December 15, 2020

Dr. Laurie A. Frakes was named one of the top five oncologists in all of San Diego. Dr. Frakes has a strong interest in research and is an active participant in clinical trials available through UCLA, as well as Scripps and biotech industry sponsored trials. MOASC is proud to represent some of the best oncologists across California.

Please share your physician and practice news for publication in the California Oncology Weekly to moasc@moasc.org

MOASC is in receipt of an invitation for experts to participate in an important research study to understand your usage of Molecular Profiling Tests in Diagnosing and Treating Cancer Patients. This survey will take approximately 40 minutes to complete. Please participate at your earliest convenience. As a token of appreciation, physicians will be paid an honorarium of $240 for completing the study. Which shall be processed the same within 10 days of the project closure.

Nominate your candidate(s) now for a MOASC Excellence Award. MOASC would like to recognize MOASC Members, and their staff, for their dedication to providing quality cancer care during the Pandemic of 2020. Frontline healthcare workers are the backbone of the health system. Selflessly, they take on significant personal risk, many times without adequate equipment to ensure that their patients continue to receive the care they need.

Nominate your colleagues (practice, physician, nurse or other healthcare worker) for their dedication, commitment and courage to continue providing care, thereby saving countless lives and making a difference in the community. Recognition are in the areas of Excellence in Leadership and Excellence in Healthcare. Please provide a brief summary of why you are nominating this individual or team. Awardees will be announced during the MOASC Annual Oncology Summit (Live/Virtual) on Saturday, March 27, 2021. Please submit your nominations by Friday, January 8, 2021. Thank you! 

MOASC Programs - Save the Dates -All Times are Pacific

MOASC, once again, is partnering with Neil Love, M.D., Founder, Research to Practice (RTP) for a virtual Clinical Summit, “Current Concepts and Recent Advances in Oncology,” tentatively scheduled for Saturday, March 6, 2021. This topic & event is CME-MOC/NCPD Accredited. RTP & MOASC are in search of 10-12 oncologists to participate in the case recording interviews. The disease types that will be presented are Breast Cancer, CLL and Lymphomas, GI Cancers, GU Cancers, Gynecologic Cancers, Lung Cancer, and Multiple Myeloma. Please contact the MOASC office neast@moasc.org by Monday, 12/21/20, of your interest in participating. Honorarium, Case Requirements and project details can be found

The MOASC ONCOLOGY SUMMIT, ANNUAL CLINICAL EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM – Exciting Advances in Oncology, is scheduled for March 27, 2021, 7:30am – 1:30pm, at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach. MOASC President, Ashkan Lashkari, M.D. will moderate topics presented by experts from City of Hope and UCLA highlighting advances in several areas of oncology including genitourinary, lymphoma, thoracic, colorectal and breast cancers. Please join us for another exciting opportunity to interact with colleagues and learn from recognized speakers. 

Slides are available from last Wednesday’s MOASC’s LunchTime Series presentation of Medi-Cal’s Transition to a Fee For Service Model. This very informative talk was presented by Heather Warren, PharmD, Manager, Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy.

California Law Alert! Several new or amended employment laws take effect in California on January 1, 2021, including, but not limited to, increased minimum wages and exempt employee salaries, Pay Data Reporting, California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and expanded Crime Victim Leave.

Minimum Wages & Salaries – California Statewide Minimum Wage, on January 1, will increase to $14 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees and $13 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees. The minimum salary threshold for exempt employees will increase to $1,120 per week ($58,240 per year) for employers with 26 or more employees, and $1,040 per week ($54,080 per year) for employees with 25 or fewer employees. The minimum rate for exempt licensed physicians and surgeons paid on an hourly basis will increase to $86.49 per hour.

Pay Data Reporting- In 2021, employers with 100 or more employees will need to report pay data annually to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). The first deadline is March 31, 2021. The DFEH has created an extensive FAQ that is available and additional guidance will be provided by regulations released in the new year. 

California Family Rights Act (CFRA) - As reported in this publication in September, significant amendments to the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) take effect on January 1, 2021. Most notably, CFRA will apply to employers with five or more employees. CFRA requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for certain reasons, such as baby bonding. Employers are required to post a notice about employees’ CFRA rights. A compliant notice will be provided by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). It is recommended that the DFEH website is checked periodically.

Crime Victim Leave - Employers of all sizes are required to provide job-protected leave to victims of stalking, domestic violence, and sexual assault. The law has been amended to include victims of any crime that caused physical or mental injury or a threat of physical injury. The law entitles employees who are victims to take time off from work to “obtain any relief.” This includes, but isn’t limited to, taking steps to ensure their or their child’s health, safety, or welfare, such as by trying to get a restraining order. 

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck Medicine USC announce that USC Norris Department of Radiation Oncology has opened a facility in Arcadia The multidisciplinary center provides radiation oncology, medical oncology, surgical specialists, with infusion and ancillary services. 125 W. Huntington Dr., Suite B100, Arcadia CA 91007, (626) 574-2860.

Through Thursday, December 17^th, Noridian will present 2021 Evaluation and Management Change Preparation Webinars. Included are, 2021 Change Summary, Office and Outpatient Services, Medical Decision Making, Time Component, and Resources. 

Part A/B Quarterly Medicare Updates, Jan 5 & 14, 2021, include: CMS and Noridian Updates, January 2021 Quarterly Provider Updates, Change Requests (CR), Payment and Recurring Updates, Special Editions (SE), Resources and Educational Information. 

Region-specific events, webinars and training for December & January are found JEA, JEB, JAF and JFB.

Locally-hosted coverage articles listed

TOMORROW, Wednesday, December 16, 2020, CMS will conduct a live information session from 10:00am to 10:30am PT. The session will provide a brief overview of the expanded reporting requirements going into effect on January 1, 2021 as a result of the SUPPORT Act and regulatory changes and share tips on how to prepare for successful compliance. Open Payments reporting entity system users and other compliance staff should attend. Once registered, you will receive an email with call access information. 

Oncologists sue to stop “Dangerous and Unlawful” Most Favored Nation drug pricing scheme. Community Oncology Alliance seeks emergency injunction to block experiment that endangers seniors. 

Share MedPage Today OpEd by COA Board members, Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA and Lucio Gordan, MD, with your patients.

For the 2020 performance year, CMS will be using an Extreme and Uncontrollable Circumstances policy to allow clinicians, groups, and virtual groups to submit an application requesting reweighting of one or more Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance categories due to the current COVID-19 public health emergency. To provide additional support to clinicians during this time, CMS is extending the extreme and uncontrollable circumstances application deadline for PY 2020 to Monday, February 1, 2021 at 8 p.m. ET.

Readers are encouraged to take a few moment to read & watch the following NBC News segment on Brown-Bag delivery of drugs. Consider sharing with your patients.

Supreme Court Ruling Supporting State Regulations of PBMs and stop abuses that harm patients and health care system.

Individuals with cancer, including those who were recently diagnosed, were significantly more likely to develop COVID-19 and to have worse outcomes, compared with those who didn't have cancer, with the highest COVID-19 risk found among those with leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and lung cancer diagnoses, researchers reported in JAMA Oncology.

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has launched ICER Analytics™. Though directed to payers, life science companies, patient groups, and others to develop formularies, this cloud-based platform, will allow for even physicians and medical groups the ability of negotiate drug prices, and explore new ways to apply evidence in a drive toward a health system that can achieve fair prices and fair access for all. It would behoove practice contract staff to listen in on December 17, 2020, from 7:00am to 8:00am PST, to a webinar with representatives from both the payer and pharmaceutical industries to demo the tool and discuss how they plan to use it. Panelists include Merck's Senior Vice President and Head of the Center for Observational and Real World Evidence (CORE); Prime Therapeutics' Assistant Vice President, Health Outcomes; and Prime Therapeutics' Principal Health Outcomes Researcher. For those who are unable to attend the live webinar, a recording will be made available afterward at https://analytics.icer.org.

The California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF)

The Midwest Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (Midwest CEPAC)

The New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (New England CEPAC)

Effective Jan. 1, 2021, United Healthcare (UHC) will be updating their reimbursement policy to follow the revised 2021 E&M CPT^® coding and guideline changes from the AMA and CMS. These are the first significant changes to E&M codes in nearly 30 years and will require you to make changes to your billing practices. AMA has set up an Implementing CPT® Evaluation and Management (E&M) revisions site to help with the transition. This site contains free educational modules and step-by-step details to help you understand these new guidelines. We recommend practice managers and coding specialists review the: 1) Three free educational modules: E&M changes overview, Time, Medical Decision Making (MDM), 2) Checklist for Health Systems, Videos with step-by-step directions,

These guideline changes have the potential to significantly reduce physician burden while improving patient care. UnitedHealthcare also provides education materials and proactive outreach. Check out UHC’s Coding Corner® for the latest on-demand coding guides. If you have any questions, please reach out to a coding specialist education.info@optum.com.

The 2021 prescription drug list and pharmacy benefit updates for UHC commercial plans are now available for your review.

AstraZeneca wants to offer their support and thanks for all you are doing, as the healthcare community continues to be on the front lines of the evolving novel coronavirus (COVID-19), in continuing to care for patients who are particularly susceptible to this infection during this time.

AstraZeneca announces that IMFINZI® (durvalumab) has been approved in the US for an additional dosing option for patients with a body weight of 30 kg and more: 1500 mg administered intravenously every four weeks in the approved indication of unresectable Stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after chemoradiation therapy (CRT). Patients with body weight <30 kg must receive weight-based dosing, equivalent to IMFINZI 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks.

Merck informed MOASC Members that KEYTRUDA has received FDA approval, in combination with chemotherapy, for the treatment of patients with locally recurrent unresectable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) whose tumors express programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) [combined positive score (CPS ≥10)] as determined by an FDA-approved test. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on progression-free survival. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials. 

SeaGen presented their Latest 5 year PFS data at ASH from comparing Adcetris + AVD vs. ABVD in advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma. 

SeaGen cordially invites MOASC members to their upcoming ADCETRIS® (brentuximab vedotin) National Broadcast event. This broadcast will be an engaging event featuring the Chair, Scott Smith, MD, PhD, FACP, LUMC and Panelists: Elizabeth Brém, MD, UCI and Aaron Goodman, MD, UCSD, on Thursday, January 21, 2021, with 2 sessions. To register contact Stacey Dominguez at 310-560-1104 or email sdominguez@seagen.com.

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.