California Oncology Weekly
"Where California Oncologists Go For Answers!"
A publication of the
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc.
It's
SUPER
TUESDAY
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- Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom said that the state is monitoring 8,400 people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus and has only 200 kits for diagnosing it, even as California is addressing the problem with urgency. "People should go about their day to day lives with some common sense. I don't want to instill any sense of new anxiety." California Department of Public Health Director and State Health Officer, Dr. Sonia Angell, said the news of a person in Solano County acquiring the virus from an unknown source marked a turning point. "This particular case could be the first possible instance of community transmission of COVID-19 in the United States, and it's here in California," said Dr. Angell. Read more from Ana B. Ibarra of CalMatters; Sammy Caiola of Capital Public Radio; and Danielle Venton of KQED.
- Critics of California's new law (AB5), which limits the use of independent contractors, don't just want legislators to take a second look at a handful of fiercely debated provisions. They want a series of potential do-overs - some to make small revisions to the law and others that would go as far as repeal it. Those efforts, many of which began long before Assembly Bill 5 was signed last year by Gov. Gavin Newsom, signal a second consecutive year of sharp focus on labor law in Sacramento. Public interest is especially high this time, as some app-based technology companies prepare to ask voters to rewrite AB 5 to give special treatment to their industry.
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- Noridian/JEMAC has the following updates on their website
Recent Announcements Published to "Latest Updates"
- Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) Clinic Webinar on March 25,2020 includes: CERT Introduction, Answer presubmitted questions, Progress Reports and Website Tour
Read the complete update
- Effective February 21, 2020, the Noridian Medicare Portal (NMP) now allows users to do multiple clerical error reopening adjustments on a single claim with one transaction.
Read the complete update
- Revised CMS-855R Required May 1, 2020, will be posted on the CMS forms website in this month.
Read the complete update
- Quarterly Update to the MPFSDB in April 2020 (CR11661),informs you that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued payment files to the MACs based upon the 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Final Rule, published in the Federal register on November 15, 2019.
Read the complete update
Forthcoming Noridian JEMAC meetings/webinars/workshop
* Common Error when Enrolling in Medicare Webinar (March 4)
* Submitting Your Enrollment Online Part 2 *(PECOS) Webinar (March 18)
* Rebuttal, Reconsiderations and CAPS Webinar (April 8)
* Medicare Part A/B Revalidation Webinar (April 22)
For more information and to register
:
https://med.noridianmedicare.com/web/jeb/education/training-events
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Engage with the experts who can help you get a better picture of what Advances in Oncology care will look like moving forward.
Register now
for the MOASC 2020 Annual Oncology Summit Educational Symposium on Saturday, March 14
, and celebrate MOASC's 30th Anniversary
, at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach. Speakers will highlight advances in several areas of oncology including melanoma, lymphoma, breast, colon, prostate, kidney, and lung cancers, among others. To register, contact the MOASC office at
moasc@moasc.org
or 909-985-9061 x1. #MOASC30.
- Do you know how to process patients that may present in your office with Coronavirus symptoms? MOASC has been in communication with the Department of Health who has provided the following CDC flow chart. Please share with your staff. CDC Flowchart
- MOASC Member, City of Hope CME presents: Immunotherapy of Cancer: CAR T Cell to Checkpoint Inhibitors, March 18
, 2020 to March 21, 2020 at the Waldorf Astoria, Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information click
here. To register go to https://cme.cityofhope.org/eventinfo_11295.html
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- Congratulations to Margaret Tempero, MD, a recipient of Practical Recommendations in Immuno and Molecular Oncology (PRIMO) Women in Oncology Awards. The awards are given to remarkable women who have made outstanding contributions to the lives of those fighting cancer Dr. Tempero is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Learn more at
https://www.primomeeting.org/women_in_oncology
- Applications now being accepted for ANCO's Travel Awards to Fellows and Young Clinicians to support attendance at the ASCO Annual Meeting, ASH Annual Meeting, or other national oncology meeting in 2020. The deadline for submission is March 31. Awards will be announced by April 30. Learn more at
https://anco.org/membership/fellow-benefits/
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-
REGISTER
for the 20th Multidisciplinary Management of Cancers
: A Case-based Approach taking place in Napa on March 13-15.
-
REGISTER
for Hematologic Malignancies Updates
, the first of three is taking place on Saturday, May 16 at the Sheraton Palo Alto Hotel.
- Use ANCO's
job board
to post or search for employment opportunities at ANCO member practices.
- Follow ANCO on Twitter at
@ANCO News
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National News
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MOASC & ANCO join ASCO in urging members to support HR913, the Clinical Treatment Act,
that would require Medicaid to cover routine care costs for patients with life-threatening conditions on clinical trials; and HR3107, The Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act, that would streamline prior authorization practices within the Medicare Advantage program.
- The "Strengthening Innovation in Medicare and Medicaid Act" (H.R. 5741), is an important bill to ensure health care demonstration projects and models from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) protect patient care and physician decision-making.
Though community oncology has been a strong and long-standing supporter of CMMI; over the years, policymakers from both sides of the aisle have proposed forcing mandatory widescale models on providers and patients across the country, thus overstepping CMMI's authority. While the statutory mandate of CMMI is to test new models, it should be done on a limited basis that does not harm patients, especially seniors with cancer.
COA is extremely concerned that mandatory models may very well put physicians and their patients in a compromised position by forcing participation in what are essentially clinical trials. Mandatory models typically are one-size-fits-all "cookbook" medicine, as opposed to being personalized treatment for individual patients. In cancer treatment, an oncologist may be forced into sub-optimal treatment for a specific Medicare senior with cancer that mutates from testing "innovation" to "experimentation."
Read COA’s full statement in support of H.R. 5741.
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CMS News
- CMS has posted the annual release of the Geographic Variation Public Use File and dashboards with data for 2018. The Geographic Variation Public Use File is a series of downloadable tables and reports that contain demographic, spending, utilization, and quality indicators for the Medicare fee-for-service population. It presents data at the state-level (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands), hospital referral region (HRR)-level, and county-level. For 2018, the PUF includes data for 33.5 million Medicare beneficiaries and $357.8 billion in Medicare costs. This public use file is available from the CMS website and can be downloaded at:
https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/Medicare-Geographic-Variation/GV_PUF.html.
- There is a widespread implementation of Targeted Probe and Educate (TPE) audits investigating the use of modifier 25 codes for evaluation and management (E&M) visits on the same day as drug administration, particularly Part B chemotherapy and immunotherapy drugs.
While COA strongly supports appropriate checks and balances in providing cancer care to seniors and others covered under Medicare, these audits are having a very serious negative impact on community oncology practices becausethe entire claim is being held up for payment while a single line item is being audited. These concerns were
shared with CMS Administrator Seema Verma in a letter last week.The result of this is that a practice's cash flow may be severely impacted for up to 75 days as the practice continues to provide cancer care to their patients. Having drug claims for purchased, and administered, Medicare Part B drugs outstanding is an incredible financial hardship for small practices who must still make payment for the drugs given to patients. Not only can this affect a practice's financial credit, but also their long-term survival as a source of quality, high-value, and accessible cancer care for the communities they serve. Read COA's full letter to CMS on the TPE Modifier 25 Audits.
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Affiliate Association News
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Respond by March 15th to
COA's signature publication The Practice Impact Report
which tracks the changing landscape of community cancer care in the United States
. It captures important trends and sentiments from independent, community oncology practices. To add even more data to the
2020 Practice Impact Report
,
COA isasking practices to take our quick 6 question survey.
The
data collected remains completely anonymous and will
help COA get a more complete picture of the state of your practice and community oncology.
The
Practice Impact Report
is important because it helps COA quantify the scale, state, and trajectory of community oncology for lawmakers, the media, and more. No other report focuses exclusively on the state of independent oncology practices. The more participation COA has, the better sense of the community oncology landscape we all will have, which helps in all of COA's advocacy mission on your behalf. As an added incentive to help,
everyone who responds by March 15thwill be entered into a raffle to receive complementary registration to the 2020 COA Conference!
Three free registrations will be given, so you or your staff can attend everything from the E&M coding workshop to the amazing business, clinical, and pharmacy sessions. (If you have already registered we can either add another registrant or reimburse your payment).
Clickhere to take the QUICK survey for the COA Practice Impact Report.
- Register for the 2020 COA Conference: Focusing On The Future - Together, on April 23-24 in Orlando. COA Conferences help community oncology physicians, pharmacy leaders and business representatives connect the dots across specialties, with a special focus on what is relevant for independent community oncology practices. When practices come together to discuss the important initiatives on a national stage, it drives progress in a way that is truly beneficial to patients. Learn more and register at www.COAConference.org.
- Cedars-Sinai 3rd Annual Gastrointestinal Tumor Conference is scheduled for Saturday, April 25, 2020, it will provide concise and comprehensive updates on the most recent research and advances in immunotherapy for gastrointestinal cancers. A stellar faculty has been assembled to share developments in precision medicine, research, and immunotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of cancers of the pancreas, liver, and gastric/esophagus. For more information and to register go to: cedars.cloud-cme.com/gicancercme.
- Save the Date! National Cancer Survivors Day® is Sunday, June 7, 2020. www.ncsd.org Get a jumpstart on planning your NCSD 2020 event by registering it (free of charge) with the National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation at ncsd.org/register.
- NCCN has published updated guidelines at
https://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/default.aspx-
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Industry News
- Genomic Health
announced that is now part of Exact Sciences. The combined company joins two leading brands in cancer diagnostics - Oncotype DX and Cologuard. The online ordering process for Oncotype DX remains the same along with the customer service number to Redwood City lab. For more information please visit https://www.oncotypeiq.com/en-US.
- Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC
announced that the Food and Drug Administration approved Isatuximab-irfc (SARCLISA) in combination with pomalidomide and dexamethasone for adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies including lenalidomide and a proteasome inhibitor. For more information click here.
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MOASC CALENDAR
City of Hope CME presents: Immunotherapy of Cancer: CAR T Cell to Checkpoint Inhibitors
March 18-21, 2020
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The
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California
(MOASC) is a leading oncology society that advances and protects the ability of cancer patients to obtain, and the ability of the oncology physicians to provide, optimal cancer care.
The material contained in the
California Oncology Weekly
is intended as general information for MOASC members. Because diagnostic, treatment, contracting, coding, and billing decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis, any such information contained in the
California Oncology Weekly
may not apply in any given situation. Members are encouraged to contact their own consultants or advisors to obtain specific advice on matters relating to contracting, coding, and billing. The information contained in
California Oncology Weekly
should not be used as a substitute for such advice.
This publication provides a summary of regulations affecting oncology and its business practices. Reading this newsletter does not substitute for understanding regulations and verifying the validity of every claim. This information is time-sensitive and is subject to change. MOASC accepts no liability for any statements or articles herein.
CPT codes are owned and trademarked by the American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
MOASC: P.O. Box 161, Upland, CA 91785 | P (909) 985-9061 | F (909) 804-5006| www.moasc.org
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