California Oncology Weekly
"The Oncologists’ Source for Timely Information"
A publication of the
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc.
October 13, 2020
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Click anywhere on picture to view the past 30 years |
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Today is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Please share this helpful article on understanding MBC with your patients, family and friends Read this Story
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Medicare Mental Health Access Act California News
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Noridian Custom Edits (NCE) began October 4, 2020 Medicare News/Noridian News
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CMS revised infusion pump and ICD-10 guidelines Medicare News/CMS News
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MOASC Member, Dr. William J. Jawien shares the exciting news that
*MOASC PROGRAMS - SAVE THE DATES All Times are Pacific
“The talk provided an excellent review of full molecular testing in advanced cases of NSCLC at diagnosis, emphasizing the importance of identifying actionable mutations as initial patient care to allow prolonged survival and quality of life.” S. Wallach, M.D.
Dr. Wallach is speaking of last week’s MOASC Virtual Clinical Conference, “It’s Precisely the Time for More Precision in Genomic Testing and Targeted Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer,” presented by Jacob Sands, M.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The roles of genomic testing and targeted treatment in lung cancer; practical guidance for expanding molecular testing for genomic alterations occurring in non–small cell lung cancer with FDA-approved targeted therapies explored and more. If you missed the program, here is the link to the Zoom Replay: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/wbH6QVtcF-E2ZueBGXTY6uHQChG53h8gpf8LpEPQrZu9ls2ovsF8xNOEHIqxibQq.FicfC7-VCQZhWcYA?startTime=1602202373000
Click here for the slides
Don’t miss the next MOASC Virtual Clinical Conference in November, “Up Close and Personalizing Gastric Cancer Care.” The date and further information will be shared in this publication soon.
Register now for MOASC’s 30th Annual Educational Series. The virtual Administrator Track will be on November 4 View the agenda. The virtual Billing Track will be on November 12 View the agenda. MOASC has secured the professionals to provide attendees with the tools and resources to tackle the challenges of addressing patient care, protecting staff, safety and surviving financially during this most unique time. Register Here.
Please welcome and thank these MOASC Series partners when they visit your practice.
AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Pfizer Oncology, Puma Biotechnology, AbbVie, Merck, Verastem, Astellas, Bristol Myers Squibb, Foundation Medicine, Johnson and Johnson, Agios Pharmaceuticals, Exact Science, Genentech, Immunomedics , Kite Pharma, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Oncology Supply, Pharmacyclics, Regeneron Healthcare, Sanofi-Genzyme, Stemline Therapeutics, Takeda and Walgreens.
MOASC’s membership drive started October 1 with renewing member dues prorated through June 2021. If you have any questions please contact the MOASC Office at moasc@moasc.org. Thank you.
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CMA joined the American Medical Association and 30 other health care organizations to oppose the “Medicare Mental Health Access Act” (HR 884/S 2772), which would change the definition of “physician” under the Medicare program to include clinical psychologists.
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The California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 is on the ballot next month, and advocates say it should be passed to slow down tech companies and keep up with European privacy laws. Opponents, including some business groups, say that the initiative is too complicated at 52 pages and that most voters won't see any merit in it.
The five-year California Department of Health Care Services technical assistance program (CTAP) has ended. Under CTAP, the California Health Information Partnership & Services Organization (CalHIPSO) assisted more than 4,500 Eligible Professionals (EP) in navigating the various stages of Meaningful Use. In collaboration with CalHIPSO’s Local Extension Center (LEC) partners, more than $300,000,000 in federal incentives have helped California health care organizations and individual clinicians. During the last quarter of this year, CalHIPSO will be closing out the administrative portions of the CTAP and transition to becoming a program under the Calif. Primary Care Assoc. (CPCA), as opposed to being a stand-alone organization. As a CPCA program, CalHIPSO will be able to continue its mission and will continue to collaborate with its other founding partners, California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH) and the California Medical Association (CMA) on health information technology (HIT) initiatives.
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Noridian News
Noridian Custom Edits (NCE) began October 4, 2020, and will enhance claims editing for both providers and payers and will integrate with existing claims acknowledgement reporting (277CA) on 837 electronic claim submissions. For a complete update Read Here.
Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Part B Billing Webinar on October 15, 2020 includes: MSP Part B Billing Options, Payments and Calculations, MSP Overpayment Process, Forms and Noridian Medicare Portal (NMP), Scenarios and Avoiding Delays, and References Read the complete update Here.
Medical Review Top Trending Error: Chronic Care Management (CCM) webinar on October 22 at 12:00pm Pacific. Hosted by the Provider Outreach and Education (POE) staff, the event includes: Chronic Care Management Overview; Coverage & Indications; Documentation; Examples; Resources. Register Here.
Providers are encouraged to attend the many educational events offered by Noridian. Read the complete update The schedules of region-specific events, webinars and training are JEA, JEB, JAF and JFB. For a schedule of Noridian events of interest, go HERE
Medicare changes that will keep you updated in this next quarter can be found Here
The complete listing of locally hosted coverage articles can be viewed Here. All LCDs and LCAs can be viewed Here.
CMS News
The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act provides annual incentive payments equal to 5% of the physician's Medicare claims for physicians who participate in Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs). The payments are made two years after the physician participates in the APM, so physicians who qualified as APM participants in 2018 are due to receive their 5% incentive payments this year. This month, CMS distributed APM incentive payments, however, the agency said there are many physicians it has been unable to locate in order to issue the incentive payments. CMS has published a list of physicians it has been unable to locate.
CMS hosts varied recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related to the agency’s response to COVID-19. Calls recordings and transcripts are posted on the CMS podcast page Here.
The number of Medicare Advantage plans available to the average older adult this year is up by 20%, according to the CMS, and a recent poll found only 9% of Medicare beneficiaries plan to meet in person with an agent or broker to help them enroll. Health insurers, brokers, and agents say they have added staff to handle the predicted surge in phone calls, updated their websites, and expanded videoconferencing capabilities.
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October is also Health Literacy Month. Find a variety of ideas in the resources on the Share and Interact page of the CDC Health Literacy website.
Public health experts urges everyone to get a flu vaccine this year. CDC data on flu vaccination showed that overall flu vaccination coverage during 2019-2020 was 52%. CDC estimates that last season flu vaccination prevented 7.5 million flu illnesses, 105,000 hospitalizations, and 6,300 deaths.
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In follow up to last week’s publication announcement of an additional $20 billion made available through the Provider Relief Fund. Applications for Phase 3 General Distribution funding opened last week and will remain open through November 6, 2020. For updates and to learn more about the Provider Relief Program, Read Here.
Subsequent to President Trump’s signing legislation that relaxes terms for Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment Program loans, addressed in this publication last week, CMS has introduced the terms allowing these loan repayments to begin one year after the loan issue date. CMS will enable automatic 25% recoupment of reimbursements for the first 11 months of repayment before increasing to 50% for the succeeding six months. Providers unable to settle loans within a 29-month period will be subject to a 4% interest rate, but a longer repayment period may be sought in cases of extreme hardship.
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Effective Nov. 2, health care providers, and health care IT professionals, will be prohibited from impeding the exchange or use of, or access to, electronic health information. The rules are being phased in. November 2 is compliance day for the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) final rules on interoperability and information blocking. The ONC’s 21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program and CMS’ Interoperability and Patient Access final rules will impact virtually every healthcare organization with access to electronic health information (EHI) and empower patients and caregivers with greater access to and control over their health information.
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A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis showed average annual premiums for employer-based health coverage increased by 4% this past year. Employees contributed 17% for single plans and 27% for family plans.
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Affiliate Association News
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ANCO News
Four seats on the ANCO Board of Directors are up for election in 2020. ANCO seeks nominations for candidates to stand for election to these seats. This year's election will be conducted via mail ballot in December. Candidates with the top four vote totals will serve for three years (i.e., from 2021-2023, inclusive). The ANCO Board of Directors governs the Association, developing advocacy strategies and policies, approving educational meeting proposals and activities, and considering membership benefits. The Board meets in person approximately once per year in the San Francisco Bay Area and via bimonthly teleconference. Expenses associated with attending Board meetings are reimbursed. Communication with the Board is also conducted via e-mail. You may nominate an ANCO member (including yourself) to stand for election to the Board via e-mail to courtney@anco.org no later than November 16.
Congratulations to Sue S. Yom, MD, PhD, MAS, for being has selected as a distinguished ASTRO member to receive the ASTRO Fellow (FASTRO) designation. Dr. Yom is a Professor at the University of California, San Francisco. See the publication here
ANCO's 2020 Virtual Professional Education Meeting will take place on Thursday, October 29th. The meeting will focus on the fiscal impact of 2021 E&M coding changes, Medicare update and Documentation, as well as preparing for the 2021 E&M coding changes. Register online no later than Friday, October 23.
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ANCO's three part series of Hematologic Malignancies Updates: Leukemias, Lymphomas, & Myelomas 2020 is going Virtual! The faculty will present the latest research on treatment modalities for hematologic malignancies—leukemias, lymphomas, and myeloma—along with case studies for these diagnoses. The series is scheduled to take place on the following Saturdays: November 14, and December 19.
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Use ANCO's job board to post or search for employment opportunities at ANCO member practices.
Follow ANCO on Twitter at @ANCO News.
ASH News
ASH submitted comments on 21st Century Cures 2.0. The original 21st Century Cures Act was signed into law in December 2016 and focused on the discovery of new cures. This second iteration of the legislation will explore ways to safely and efficiently modernize the delivery of treatments to patients.
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Also submitted to CMS were comments on the CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule. ASH applauded the agency’s decision to maintain the changes to the office/outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) services finalized in the CY 2020 rulemaking. The Society, however, did express concern over the payment cuts resulting from the budget neutrality requirements and urged CMS to work with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to waive budget neutrality requirements while still moving ahead with the new Medicare office visit payment policy. ASH also provided significant comments on the provisions related to telehealth and urged CMS to maintain much of the telehealth flexibilities that have been allowed during the public health emergency.
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MGMA News
The MGMA Government Affairs regularly advocates on behalf of physicians, practices MGMA members, customers and supporters. They have recently taken a strong interest in the 2020 Monthly Surveys and believe it could serve as data to direct analyses they bring forward to members on the Hill. Can they count on your help to provide a voice from the front lines?
Participants of the survey will receive a copy of the report results, which will include monthly trends of the 2020 calendar year. Custom reports comparing each participating practice's data alongside the MGMA data will also be available.
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NCCN News
NCCN publishes updates to their NCCN Guidelines®. For a list of all their guidelines. Read Here.
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Agios Pharmaceuticals, cordially invites MOASC Members, on Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 6:00 PM-PDT, to their upcoming webinar about TIBSOVO® (ivosidenib): A Targeted Therapy for IC-Ineligible Patients with Newly Diagnosed AML and Patients with R/R AML with an IDH1 Mutation,. Presented by: Gary Schiller, MD, Professor of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA Ronald Reagan, UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA.
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AstraZeneca cordially invites MOASC Members, on October 22, to their upcoming webcast series in support of the PAOLA-1 launch. They will hold expert discussions on LYNPARZA® (olaparib) and LYNPARZA + bevacizumab as Maintenance Monotherapy or Combination Therapy in Advanced Ovarian Cancer: Results From Key Clinical Trials. View the multiple dates and invitation here.
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Incyte Corporation cordially invites all healthcare professionals to attend a virtual program entitled, Identifying the Clinical Characteristics of Advanced Polycythemia Vera, Wednesday, October 21, at 6:30pm Pacific. Please register online by October 14 at http://bit.ly/inc7240 [links.sphase.com]
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Seattle Genetics cordially invites MOASC Members to their upcoming series of Educational Programs to review data from ECHELON-1, a superiority trial comparing ADCETRIS+AVD to ABVD. This trial introduces a bleomycin-free regimen for adult patients with previously untreated Stage III/IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL).1 Also discussed will be the latest data from the North American subset analyses. Presented by: Andrew Evens, DO, MSc, Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ, New Brunswick, New Jersey. To register contact Stacey Dominguez at sdominguez@seagen.com or 310-560-1104
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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.
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