California Oncology Weekly
"Where California Oncologists Go For Answers!"
A publication of the
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc.
September 15, 2020
|
|
Click anywhere on picture to view the past 30 years |
|
-
Contact Gov. Newsom TODAY to sign AB 2100 (Wood) California News
-
Feedback due Oct. 1 on DHCS’ proposed changes to managed care plan contracts. California News
-
Comments on value of CAR-T Cell Therapies are due this Thursday National News
|
|
- September is Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month. MOASC Board member, Dr. Joshua Mansour, specializes in treating these two diseases. Learn more from Dr. Mansour here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Am5_gBl-E/.
- The MOASC Board of Directors unanimously approved the slate of new officers, term beginning January 1, 2021. The Board thanks and proudly announces:
President – Ashkan Lashkari, M.D., Wellness Oncology & Hematology, West Hills
Vice-Present – Lawrence Piro, M.D., Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Angeles Clinic, Los Angeles
Vice-President/Treasurer – Kevin Chang, M.D., Ventura County Hematology Oncology Specialists, Oxnard
Vice-President/Secretary – Joshua Mansour, M.D., City of Hope & Southern California Permanente Medical Group
- “Congratulations to all the officers, past officers, executive committee and board, as well as all the members and sponsors who have helped patients and oncologists to improve cancer care in California and the nation. I hope this progress continues as we reinvent care with COVID restrictions. MOASC will stand with all stakeholders to foster improved care and outcomes. Thanks to everyone for this journey!” Cary Presant MD, FACP, FASCO, Emeritus Chair and Past President of MOASC, Clinical Professor at City of Hope.
- Are you aware that Anthem Blue Cross is requiring HMO & PPO patients to obtain certain oncology drugs from CVS Pharmacies? MOASC is interested hear from practices who are, and how you are, affected by this policy change. Please contact the MOASC Office moasc@moasc.org with your information. Thank you.
|
* MOASC PROGRAMS - SAVE THE DATES
All times are Pacific
- Thursday, October 8, 2020 5:30PM-6:30PM-PDT - MOASC Clinical Webinar
Title: “It’s Precisely the Time for More Precision in Genomic Testing and Targeted Treatment of NSCLC”
Presented by: Jacob Sands, M.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Description: In this activity, oncology experts discuss 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 is explored.
Provider Statement: This CME/MOC/CC/CNE/CPE activity is jointly provided by Medical Learning Institute, Inc. and PVI, PeerView Institute for Medical Education.
Support Statement: This activity is supported by independent educational grants from AstraZeneca, EMD Serono, Inc., Lilly, and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.
- Wednesday, 11/04/20, 12:00pm to 3:00pm - MOASC Virtual Oncology Administrator program will cover: Patient Access Strategy for your practice; Optimize Cash Flow; and Telemedicine.
- Thursday, 11/12/20, 12:00pm to 3:00pm – MOASC Virtual Oncology Biller program will cover: Medicare Updates on COVID Coding Changes/telehealth updates, Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Outpatient Prospective Payment System, How to prepare for a MAC/RAC Audit, 2021 changes to E&M coding, data from PracticeNET and CancerLinQ, as well as Guide for Cancer Care Delivery.
Forthcoming Current Procedural Terminology codes for in-office and outpatient evaluation and management will be based on medical decision making or total time spent, including time spent on preparation, care coordination and similar tasks performed on the date of service. However, the CMS will still require complete documentation of medical necessity. For further information on these programs, please e-mail moasc@moasc.org.
|
|
- The California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) has extended two waivers that give flexibility to physicians with expiring licenses. Under the new waiver extension, physicians with licenses that expire between March 31, 2020, and October 31, 2020, will have six months after the public health emergency is lifted to complete their required CME. You can read the full waivers and see a list of current waivers on the DCA website
- People in Kern County, diagnosed with COVID-19, who are managing the illness at home, can participate in a clinical trial to test the efficacy of a common anti-inflammatory drug in reducing hospitalizations and death from the coronavirus. To enroll in the trial or obtain more information, contact Ritika Sharma at rsharma@centrichcare.com or call 323-8384 or 747-5795.
Patients must be enrolled within 24 hours of diagnosis or receipt of positive COVID-19 test result.
- Feedback is due by October 1, 2020 on the DHCS’ proposed changes to managed care plan contracts. On September 1, 2020, DHCS released a Request for Information (RFI) 20-001 to seek input from interested parties. Information is posted on the DHCS website. If you have any questions about this RFI, email CSBRFP8@dhcs.ca.gov.
- The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has launched a new program to improve Medi-Cal provider access to and use of health information exchange technology. The California Health Information Exchange Onboarding Program (Cal-HOP) invests $50 million statewide to address the cost of connecting individual provider organizations and hospitals to Qualified Health Information Organizations (HIO). For more information, please contact CalHIPSO at deeanne@calhipso.org, who will connect you with longtime CalHIPSO partners throughout the state who are poised to assist you, at no cost, with the first steps of onboarding with a CalHOP Qualified HIO.
- The National Center for Healthcare Leadership gave its 2020 Bold Awards for Best Organizations for Leadership Development to 10 health systems. Among them is Children's Hospital Los Angeles who received a Bold Award, and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif. is acknowledged as a designee of their Programs of Distinction.
|
|
Noridian News
- Upcoming Educational Events - September 2020.
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.
- Billing and Coding: MolDX: Minimal Residual Disease Testing for Colorectal Cancer
This coverage article has been created and published for notice under contract numbers: 01112 (NCA), 01182 (SCA), 01212 (AS, GU, HI, NMI), and 01312 (NV). Read the complete update
- Part A Ask the Contractor Teleconference (ACT) - Prior Authorization - September 16, 2020. This event includes: Presubmitted Questions, Prior Authorization Updates, and Open Question and Answer Read the complete update.
- Rebuttal, Reconsiderations and CAPs Webinar - September 16, 2020. This event includes: What is the Rebuttal Process, What is a Reconsideration Request, What is a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) Read the complete update.
- Evaluation and Management (E/M) Modifiers - After Hours Webinar - September 29, 2020. This event includes: Basics of E/M modifiers, Supporting documentation, Knowledge assessment, Resources Read the complete update.
- Required Use for Telephone Re-openings - Effective October 1, 2020
Starting on October 1, 2020. Noridian will require providers to use the Noridian Medicare Portal (NMP) for all Re-openings that are available through Self-Service Re-openings. Read the complete update.
- Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage. Thursday, October 8, 2020 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM PDT
CMS News
- Claim Status Category and Claim Status Codes Updates. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires all covered entities to use only Claim Status Category Codes and Claim Status Codes approved by the National Code Maintenance Committee in the ASC X12 276/277 Health Care Claim Status Request and Response transaction standards adopted under HIPAA for electronically submitting health care claims status requests and responses. These codes explain the status of submitted claim(s). Proprietary codes may not be used in the ASC X12 276/277 transactions to report claim status. Read the complete update
- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center is announcing the Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) Model (or the “Model”). The approximately 57 million Americans living in rural communities, including millions of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, face unique challenges when seeking health care services, such as limited transportation options, shortages of health care services, and an inability to fully benefit from technological and care-delivery innovations. Read the complete update
- President Donald Trump signed an executive order designed to lower drug prices by linking prices paid by Medicare to prices paid in other countries. The executive order replaces an order issued in July, and it applies to drugs purchased under Medicare Part B and Part D. Experts say it is unclear whether the White House could carry out the directive.
|
|
- Open Input is now being accepted until THIS THURSDAY, September 17, 2020, 2pm Pacific, for the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) assessment of the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of CAR-T Cell Therapies, specifically, idecabtagene vicleucel (Bristol-Myers Squibb, bluebird bio) and ciltacabtagene autoleucel (Johnson & Johnson, Legend Biotech Corp) for the treatment of multiple myeloma. An FDA decision on idecabtagene vicleucel is expected in early 2021. A BLA submission for ciltacabtagene autoleucel is expected by end of 2020. The report will be a subject of the Midwest CEPAC meeting in April 2021. You will recall on September 2, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released updates to the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule for fiscal year 2021, finalizing its proposal to establish a Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Group (MS-DRG) for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T). ICER's website provides timelines of key posting dates and public comment periods for this assessment. An Open Input is intended to allow stakeholders to share key information relevant to the development of the evidence report. ICER has also contacted key patient groups and clinical experts to gain further insights on the patient perspective and clinical context of treating multiple myeloma.
- To those physicians who have been practicing for greater than 15 years…remember carrying “loads” of patient charts in the trunk or back of your car to work on at home, only to forget or lose some in the transportation? So do we…This scenario is no different and, once again, a cautionary tale. A briefcase containing two personal USB storage drives stolen from a physician's car contained personal information of 4,056 Moffitt Cancer Center patients, including names, birth dates, medical record numbers and some information about their medical treatment but not Social Security numbers or financial data. Officials say there is no evidence patient data was misused, and they are reviewing the center's data protection policies.
|
- Patients communicate symptoms to their care team enabling care managers to identify patients who need help. As a result, care managers helped patients control their chronic condition from home resulting in a 1.15% average reduction in A1c. This information should be a strong consideration for use with your chemo. patients and keeping them out of the ED with adverse effects of treatment. Download the white paper to learn more.
|
- In an industry plagued by burnout, hospitals and health systems are using telehealth to give providers virtual access to mental health counselors - and to make their jobs less stressful.
|
|
Affiliate Association News |
ANCO News
- The Association of Northern California Oncologists (ANCO) continues to monitor the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and is committed to providing the membership the best possible information with which to make clinical and personal well-being decisions. https://anco.org/anco-covid-19-updates-resources/
We encourage member practices to let ANCO know of COVID-19 resources they are depending upon and found useful and how they are responding to COVID-19 and serving their patients and staff at director@anco.org (Use Subject: COVID-19: RESPONSE). Thanks!
- ANCO physician members, their practice staff, and representatives from ANCO's corporate members must register to access password-protected content (e.g., The ANCO Directory, ANCO meeting materials) on the ANCO website www.anco.org.
- 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
Implicit Bias and Health Equity, Thursday, September 24, at 11:00am Pacific. In this webinar, Drs. Lachelle Weeks and Joseph Telfair will discuss the topic of implicit bias and healthy equity. The speakers will address the grounding and operational definitions of implicit or unconscious bias, how unconscious bias and racism appear in hematology, and actionable recommendations going forward. This webinar is designed to elicit a conversation on this important topic.
|
ASCO News
- Conquer Cancer, seeks nominations for an Extraordinary Woman Mentor for their Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award. Please submit your nomination by October 30, 2020.
|
|
- The September ASCO Practice Leadership call will be held on Thursday, September 17, 2020 from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Pacific. During the call, ASCO staff will discuss evaluation & management (E&M) codes for 2021. Register for the webinar, along with other webinars in the ASCO Practice Leadership series. Bookmark ASCO Practice Central to stay up to date on 2021 E&M changes.
NCCN News
NCCN has published updates to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) and NCCN Drugs & Biologics Compendium (NCCN Compendium®) for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, Version 2.2021 AND Cutaneous Melanoma, Version 4.2020.
|
|
- Premier Alternate Site Programs is conducting a survey to understand how healthcare providers’ PPE purchasing needs have changed over the past several months, and how they may change moving forward. This survey will also better help Premier determine if there is sufficient need and interest to pursue additional sourcing opportunities for our members. We sincerely appreciate the feedback from our members via this survey. The survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. We ask that you respond to it as soon as you are able so that we can collect this important data. Your individual data will be kept confidential and not shared outside of Premier. Thank you in advance for your critical input.
|
|
- BeiGene USA Inc., cordially invites MOASC Members to their upcoming webinar for a valuable discussion on the trial data for newly-approved BRUKINSATM in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), as well as a review of its dosage and administration. Presented by: Elizabeth Brem, M.D., UCI, Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Healthcare professionals including hematologist oncologists, medical oncologists, pharmacists, PAs, NPs, and RNs are encouraged to participate in this valuable dialogue. Please RSVP to Shelley Brown at shelley.brown@beigene.com or (805) 279-8800.
- Astellas Pharma US, cordially invites MOASC Members to their upcoming webinar to discuss XOSPATA® (gilteritinib): A Targeted Therapeutic Approach for Relapsed or Refractory FLT3m+ AML Patients (077-0621-PM) on Thursday, September 24, 2020 at 6:00 PM-PDT. Presented by: Gary Schiller, MD. Register before September 21, 2020.
|
|
- MOASC Members, ACT NOW AND SAVE! Effective October 1, 2020, pricing for GAMUNEX®-C (Immune Globulin Injection [Human), 10% Caprylate/Chromatography Purified) under Grifols USA, Inc. will increase. CLICK HERE for detailed product and pricing information. For more information about our agreement with Grifols, please contact your Innovatix representative at (888) 258-3273.
- Agios Pharmaceuticals, cordially invites MOASC Members 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 on Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 6:00 PM-PDT. Presented by: Gary Schiller, MD, Professor of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA Ronald Reagan, UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA.
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
