November 30, 2021
Today is Giving Tuesday, a day of generous kindness when thoughtful people come together and make a difference. It is a day full of hope and compassion.
Please give to a charity of your choice.
This Weekly's Hot Topics
  • TODAY! Physicians must report Provider Relief Fund payments Medicare News/CMS News
  • TODAY! The Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in 340B Drug Program National News

  • Tomorrow! MOASC Clinical Webinar “Medicare in 2022" MOASC  News
 
  • This Saturday! Great Debates in Advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma MOASC News/MOASC Programs
 
  • Bipartisan legislation to extend the temporary 3.75% Medicare pay bump through 2022 National  News
 
  • New analysis shows Build Back Better Act will result in 42.9% payment cuts to cancer providers Affiliate Association News/‘COA News
MOASC News
Cancer clinical trial groups need greater diversity. Researchers said more work is needed to improve the ethnic, gender and age diversity of cancer clinical trial groups. The analysis in the journal Cancer of 242,720 trial participants from 2000 to 2019 found that 81.3% were non-Hispanic white, 8.7% were Black, 4.8% were Hispanic and 2.8% had Asian/Pacific Islander heritage.
MOASC Clinical Trial Database is on the MOASC website at www.moasc.org. The MOASC Clinical Trial Committee (Edward McClay, MD, California Cancer Associates for Research & Excellence (CCARE); Kevin Chang, MD, Ventura Hematology Oncology Medical Group; Ashkan Lashkari, MD, Wellness Oncology; Joshua Mansour, MD, City of Hope and Robert Moss, MD) is actively looking for ways to assist MOASC members with Clinical Trial promotion, recruitment and diversity, through the establishment of a database for both physicians and patients. If you are interested in adding your active clinical trials to the database, please contact Nichole East at neast@moasc.org
MOASC supports Debra A. Patt, M.D. for the ASCO Board. Please take time to vote, and encourage your partners to vote, in the ASCO election. The voting period closes on Tuesday, December 7, 2021, at 12:00pm PST, all ballots must be received by this time.
MOASC Programs - Save the Dates - All Times are Pacific
Tomorrow! December 1, 5:30pm- MOASC Clinical Webinar “Medicare in 2022,"Presented by: Arthur Lurvey, M.D., FACP, FACE, Medicare Contractor Medical Director. Topics include: 2022 Final Fee Schedule and Regulation Changes; Telehealth in 2022; Restarting of Target Probe- and Education and Review Topics; Brief Restating of Appeals and Document Recommendations and Off-Label Use of Medications.
MOASC is pleased to join Rockpointe in presenting an on-demand, free CME/CE-certified webcourse available to MOASC members. The on-demand webcourse will be on “Nonmelanoma Skin Cancers: Current and Emerging Checkpoint Inhibitors for Treating Advanced Basal Cell and Squamous Cell Carcinomas,” and available to anyone who would like to participate until August of 2022. Members are provided with at least 3 opportunities on or around; December 1, 2021, March 1, 2022, July 1, 2022.
This Saturday! December 4, 8:30am The University of California San Diego cordially invites you to their Great Debates in Advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (CSCC). This virtual meeting will provide a multidisciplinary management approach for patients with advanced CSCC. Topics will focus on updates in risk assessment, pathology, radiation therapy medical & surgical management, featuring case presentations alongside plenary sessions followed by a question and answer opportunity. 
January 20-21, 2022 University of California San Diego presents their Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Care Conference and 5th New Horizons in Immunotherapy. 
MOASC’s Annual Practice Management Series on Oncology Administration is now available. Below is a recap of the speakers and topics with links to the recordings. To obtain access to the recording and handouts, please email moasc@moasc.org.

 
  • Patient Cost Sharing presented by Joel Kokis, Patient Access Support Services, Bristol Myers Squibb. Contact info: C: 310 704 7053 E: joel.kokis@bms.com
 
  • Finding an Extra Hour Every Day: Time/Project/People Management Tips presented by Randy Dean, MBA, The E-mail Sanity Expert. Contact info: O: 517-336-8906 E: randy@randalldean.com
 
  • Enhancements to Here2Assist Patient Support Services Program presented by Tony Li, Field Access Director, US Oncology Business Unit, Takeda Oncology. Contact info: C: 619-379-7796 E: tony.li1@takeda.com
 
  • How to be More Productive with Process Automation presented by Adam Levithan, Withum Digital. Contact info: Sasha Tchulkova O: 240.406.9931 E: STchulkova@Withum.com or Dale Tuttle E: dtuttle@withum.com
 
  • Improving Patient Collections Experience presented by Adam Younger, MBA, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, PayGround. Contact info: C: 812-914-1613 E: adam@payground.com
 
  • Match Patients to Clinical Trials presented by Tyrone Richardson, Vice President, Provider Sales, Deep Lens. Contact info: C: 503-964-2222 E: tyrone@deeplens.ai W: www.deeplens.ai
 
  • Working Together to Improve Patient Health presented by Natalee Ray, Key Account Manager, Pfizer Oncology. Contact info: C: (626) 622-6991 E: Natalee.Ray@pfizer.com
 
MOASC would like to thank the following partners in providing this valuable program.
AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Bristol Myers Squibb, Grail, Oncopeptides, Pfizer Oncology, Takeda Oncology, AbbVie, Astellas, Daiichi Sakyo, Incyte, Johnson and Johnson, Merck, Novartis, ADC Therapeutics, Agios Pharmaceuticals, Exact Sciences, Foundation Medicine, Gilead Sciences, G1 Therapeutics, Guardant Health, Kite Pharma, Lilly Oncology, MorphoSys, Myovant Sciences, Pharmacyclics, Sanofi-Genzyme, Seagen, Stemline Therapeutics.
Career News

A premier comprehensive cancer center in Bakersfield, California is seeking two qualified Hematologist-Oncologist for employed positions. This is a wonderful opportunity to join a rapidly growing private practice that is connected to major academic hospitals in southern California. Great income potential: base compensation plus RVU production bonus; comprehensive benefits, including health, vacation time, 401(k), CME days, and 8 national holidays. Interested candidates please email Deb Fogel, COO at dfogel@cbccusa.com or call 661-322-2206. 
Thank you!
California News
The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the California Dialogue on Cancer (CDOC) are pleased to invite you to attend the Get Screened California: A Call to Action for Cancer Screening virtual meeting on Tuesday, December 7th from 11:30am-1:00pm. This meeting is part of CDOC's partnership with ACS to promote their national Get Screened public awareness campaign among California’s diverse population. We look forward to convening California stakeholders with an interest and ability to promote life-saving cancer screenings. This meeting will also highlight the value of utilizing social media platforms to promote cancer screening and will introduce our Get Screened California social media campaign which officially launches in January 2022.
On January 2, 2022, the California Department of Health Care Services will transition all Medi-Cal pharmacy services from managed care to fee-for-service. Physicians who currently prescribe medications for Med-Cal patients, are encouraged to register for the secure Medi-Cal Rx Provider Portal, as soon as possible, and ensure preparedness for the upcoming transition to avoid any disruptions in patient care. 
Medicare News
Noridian News
MLN Connects - November 24, 2021
CMS has made available the latest edition of the MLN Connects. 
Effective November 25, 2021, Billing and Coding: MolDX: Oncotype DX Breast Cancer for DCIS (Genomic Health) - R1 has been revised and published for notice under contract numbers: 01112 (NCA), 01182 (SCA), 01212 (AS, GU, HI, NMI), and 01312 (NV).
Effective December 06, 2020, MolDX: Prostate Cancer Genomic Classifier Assay for Men with Localized Disease - R3 has been revised and published for notice under contract numbers: 01112 (NCA), 01182 (SCA), 01212 (AS, GU, HI, NMI), and 01312 (NV). 
Effective January 02, 2022, MolDX: Minimal Residual Disease Testing for Cancer Final LCD has completed the Open Public Meeting and is now finalized under contractor numbers: 01112 (NCA), 01182 (SCA), 01212 (AS, GU, HI, NMI), and 01312 (NV). Responses to comments received may be found as a link at the bottom of the final LCD. 
Noridian Programs
December 1, 2021 - Noridian Medicare Portal (NMP) Eligibility Webinar. This event includes: Noridian Medicare Portal, Hours of Availability, Eligibility, MBI Look Up
December 3, 2021 - Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Part B Billing Webinar.
This event includes: Part B MSP Billing, Payments and Calculations, Forms and Noridian Medicare Portal (NMP), Scenarios and Avoiding Delays, and Resources.
December 8, 2021 - Medicare 101 - New Providers/New Billers: Beneficiary Forms Webinar. This event includes: Important Message from Medicare, Advanced Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage, Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice, and Hospital Issued Notice of Noncoverage.
CMS News
TODAY! Physicians must report, by November 30, 2021 at 8:59 pm PT to avoid   enforcement actions like repayment or other debt collection activities. If you received 1 or more Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments totaling more than $10,000 during the first Payment Received Period, the original deadline to report on how you used the funds was September 30, 2021, but HHS observed a 60-day grace period to help providers who didn’t meet the Reporting Period 1 deadline. To get started, register in the PRF Reporting Portal. Review technical assistance resources on the PRF Reporting webpage for updated FAQs and user guides. You can get real-time help through the Provider Support Line at 866-569-3522; for TTY dial 711. They’re open from 6am – 8pm Pacific time, Monday through Friday.
December 1 & 2 – HCPCS Public Meeting. The purpose of the Public Meetings is to provide a forum for the general public to present information regarding specific Healthcare Common Procedural Coding System (HCPCS) coding requests for new products, supplies, and services. The meeting also provides an opportunity to obtain industry and public reaction to the preliminary coding recommendations of the CMS HCPCS Workgroup, as well as CMS' preliminary recommendations regarding payment methodology. Coding decisions related to the Medicare and Medicaid programs internal operating procedures are reviewed internally, and are not included in this forum.
As the current year ends, physicians are urged verify patients' eligibility and benefits on all insurers for 2022, to ensure they will be paid for services rendered. The beginning of a new year also means that both calendar year deductibles and visit frequency limitations reset. And, with open enrollment, patients may even be covered by a new payor. Don’t get stuck with unnecessary denials or an upset patients. Deductibles are typically based on calendar year and will reset January 1, 2022. Medicare is such an insurer. For 2022, the annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $233.
National News
TODAY! The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in a case seeking to reverse cuts to the 340B Drug Program. The outcome could have consequences for all providers, even those who don't access the discounted medicines. Plaintiffs including the American Hospital Association and providers that participate in the program are asking the high court to reverse a nearly 30% cut in 340B reimbursements the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services initiated during President Donald Trump's administration and continued under President Joe Biden.
A bipartisan bill introduced by two physician members of the House of Representatives, Reps. Ami Bera, D-Calif., and Larry Bucshon, R-Ind., have introduced bipartisan legislation to extend the temporary 3.75% Medicare pay bump through 2022.
The Biden administration released an interim final rule related to the No Surprises Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act that requires individual and group health insurance plans to submit data on prescription drug spending to the federal government. The deadline for submission is Dec. 27, and by June 1 annually starting next year, though flexibility is expected in the initial year.
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination helps prevent cervical cancer and saves lives, new nationwide data from the US suggest. The analysis adds to a growing body of evidence demonstrating vaccine-associated changes in cervical cancer incidence and mortality drop in younger women.
Affiliate Association News
ASCO News

Please take time to vote in the ASCO election. Please encourage your partners to vote in the ASCO election. The voting period closes on Tuesday, December 7, 2021, at 12:00pm PST, all ballots must be received by this time.
ASH News
Abstracts submitted for oral and poster presentations at the 63rd ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition represent important research in the field and are considered the best of the thousands of abstracts submitted. Six new abstracts highlighting novel and high-impact studies whose results were not available by the general abstract submission deadline have just been released! Begin browsing the late-breaking abstracts, and make sure to tune in to the special late-breaking abstracts session on Tuesday, December 14, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time.
COA News
New analysis shows Build Back Better Act will result in 42.9% payment cuts to cancer providers. COA warns payment cuts in BBB Act will cause drug and related costs to increase, not decrease as bill intends. COA says Congress must fix language to avert unintended and devastating damage to cancer care.
Registration is Open! Sign up for the 2022 Community Oncology Conference. You are invited to join thousands of colleagues on March 17-18, 2022, virtually at the Gaylord Palms Hotel in Kissimmee, Florida, for two days of learning and networking. Enjoy early bird pricing through January 20, 2022. 
Industry News
Janssen Biotech cordially invites you to their 7th Fall IDEA Healthcare Summit, December 2, 2021. Attendees will explore what providers, caregivers, advocates, employers, payers, and pharmaceutical companies can do to elevate the patient voice. Panelists will discuss the elements of effective self-advocacy in health care and how we can cultivate those practices. Our goal is a health care system that is responsive to needs and centered around access, affordability, and innovation. Panelists will explore barriers to health self-advocacy, with a focus on underserved communities, and what can be done to overcome these barriers and help people be heard and better served. 
THIS week, attend the 2021 Premier Alternate Site Programs Virtual National Meeting! The virtual meeting is Thursday, December 2 and Friday, December 3. Keynote speaker headliner Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, “Miracle on the Hudson” Pilot and Safety Expert, featured session speakers will cover trending topics in four unique tracks: Clinical and Compliance Outcomes, Legislative & Regulatory Updates, Business Management and Operations, and Supply Chain Strategies. There is an updated agenda and Business Track speakers below, that reflect the informative and engaging virtual program. Please register today to secure your spot!
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.