PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ON REOPENING YOUR PRACTICE
: In response to physician concerns that patients may be apprehensive to return to a physician's office, today MAFP released a video public service announcement titled '
Your Family Doctor is Ready to See You
.' It was posted on MAFP's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Please share the video on your social media pages. If you'd like to send us a photo for use in a second or 3rd iteration of the video (we only have time for about 8 physicians in each version), please send photos to
Beth Embry
.
MAFP MEMBER SURVEY
: MAFP is surveying its members about their needs during the pandemic to help the Academy decide how to meet those needs. If you haven't already completed the survey, you may
use this link to access it.
The survey will be active until next week.
CENTERS FOR MEDICAID AND MEDICARE SERVICES:
CMS previously announced that Medicare would retroactively pay for certain services conducted by audio-only telephone between beneficiaries and their doctors and other clinicians. Today,
CMS announced
it's broadening that list to include many behavioral health and patient education services. CMS is also increasing payments for these telephone visits to match payments for similar office and outpatient visits. This would increase payments for these services from a range of about $14-$41 to about $46-$110.
The payments are retroactive to March 1, 2020.
MAFP advocated for our family physicians on April 7 when we
sent a letter
to each member of Mississippi's Congressional Delegation asking for equal coverage for telephone-only visits. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith responded by putting together a bipartisan group of senators,
sending a letter Wednesday
to HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CMS Administrator Seema Verma urging equal reimbursements for telephone-based health services. Sen. Hyde-Smith
issued a press release about the letter
Wednesday, giving MAFP
first
billing on its list of supporting organizations.
CMS Waiver Expansion Announced Today:
RELIEF FUNDS FOR EMPLOYED PHYSICIANS
: If you are an employed physician and you are not sure if you system received relief funds, you need to start the conversation to make sure those funds are reinvested in YOU and your clinic.
Here are some talking points
from our friends at the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians.
MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR PHYSICIANS
: We realize our members are under emotional and mental stress during this challenging time and here is a free resource for support. The
Physician Support Line
is a national, free, and confidential support line service made up of more than 600 volunteer psychiatrists, joined together in the determined hope to provide peer support for other physicians during COVID-19. There is no appointment necessary. Simply dial 1-888-409-0141.
AMERICAN BOARD OF FAMILY MEDICINE
: On Thursday, ABFM made an important announcement about summer dates for the Family Medicine Certification summer examinations. Exams will now be administered beginning July 7 and ending August 4, adding a week to the previous test schedule. Physicians will NOT be charged any additional fees as a result of the postponement and rescheduling. Also, physicians may withdraw their previous application and submit a new one for the November 2020 exam, which will be available in late July. For help from ABFM staff, call 877-223-7437 or
help@theabfm.org
.
To schedule your exam:
- Log in to the ABFM Physician Portfolio
- Under 'My Certification,' select 'Certification Examination' link
- On the page that follows, select 'Test Center Selection/Change' button to be redirected to the Prometric website
- Proceed as prompted and select the testing appointment
PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM FROM SBA:
The second round of federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money is now available to Mississippi businesses. The U.S. Small Business Administration started accepting applications on Monday, April 27, after running out of funds earlier this month.
The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. Through April 16, 2020, the SBA has guaranteed 1,661,367 loans under the Paycheck Protection Program.
The second round of funds are expected to go quickly, so we encourage all Mississippi businesses to
submit an application as soon as possible
. You can apply through any existing SBA 7(a) lender or through any federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, and Farm Credit System institution that is participating.
Click here to learn more about PPP loans.
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
: MAFP is collecting resources for PPE to share with membership and is posting them on our
Coronavirus Page
under the heading "Personal Protective Equipment."
MAFP staff has also made contact with Julie McNeese at the Mississippi Hospital Association, who is coordinating bulk purchases of PPE and other supplies for small hospitals and independent practices. To discuss a bulk order, please contact Julie at 601-368-3311.
We encourage member family physicians to reach out to your local churches and other community groups to ask them to sew cloth masks for your clinic staff and patients.
