advocacy efforts to secure a Medicaid postpartum coverage extension from 60 days to 12 months after birth. Alabama has the nation’s third worst maternal death…
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ALAPAC VOTER GUIDE 2022 PRIMARY ELECTION
As the political action committee representing physicians across the state, Alabama Medical PAC (ALAPAC) is pleased to provide the list of candidates chosen to receive support in the upcoming May 24, 2022, primaries. ALAPAC conducts interviews, receives feedback from physicians, and utilizes Regional Boards and a Board of Directors to vet candidates for local legislative…
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On-Line Reviews Can Equate to a HIPAA Trap
By: Kelli Carpenter Fleming, Burr & Forman, LLP With almost every facet of our lives being conducted online these days, more and more consumers are turning to online reviews and comments to make business decisions. In addition, more and more businesses, including healthcare providers, are building up their online presence to achieve better search results…
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Without the Medical Association…
2022 Legislative Recap The last regular session of a quadrennium (four year election cycle) is historically a non-controversial session. The 2022 Regular Session, however, was anything but quiet for medicine. Coming out of pandemic- related restrictions at the State House, the Association again saw roughly 20 percent of bills and resolutions filed during the 2022…
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“No Surprises Act” Internal Dispute Resolution System is Now Live
Article by: Brandy Boone, General Counsel, Medical Association of the State of Alabama The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on April 15, 2022, that their Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) portal for determining reimbursement for services covered under the No Surprises Act is now available. The opening of the portal was delayed because…
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New Rules Replace Old Guidelines on Medical Record Management
The Board of Medical Examiners and Medical Licensure Commission recently made substantial changes to their joint guidelines for medical record management, beginning with changing them from guidelines to rules. The new rules provide for more specific regulation of the management of medical records by Alabama physicians, including establishing a new minimum time frame for retention…
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Federal District Court Issues First Court Opinion Regarding EKRA’s Commission Based Payments
By James A. Hoover, Esq., Burr & Forman, LLP A Federal District Judge in the United States District Court, District of Hawaii issued the first court opinion interpreting the prohibition of the payment of commissions by clinical laboratories to employees or independent contractors that was implemented by the Eliminating Kickback in Recovery Act of 2018…
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OIG Revises Self-Disclosure Protocol for First Time Since 2013
By: Catherine (Cat) Kirkland, Partner at Burr Forman, LLP The Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) provides a way for physicians and other healthcare providers to voluntarily disclose evidence of potential fraud directly to the government through its Health Care Fraud Self-Disclosure Protocol (“SDP”). Self-disclosure through the SDP gives physicians and other providers with an opportunity…