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Virginia Academy of Sleep Medicine ~ Member Alert
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Legislative Alert
Legislative Alert from the MSV:
Dear Colleague,
What a remarkable legislative session this turned out to be!
Following our legislative success on issues like the medical
malpractice cap and securing protections for privileged information,
the session concluded with the news that the General Assembly was
able to eliminate the scheduled four percent cut to Medicaid provider
rates for physicians. This is a tremendous outcome for our patients
and practices throughout the commonwealth.
The Medical Society of Virginia's (MSV) participation in a broad
coalition of provider groups helped secure $64.5 million in
reimbursement for Medicaid providers. Spreading a uniform message
that cuts to Medicaid hurt patients and jobs across Virginia,
dentists, nursing homes and inpatient hospital services were also
spared from the four percent cuts. In approving revisions to
Virginia's year budget yesterday, however, the General Assembly did
not eliminate all of the Medicaid cuts. Four percent cuts to hospital
outpatient, hospital capital and nursing home capital payments will
still go into effect July 1.
Other health care-related items funded in the final budget include:
- $5
million to support the expansion of research activities at the
Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center in
Richmond.
- $3
million to support the University of Virginia Emily Couric
Clinical Cancer Center in Charlottesville.
- $3
million for Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk to
support core instructional requirements for medical and health
profession students.
- $1
million for Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in
Norfolk.
- $30
million to establish a Behavioral Health Trust Fund which will
be used to transition intellectually and developmentally
disabled individuals from institutional care to community-based
settings in an effort to address the findings of the U.S.
Department of Justice that Virginia is inappropriately treating
many individuals in institutions. The budget also funds 425
Medicaid waiver slots to help these individuals move into
community settings.
- $4.6
million to connect health systems to the health information
exchange (HIE), ensure that providers can implement technology
needed to produce and use electronic health records (EHRs),
establish a web-based portal for determining eligibility for
Medicaid applications, and pay for Medicaid participation in the
HIE.
- $20
million to implement the Medicaid incentive program for adoption
of EHRs. Initial incentive payments to providers will be made in
fiscal year 2012, which starts July 1, 2011.
- $250,000
to support the Office of Health Care Reform under the leadership
of Secretary of Health and Human Resources William A. Hazel Jr.,
M.D. to coordinate the planning and implementation of state and
federal reform efforts.
- Mandated
electronic claims submission and payment, which will require
claims submissions and provider payments to be processed
electronically as a condition of participation in Medicaid and
FAMIS. New providers will be required to follow these new
provisions beginning Oct. 1, 2011, followed by an expansion to
all existing providers by July 1, 2012. A process to exempt
providers from this mandate, if necessary, may be created.
- Expansion
of Medicaid managed care programs for mental health care
coordination.
I
am extremely grateful for your support throughout the General
Assembly session in helping us convince legislators to eliminate the
Medicaid physician payment cuts. Your personal visits during White
Coats on Call days, your e-mails and your phone calls made a
difference. This week I will be sending personal letters to the
budget negotiators who secured this outcome for us. Their agreement
on the budget proves their concern for maintaining access to care for
Virginia citizens and acknowledges the economic impact of the
practice of medicine in the commonwealth.
Sincerely,
Cynthia C.
Romero, M.D., FAAFP
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2011 VASM Conference
SAVE THE DATE!
2011 VASM Conference
November 4, 2011
Hilton Richmond
Hotel & Spa at Short Pump
More details
coming soon. Questions? Call Society Manager, Susan McConnell,
at 804.643.6631 or email her at smcconnell@ramdocs.org
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Virginia
Academy of Sleep Medicine
2201 West Broad Street, Suite 205
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