KCMS advocates for physicians and patients!

KCMS members joined other California physicians on April 10th for the California Medical Association's (CMA) 50th Annual Legislative Advocacy Conference. Physicians from throughout the state met with their local legislators to educate them on some of CMA's healthcare priorities.

KCMS met with Senators Shannon Grove and Melissa Hurtado and Assemblymembers Vince Fong, Tom Lackey and Jasmeet Bains and/or their staffs.

ICYMI: Assembly committee passes Bains' 'UC Kern' bill for medical school

Everyone — from farmers to teachers, legislators to laymen — can agree that the Central Valley needs more doctors.



On Tuesday, the Assembly Higher Education Committee passed the “Grow Our Own” bill, or Assembly Bill 2357, bringing a branch medical school campus of the UC San Francisco School of Medicine in Kern County one brick closer to being built. More...

This story was originally published by The Bakersfield Californian, a local newspaper in Kern County.

KCMS is looking for members to serve on our Scholarship Committee

KCMS is putting together a Scholarship Committee and we are looking for interested members to serve on it. We don't have many details because we want the Scholarship Committee themselves to determine the details.

INTERESTED? Email chrisy@tkfmc.org on or before MAY 17. Include some information about yourself and a statement that tells a little about why you are interested.

**Please note that depending on the amount of interest we receive, all interested members may not be chosen to serve.**

You must be a member of KCMS to serve on the Scholarship Committee. Regular, Resident, Fellow and Retired members are all eligible. If you are unsure of your membership status, please contact Chrisy at 209-769-0934 (cell) or chrisy@tkfmc.org.

New health care worker minimum wage takes effect June 1: IPAs and small physician practices exempt

On June 1, 2024, a new state law takes effect that phases in minimum wage increases for health care workers (SB 525 – Durazo). As of that date, physician groups with 25 or more physicians, and other types of health care facilities that meet certain criteria regardless of their size—such as urgent care clinics, community and other licensed clinics, ambulatory surgical centers and hospitals—must comply with the new minimum wage requirements. (Practices are encouraged to consult the complete list of covered health care facilities in the law to confirm whether it applies to them.) More...

CYBERATTACK NEWS: Physician practices still struggling with fallout from Change cyberattacks, latest AMA survey finds

Temporary funding support available to physician practices affected by Change Healthcare cyberattack



Physician practices are still in crisis and continue to experience issues with multiple operations due to the Change Healthcare cyberattack, according to the American Medical Association’s (AMA) most recent follow-up survey on the impact of the cyberattack outages. More...

Join our Culture of Care

Now hiring primary care physicians and anesthesiologists. UC Davis Health is an extraordinary place to grow your career. You’ll experience being part of an academic medical center that’s committed to advancing pioneering research, promoting a sense of belonging through an inclusive work environment, and fostering continuous learning to develop health care leaders. Join our team as we strive to provide world-class care in the Northern California region. Offering a competitive compensation and benefits package, flexible schedules, access to wellness programs, and more. More...

Blue Shield to significantly cut reimbursement of E/M services billed with modifier 25 and will no longer pay consult codes

Blue Shield of California recently notified physicians of two upcoming changes to the payor’s policies. Effective July 14, 2024, Blue Shield will no longer reimburse for face-to-face consultation services (CPT codes 99242-99245 or 99252-99255). Additionally, the notice states it is changing its Global Surgical Period Payment Policy, which will significantly reduce reimbursement for evaluation and management (E/M) services billed with modifier 25. More...

Are nurse practitioners easing shortages in underserved areas?

No matter if a state supports physician-led care or allows nurse practitioners to care for patients without any physician involvement immediately after graduation, the answer is the same.

Data just doesn’t support the argument that changing laws to allow nurse practitioners to practice without physician supervision increases access to health care for patients in rural and other areas underserved by limited access to health care. More...

Do these 10 myths drive physician burnout in your organization?

One of the biggest drivers of physician burnout are the clerical burdens that gobble up more than half of doctors’ days—and many nights and weekends to boot. Perhaps the most galling part is that a notable chunk of these burdens are based on outright myths, misconceptions and misapplications of the morass of complicated regulations that govern American health care. More...

Medicare trustees warn of access threat, CMA urges H.R. 2474 passage

A report released by the Medicare trustees on Monday warned that the failure of Medicare to provide physician payments that keep pace with rising cost of practicing medicine could cause significant access to care issues for patients relying on the program. More...

Voter signatures submitted to qualify CMA's initiative for the November ballot

Initiative will expand access to health care services and improve care for all Californians

The California Medical Association and the Coalition to Protect Access to Care, a broad and diverse group of health care organizations, have submitted enough signatures to qualify a statewide ballot initiative for the November 2024 ballot that will expand access to health care for millions of Californians. More...

Looking for upcoming events & webinars?

Due to the number of upcoming events & webinars available, we send information for them in a separate email. See our last email:

Upcoming Events & Webinars