INFORMATION FOR PHYSICIANS AND PRACTICES ON COVID-19
New Orders From the Kern Co. Public Health Officer
Tuesday, April 14, the Health Officer of the County of Kern issued a new set of orders.

SURVEY ENDS TODAY! PLEASE tell us how COVID-19 is affecting your practice
We need your feedback no later than April 15.

CMA knows that physician practices across California are hurting. Many physicians are experiencing high levels of financial uncertainty and are making difficult choices about the future of their practices. CMA has been advocating at the state and federal level to ensure financially distressed physician practices remain viable to provide care to patients during and after this public health emergency.

On Tuesday, CMA launched a survey so we can learn how the COVID-19 crisis is impacting individual practices. We have already received thousands of responses, but we need to hear from YOU . If you haven’t already, please take our survey. These results help in our ability to tell your story to state and federal lawmakers as they consider future COVID-19 relief efforts.

Please respond to our  brief five-minute survey  no later than April 15, 2020.

HHS clarifies terms and conditions for $30 billion payments to physicians
On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began sending FFS Medicare-enrolled physicians  direct deposit disbursements  totaling $30 billion. The lump sum payments will go to each physician organization’s TIN that normally receives Medicare payments. The $30 billion is part of the $100 billion Public Health and Emergency Fund created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to provide financial assistance to physician practices, hospitals and other providers negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. More...
Medicare 2% sequestration payment adjustment suspended through end of 2020
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act temporarily suspends the 2% sequestration payment adjustment on Medicare fee-for-service payment. The suspension is effective for claims with dates of service from May 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. More...
You can now subscribe to be notified when CMA's COVID-19 FAQ is updated
The California Medical Association (CMA) has launched a new website module that makes our  COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions  easier to use—including the ability to search, sort by category and subscribe to updates. By default, the most recent answers will now also appear up top. More...
Wondering where your HHS stimulus payment is?
On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)  announced  that Medicare-enrolled providers would receive  direct deposit disbursements  totaling $30 billion. However, since the announcement, the California Medical Association (CMA) has received a number of calls from physicians who believe they are eligible but did not receive the payment. More...
DWC will cover telehealth services for injured workers
The California Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) on Monday a nnounced that it would be covering telehealth services for injured workers. According to the  order , DWC will be covering the same telehealth services as those being allowed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The order is effective for services provided on or after April 15, 2020, and will remain in place throughout the public health emergency. More...
Latest COVID-19 Facts
Kern County   ( Kern County Public Health )
Positive Tests (Kern Residents) - 553
Positive Tests (Non-Residents) - 9
Deaths - 3

Co nfirmed Cases - 23, 338
Deaths - 758

Confirmed Cases - 605,390
Deaths - 24,582

Confirmed Cases - 1,918,138
Deaths - 123,126

All of these numbers were pulled from the respective websites 4/15/20, 4:00PM.