Medical Oncology Association of
Southern California
P.O. Box 161
Upland, CA 91785
Phone: (909) 985-9061
Fax: (909) 985-8581
email: moasc@moasc.org
|
|
|
MOASC would like to recognize and thank the following sponsors for their continued support of MOASC:
|
|
|
|
Posted November 11, 2005 |
|
MOASC Urges Immediate Action! 
Please contact your members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor HR 4098
The Community Cancer Care Preservation Act.
Attached is a copy of the Bill as well as a summary.
-
Stop the Medicare physician payment cuts.
-
Protect the nations senior citizens, and make sure they have access to doctors.
-
If these cuts take effect, doctors will be forced to stop taking Medicare patients.
-
Be fair to physicians. Institute a comparable cost-of-living increase for physicians.
All other Medicare providers have already been granted increases for 2006:
Physicians: |
|
-4.4 percent |
Health Plans: |
|
+4.8 percent |
Home Health: |
|
+3.3 percent |
Hospitals: |
|
+3.7 percent |
Nursing Homes: |
|
+2.7 percent |
|
|
|
PLEASE CALL AND EMAIL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO CO-SPONSOR HR 4098 IMMEDIATELY!
Once you have called and emailed your Representative
PLEASE send an email to MOASC so we can forward to COA so the National Office can follow up.
Attached is a sample flyer that you can give to your staff, patients, and caregivers to contact their members. Simply modify it with the Congressional information for your practice.
Please look at this example of what a MOASC Member has put together for their patients.
Please feel free to use the idea and replicate for your practice and your patients
You can obtain respresentative members phone numbers by going to www.house.gov or using the Legislative Acton Center at the COA web site - www.communityoncology.org.
Ensure the Continued Solvency of Community Oncology -
Report by Mariana S-B Lamb, M.S., MOASC Exec. Director
I have returned from Washington, DC where I, and a California contingency comprising of Dr. Linda Bosserman, her oncology nurse Hope Gutierrez, and her two oncology N.P.'s Melissa Scalia and Traci Young; Orange County oncology practice executive Charles Denny and OTN President, John Amos, lead by former Congressman Harold Ford, Sr., met with the health aides of Senators Feinstein and Boxer and the health aides of nine California Representatives. First, I want to thank these MOASC members for the time they took out of their very busy lives to communicate the specific needs of California oncology to our Washington senators and representatives. Our message was succinct, "preserve the community practice of oncology." Read More >>
|
|
CMS Releases Final 2006 Physician Fee Schedule
Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Notice for 2006 – Preliminary Review - ASCO 11/03/05
Read a preliminary summary of the key provisions of the notice. MOASC wil follow the issue closely will provide you a more detailed summary of the rule soon.
CMS Announces Revisions to the Competitive Acquisition Pricing Program
P hysicians who administer certain drugs – including oncology drugs in their offices to Medicare beneficiaries will have the option of obtaining many of these drugs under a new competitive acquisition program (CAP) starting on July 1, 2006. In the refinements CMS is announcing today, certain aspects of the CAP are being revised to improve the bidding process, increase the number of drugs that can be furnished under the CAP, improve access to newly approved drugs, clarify how unused drugs should be treated under CAP, and establish a framework by which vendors may enter into arrangements with CAP physicians for the collection of coinsurance and related information. Read More >>
CMS Announces Changes to the 2006 Physician Fee Schedule - Important Read
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expects to pay approximately $57.6 billion to 875,000 physicians and other health care professionals in 2006, according to a final rule released today that will update payment rates and revise payment policies under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Read More >>
CMS Launches Drug Comparison Tool
CMS on Monday launched its "long-promised Internet tool" that allows beneficiaries to compare prescription drug plans available under the new Medicare drug benefit, the Wall Street Journal reports (Lueck, Wall Street Journal, 11/8). The tool, which originally had been scheduled to launch in mid-October, was delayed first because of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur and then again because the data necessary to run the tool were incomplete. Read More >>
|
|
ASCO Meeting Materials
Dr. Presant and Dr. Tucker both attended the ASCO CPC and State Affiliate meetings. ASCO has graciously provided Dr. Bailes Quality Measures and Julie Tompkin's Medicare Part D presentations from those meetings.
Here is the ASH summary of recent changes in Medicare reimbursement.
Medicare released its final rules on the 2006 Physician Fee Schedule and Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS). Of particular interest, the Physician Fee Schedule includes a cut of 4.4% and an extension for the chemotherapy demonstration project, with significant changes to the demonstration. The rule also includes updates to the Competitive Acquisition Program (CAP). ASH has prepared brief summaries of both rules, and more details will be provided upon further review. Official publication of the rule is expected in the Nov. 21 Federal Register. Please see the links below for more information. Read More >>
|
|
2006 Demonstration Project Fact Sheet
Oncology Demonstration Project. CMS states that the 2006 demonstration project is intended to support care that has been shown to lead to better outcomes for patients with cancer, determine how and whether oncology practices follow well-established evidence-based practice guidelines, and associate reporting of quality by evaluating physician services rather than chemotherapy administration. Read the 2006 Fact Sheet >>
CMS/Medicare will make it easier for physicians to participate in a voluntary program to report evidence-based, consensus quality measures, an important step toward supporting higher quality physician care, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., announced today.
As part of the first phase, CMS will begin to collect the information through the use of a dedicated set of Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes, called G-codes, which will supplement the claims data doctors currently submit to CMS with clinical data. This clinical data will then be used to measure the quality of services provided to Medicare patients.
For the full press release, please click here: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/media/press/release.asp?Counter=1699
Helpful website's when applying for an NPI.
Announcing the new CMS web page dedicated to providing all the latest NPI news for Fee-For-Service (FFS) Medicare providers! Visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/providers/npi/default.asp. While this page is dedicated to the FFS community, it contains helpful information and links that may benefit all health care providers. Health care providers are required by law to apply for a National Provider Identifier (NPI). To apply online visit: https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov
IVIG - Temporary add-on payment
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expects to pay approximately $57.6 billion to 875,000 physicians and other health care professionals in 2006, according to a final rule released today that will update payment rates and revise payment policies under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The final rule expands Medicare coverage of glaucoma screening; expands access for rural beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans to services of federally qualified health centers (FQHCs); adopts a modified approach to reforming payment for multiple imaging procedures performed on a beneficiary at one session; and revises payment for inhalation therapy and end stage renal disease (ESRD) treatment. Read More >>
What's New (visit http://www.medicarenhic.com/whats_new/whats_new.shtml)
- CMS will begin Medicare Contractor Provider Satisfaction Surveys (MCPSS) in January. The survey will enable the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to gauge provider satisfaction with key services performed by the contractors that process and pay the Medicare claims each year. (JSM 05564)
- CMS is requiring that all standard systems for carrier claims process all diagnosis codes reported in the adjudication of the claim. (CR 4097)
- This article provides information about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Physician Voluntary Reporting Program (PVRP). It will assist physicians in understanding this new voluntary reporting program and the use of G-codes to report data about the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries. (CR 4183)
- CMS has posted the revised October 2005 drug payment allowance limits , which apply to dates of service October 1, 2005, through December 31, 2005. (CR 4160)
- CMS has posted an article reminding that effective January 1, 2005 radiopharmaceuticals payment allowance limits have not been subject to the Average Sales Price (ASP). (CR 4053)
- Providers and suppliers may not be subject to a penalty if the basis for the penalty that would have otherwise been applicable was that the provider acted in accordance with erroneous guidance from the Medicare program. (CR 3898)
- CMS has released information on Stage 2 requirements for use and editing of National Provider Identifier (NPI) numbers . (CR 4023)
- CMS has released an article with important information about Medicare coverage of drugs under Part B and the new Medicare prescription drug coverage (Part D), and vaccines administered in a physician's office. (SE0570)
CA Updates (visit http://www.medicarenhic.com/cal_prov/updates.shtml)
MM4053 - Calendar Year 2005 Payment for Medicare Part B Radiopharmaceuticals Not Paid on a Cost or Prospective Payment Basis
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medlearn/matters/mmarticles/2005/MM4053.pdf
MM4087 - Use of Value Codes (VCs) 48 and 49 on End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Bills
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medlearn/matters/mmarticles/2006/MM4087.pdf
MM4160 - Revised October 2005 Quarterly Average Sales Price (ASP) Medicare Part B Drug Pricing File, Effective October 1, 2005
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medlearn/matters/mmarticles/2005/MM4160.pdf
MM3953 - MMA - The Medicare Chronic Care Improvement, "Medicare Health Support," Program (Revised: 10/28/2005)
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medlearn/matters/mmarticles/2005/MM3953.pdf
|
|
MOASC Administrator/Manager Meeting on 12/1/05.
Date: December 1, 2005
Location: The Mission Inn 3649 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, CA 92501 P: (951) 784-0300
Time: 9:00am - 3:00pm (lunch will be served at 12:00pm)
- Marty Neltner, Neltner Billing & Consulting - How Medicare Part D will effect drugs in the office setting, CAP vs. GPO's and Chemotherapy administration codes in 2005 vs. 2006.
- Marianne Diane, NHIC - Medicare Update for 2006.
- Mariana S-B Lamb, M.S., Executive Director, MOASC - The Future of MOASC.
If you have any questions, please contact the MOASC office at 909-985-9061.
Hoag Cancer Center presents: Cancer 2006 Preferred Treatment & Management Options
Save the Date: January 26-28, 2006 For more information, please review the attached brochure.
|
 |
Per the Medi-Cal update of November 2005, Bulletin 376, page 3 states......
Alimta (Pemetrexed)
Reimbursable for Some Cancer Treatments:
Effective for dates of service on or after November 1, 2005, HCPCS code J9305 (injection, alimta, 10mg) is reimbursable when used for the treatment of mesothelioma or non-small cell lung cancer in the 162.2 - 163.9 range.
Intravenous Infusion Procedure is Reimbursable:
HCPCS code J9305 may be billed in conjunction with CPT-4 code 96410 (chemotherapy administration, intravenous; infusion technique, up to one hour). For more information regarding billing this CPT-4 code, refer to the "Intravenous Infusion" subsection of the Chemotherapy section in the appropriate Part 2 provider manual.
Partial Dose is Reimbursable:
Providers may bill for an entire vial of Alimta (Pemetrexed) when it is necessary to discard th eunued portion of the vial because only a partial dose was required to treat the recipient.
If you have any questions regarding this matter please contact the MOASC office at moasc@moasc.org or you can call us at (909) 985-9061.
Oncology Equipment For Sale
The Mount Diablo Regional Cancer Center/Solano Oncology Group is moving its Vallejo clinic to the new Sutter Hospital building.
They have purchased new furniture, hood, etc. and have spare equipment on hand for sale. If you are interested in knowing what is for sale, then please contact:
Deborah Shearer
Mount Diablo Regional Cancer Center
Solano Oncology Group
2485 High School Ave. #317
Concord, CA 94520
925-685-5820
|
|
|
|
|
|
