INFORMATION FOR PHYSICIANS AND PRACTICES ON COVID-19
Physician Survey: Tell us how COVID-19 is affecting your practice
The California Medical Association (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.

To help us advocate on your behalf, CMA wants to hear about your experiences during this public health emergency. Please respond to our  brief five-minute survey  no later than April 15, 2020.

Financial Assistance for Medical Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, physician practices are confronting operational and business challenges as they continue to deliver high quality care to their patients. Medical practices will need to make difficult choices about whether to make significant changes that could include changing how they deliver care or even closing their practices. CMA has developed a financial toolkit to help physician practices during this crisis.

CMA and AMA Federation urges immediate action to provide financial relief to physician practices
During the coronavirus pandemic, physician groups and practices nationwide are faced with severe financial hardships, putting many in the untenable position of laying off staff and physicians due to lower financial revenues while preparing for, and in some areas of the country, responding to a surge in patients with COVID-19. More...
DMHC issues new guidance on billing for telehealth services
On April 7, 2020, DMHC issued a follow-up  All Plan Letter (APL) and an FAQ  that provides specific guidance on billing for telehealth services. According to the new APL (20-013), practices should document telehealth visits as if they had occurred in person, select the most appropriate CPT code, bill with place of service 02 to indicate it was provided via telehealth, and use modifier 95 for synchronous telemedicine or GQ for asynchronous telemedicine. More...
Amid growing uncertainty, CMA steps up state and federal advocacy for physician practices
Since the COVID-19 crisis began, the California Medical Association (CMA) has been aggressively lobbying federal and state leaders to ensure physician practices can stay afloat amid the COVID-19 outbreak. While medical professionals are in more demand than ever amid the surge, for thousands of doctors across California – and across the country – the outbreak has meant the shuttering of doors, furloughing of employees and uncertainty about the future. More...
CMA’s 2020 Model Medical Staff Bylaws provide guidance for medical staffs during COVID-19
The California Medical Association (CMA) has released its  2020 Model Medical Staff Bylaws . These bylaws are the definitive guide for  medical staffs , providing details on professional and legal structures to support effective medical staff operations and self-governance. More...
Frequently Asked COVID-19 Questions
UPDATED 4/8/2020
CMA has developed a great FAQ on COVID-19. It is updated frequently, so keep checking back. It answers questions by topic and topics include:

  • Personnel
  • Financial
  • Telehealth
  • Testing
  • Prescribing
  • Miscellaneous
Latest COVID-19 Facts
Kern County  ( Kern County Public Health )
Positive Tests (Kern Residents) - 303
Positive Tests (Non-Residents) - 6
Deaths - 2

Confirmed Cases - 16,957
Deaths - 442

Confirmed Cases - 395,011
Deaths - 12,754

Confirmed Cases - 1,356,780
Deaths - 79,385

All of these numbers were pulled from the respective websites 4/8/20, 4:30PM.