Volume 120, No. 11: November 2024 Edition | |
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They Said It...
“I don’t want to think about the 50 to 100 nights a year that an impassable traffic jam in center city makes it impossible to direct our patients to center city hospitals. I don’t like the idea of ignoring the clear objections of a marginalized community in Chinatown, when there are so many other options to improve the arena where it already stands.” Dr. William King, pediatrician and PCMS board member, speaking on the proposed 76ers arena. You can read more comments from local physicians and learn more in our Fall 2024 Edition of Philadelphia Medicine, available now.
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If you are interested in writing an article for Philadelphia Medicine, please contact us at stat@philamedsoc.org. We are accepting articles for both the newsletter and magazine. | |
Things you should know... | |
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PA Navigate is a statewide network that connects people in Pennsylvania with the health and social care services they need. It can help physicians and medical practices by directing patients with issues such as food, housing, utilities, transportation support and more by just entering the patient’s zip code.
The PA Navigate website is designed to help Pennsylvanians access community resources more easily. PA Navigate is managed by four state-certified Health Information Organizations (in the Philadelphia region, that would be HealthShare Exchange) that work together through the Pennsylvania Patient & Provider Network (P3N). The project is supported by funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS).
By joining PA Navigate, you can become part of a network that shares important information about social needs, referrals, and the status of those referrals, making it easier to address the non-medical needs of your patients. You can sign up at their website.
Check out Cap4Kids as well for up-to-date information about resources and community agencies in the Philadelphia area focused on children and families.
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Final 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule | |
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CMS released the final rule for the 2025 Medicare Physician Payment Schedule. The 2025 Medicare conversion factor will decrease for the fifth straight year by approximately 2.83 percent from $33.2875 to $32.3465. Similarly, the anesthesia conversion factor will be reduced from $20.7739 to $20.3178. This cut is largely the result of the expiration of a 2.93 percent temporary update to the conversion factor at the end of 2024 and a 0 percent baseline update for 2025 under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act.
Unfortunately, these cuts coincide with ongoing growth in the cost to practice medicine as CMS projects the increase in the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) for 2025 will be 3.5 percent. Physician practices cannot continue to absorb increasing costs while their payment rates dwindle. The AMA continues to urge Congress to make statutory changes to improve MIPS and address fundamental problems with the program by eliminating steep penalties that disproportionately hurt small and rural practices, prioritizing access to timely and actionable data, reducing burden, aligning MIPS with facility quality programs, and incentivizing the development and reporting of new clinically relevant quality and cost measures. The text of the final rule can be accessed here.
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Harvey Lefton, MD Passes Away | |
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We at the medical society are very saddened by the sudden loss of Dr. Harvey Lefton. He was a champion of medical causes and served as the PCMS President from 2012-2013 and also on the Board of The Philadelphia County Medical Society; he was a PCMS member for 48+ years. In addition, he continued to be an active delegate to the Pennsylvania Medical Society HOD annual meeting and was the Chairman of the Philadelphia Delegation until just recently. For the last 13 years, Dr. Lefton facilitated the annual PCMS GI conference held each spring which gathers Philadelphia’s top physicians to discuss clinical approaches to patients with gastrointestinal illness. Contributions can be made to help establishing the Dr. Harvey Lefton Memorial GI conference on our website.
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PA Attorney General Sues to Prevent Crozer Service Cuts | |
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Last month, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (OAG) took legal action seeking to prevent Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. (Prospect), the owner of Crozer-Chester Medical Center (Crozer), from terminating several service lines at the Delaware County hospital. If the OAG’s efforts are successful, Prospect will be required to maintain current services for the foreseeable future. Prospect’s recent announcement that it plans to shutter Crozer’s maternity, trauma and burn units on a date after November 20, 2024 precipitated the OAG action. The motion for preliminary injunction and the motion to appoint receiver will take priority, likely in that order. The OAG has asked that the case move forward as quickly as possible. Action by the court can be anticipated to occur in the coming weeks in light of the announced November 20th date for possible reduction of services by Crozer.
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Who are “No Arena Philly Med”? | |
Have You Opted Out of Medicare, Medicaid, and/or the Marketplace? | |
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The Division of Customer Experience Engagement (DCXE) within the Office of Healthcare Experience and Interoperability (OHEI) at CMS is currently conducting a clinician qualitative research engagement focused on understanding factors influencing a physician’s decision to participate or not participate in Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and/or the Marketplace, including but not limited to financial aspects.
DCXE seeks: Psychiatrists, Family medicine, Internal medicine, Obstetrics/gynecology, Plastic and reconstructive surgery and Neurology. To learn more and/or participate reach out directly to Morgan Taylor (morgan.taylor@cms.hhs.gov) and Christina Beach-Baumgartner (christina.beachbaumgartner@cms.hhs.gov).
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PAMED Medical License Renewal Notice | |
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If you use PAMED’s CME products to meet CME requirements for license renewal, please plan to complete your coursework as soon as possible, but no later than Friday, December 20, to ensure that your course completion records can be transferred to the Department of State (child abuse reporting) before the Boards close for the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day and to ensure that you have time to connect with PAMED staff with any questions.
Please also note that the PA Department of State Board of Medicine is no longer printing licenses on hard card stock. They will be on regular paper and they do not do the wallet cards anymore.
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Your Input Needed: Training/Certification Program Feasibility Study | |
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The Penn State College of Medicine and ASERT (Autism Services, Education, Resources, and Training) are conducting a survey to determine the feasibility of developing a training/autism friendly certification program for medical staff and health care providers. The program would indicate to patients that staff within the health care setting are knowledgeable and supportive of people with autism. The survey should take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete and all responses will be kept confidential. The deadline to complete the survey is January 10, 2025.
Click here to take the survey
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CONTRACT CORNER BRIEFS
by Karen E. Davidson, Esquire
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TAIL COVERAGE: DOES YOURS EXPIRE? Physicians should carefully review their contracts and the type of professional liability insurance to understand the level and extent of coverage they will receive, particularly when it comes to extended reporting endorsements, commonly known as tail coverage. Tail coverage is crucial as it provides protection against claims made after a policy ends, covering incidents that occurred while the policy was active. However, many tail policies being purchased today are increasingly limited to the statute of limitations (SOL) period, which may not fully account for the delayed discovery of certain medical issues. This means that if a claim arises beyond this period, physicians may not have adequate (or any) protection, exposing them to financial risk. It is, therefore, incumbent upon physicians to inquire about the duration and specific terms of their tail coverage to ensure they will be adequately safeguarded against future claims.
Private equity firms’ growing influence in healthcare, as highlighted in previous CCB’s, is exacerbating this issue as they increasingly favor SOL limited tail policies. Doing so reduces their long-term financial exposure and shifts liability risk onto physicians who face increased exposure to uncovered claims down the line. This trend underscores the importance for physicians to carefully examine the extent of tail coverage and seek clarification on liability protections.
| The content of “Contract Corner Briefs” has been prepared by Karen E. Davidson, Esq. for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information in this e-newsletter shall not be construed as an offer to represent you, nor is it intended to create, nor shall the receipt of such information constitute, an attorney-client relationship. We hope that you will find the information informative and useful, and we would be delighted to connect you with Karen Davidson. | |
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The Child Abuse Prevention Training Program
Date: Wednesday, November 13
Time: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Our upcoming Child Abuse Prevention Training Program for the 2024 licensing cycle will be taking place on November 13. All physicians renewing their license are required to submit documentation to verify the completion of at least two hours of approved continuing education in child abuse recognition. The program will be conducted as a Zoom video conference. Space is limited.
Register Here
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PAMED November Ethics in Healthcare Session
Date: Thursday, November 14
Time: 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
PAMED is holding a virtual forum on ethics and the corporatization of healthcare. This session will explore how consolidation affects clinician autonomy and will examine economic shifts and the effect of big business on Quintuple Aim.
Click here to register
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PAMED November Membership Matters Call with Altfest Wealth Management
Date: Tuesday, November 26
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Join PAMED Membership Liaisons, Janet Thompson and Avery Krot, to ask questions, learn how to engage, and get the most out of your membership in this virtual orientation. PAMED Partner, Altfest Personal Wealth Management, will share their wide range of services, including public and private investments, risk and insurance management, estate planning, and proactive tax planning.
Click here to register
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