SCCMA/MCMS Members Lead at CMA’s Legislative Advocacy Day The California Medical Association kicked off its 44th Annual Legislative Advocacy Day on April 18th. The SCCMA and MCMS has approximately 30 physicians, residents and students who joined over 500 California physicians, residents and medical students to meet with legislators to share their voice and concern over AB 3087. With a record turnout of physician leaders and a unified voice advocating around the potential negative impact of AB 3087, it was a tremendously successful day at the Capitol. The day kicked off with a briefing delivered by Janus Norman, CMA’s ... April 23, 2018 Advocacy Advocacy, Legislative, Physicians, Santa Clara County 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA survey finds rampant health plan payment abuses Despite a California law passed in 2000 to address widespread payment abuses by health care service plans, many payors continue to flout the law. A recent survey by the California Medical Association (CMA) confirms that health plans regularly engage in unfair payment practices, with two-thirds of physician practices reporting routine payment abuses in violation of state law. The Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) has been slow to address provider complaints and has taken few enforcement actions against health plans that unlawfully underpay providers. When DMHC has acted, the penalty ... April 10, 2018 DMHC, Insurance Department of Managed Healthcare, DMHC, unfair payment practices 0 0 Comment Read More »
House passes 'right to try' drug bill The House passed “right to try” legislation on experimental drugs largely along party lines Wednesday, sending a bill backed by President Trump to the Senate. Last week, House Republican leaders put the bill on the floor under suspension of the rules. Democrats objected, expressing safety concerns over how the measure would bypass the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and it fell short of the necessary two-thirds support it needed. Read More March 22, 2018 legislation, Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
The Other Opioid Crisis: Hospital Shortages Lead To Patient Pain, Medical Errors Even as opioids flood American communities and fuel widespread addiction, hospitals are facing a dangerous shortage of the powerful painkillers needed by patients in acute pain, according to doctors, pharmacists and a coalition of health groups. Read More... March 19, 2018 Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Raise taxes or ration health care? Why single-payer won't work in California. Yet Betty Doumas-Toto's health insurance premium rose nearly 48 percent in January, to $800 per month for an Affordable Care Act plan. She and her husband are both Los Angeles freelancers in the film industry and are draining their savings trying to keep up with their monthly payments. A Pomona mother of five named Claudia, who is undocumented, can't get health insurance because of her immigration status. She's losing her hearing, but can't afford tests a doctor ordered because the costs are too high. At an elder care home in the Sacramento ... March 13, 2018 Insurance 0 0 Comment Read More »
