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CMS Ups Seasonal Flu Vaccine Payment - 09/09/2024

On Aug. 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services increased payments to physicians for influenza vaccines and updated which codes physicians should use when billing for the service during the 2024-25 flu season.

Ask “Dr. ChatGPT”: What Physicians Should Know About AI - 08/28/2024

Health care adviser Harvey Castro, MD, details what physicians should know about artificial intelligence.

Beryl-Affected Practices Automatically Eligible for MIPS Hardship Exemption - 08/19/2024

Due to the impact of Hurricane Beryl on Texas physician practices, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has automatically applied a hardship exemption within the 2024 Merit-Based Incentive Payment System performance period to eligible clinicians in “designated” areas.

2023 MIPS Scores, Feedback Now Available - 08/16/2024

With feedback and final scores for the 2023 performance year of Medicare’s Merit-Based Incentive Payment System now available online, Texas Medical Association experts urge physicians to check their scores soon as they will impact 2025 payment.

Medicine Urges 4 Steps to Reform Medicare Pay - 08/13/2024

In the face of an increasingly unsustainable Medicare physician payment system, hundreds of state and national medical associations collectively exhorted congressional leaders to adopt a four-point reform plan they say can “no longer be delayed without severe repercussions for patient access and quality of care.”

TMA Presses Feds to Ensure Medical Database Is Peer-Reviewed, Evidence-Based - 08/08/2024

As the federal government tries to hone the future of its “actionable medical knowledge” database, the Texas Medical Association is urging officials to ensure the tool offers meaningful, evidence-based information to physicians, including with the evolution of artificial intelligence.

HHS Establishes Information-Blocking Disincentives for Clinicians - 08/01/2024

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a final rule that aims to hold health care professionals, including physicians, accountable for information blocking as determined by the HHS Office of Inspector General.

Medicare Proposes Yet Another Physician Pay Cut in 2025 - 07/31/2024

In yet another destabilizing move for physician practices, Medicare on July 10 proposed what amounts to another pay cut for the nation’s physicians in the face of increasing costs, positioning organized medicine for heightened advocacy.

Medicare Premiums, Deductibles to Increase in 2024 - 07/29/2024

Medicare patients will be paying more for their coverage in 2024, which will impact how much co-pay practices collect.

Physicians Can Delegate Breach Notifications to Change Healthcare Following Cyberattack - 06/26/2024

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights announced  May 31 that covered entities – such as health plans, health care clearinghouses, and physicians – affected by privacy breaches stemming from the February cyberattack on Change Healthcare and its parent corporation UnitedHealth Group may delegate breach notifications to both companies.

FTC Mandates Vendors Notify Patients of Breaches in Health Information - 06/24/2024

The Federal Trade Commission has amended its Health Breach Notification Rule to require vendors of personal health records and related entities not covered by HIPAA to notify individuals, the FTC, and, at times, the media, when a breach in protected health information occurs. The change will take effect July 29.

Wanted: AI Experts for TMA Committee - 06/05/2024

As augmented and artificial intelligence dominate headlines, the Texas Medical Association is looking to ensure physicians’ interests are represented and protected.

Virtual Vigilance: Robust Cybersecurity Can Safeguard Practices - 06/04/2024

System blackouts. Ransom notes. Lost revenue. Compromised patient care. Once straight from physicians’ nightmares, these threats are now reality for their practices as cyberattacks infiltrate health care. The more medical practices and health care organizations fall victim to ransomware cyberattacks, the more important it becomes to prevent them.

CMS Adds Cyberattack Option to MIPS Hardship Exemption - 05/30/2024

The option has been added to the Extreme and Uncontrollable Circumstances application. That portal is now open, and physicians have until Dec. 31 to file a hardship application and avoid a 2026 negative payment adjustment in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System. Read more.

ChatGPT Adviser Harvey Castro, MD, Shares AI Insights at TexMed - 05/09/2024

As a Dallas emergency physician, Harvey Castro, MD, began experimenting with ChatGPT – an artificial intelligence chatbot trained on data from the internet to generate human-like responses to text prompts – in November 2022 after asking himself what he’d “want from AI in a hospital setting.”

Innovation for Every Age: Texas Primary Care Physicians Improve Access for Older Patients - 05/06/2024

Texas' population is aging, highlighting the importance of access to high-quality, coordinated primary care that bridges complex systems, various clinicians, and concurrent chronic conditions.

Medicare May Seek Payment Recoupment for 2023 Claims - 04/09/2024

A new report by the Government Accountability Office shows physicians may face possible recoupments – or additional payment – for claims filed in 2023 as a result of over and underpayments by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs.

MedPAC Backs Medicare Physician Payment Increase – Again - 03/26/2024

Echoing advocacy by the Texas Medical Association and others in organized medicine, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recently reupped its recommendation that Congress increase Medicare physician payment by tying such payment to inflation, among other factors.

Congress Mitigates 2024 Medicare Physician Pay Cut - 03/21/2024

Congress recently passed legislation halving the 3.4% Medicare physician pay cut that took effect on Jan. 1, 2024, following a months-long, high-pressure advocacy campaign by the Texas Medical Association, the American Medical Association, and others in organized medicine. But TMA and its allies continue to push for additional reform given that any cut threatens physicians’ practice viability and vulnerable patients’ access to care.

Cyberattack Prompts CMS to Extend 2023 MIPS Flexibilities - 03/19/2024

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced two flexibilities related to Medicare’s Merit-Based Incentive Payment System 2023 performance year, citing the recent cyberattack on Change Healthcare and heeding advocacy by organized medicine.

Medicare Sunsets Beleaguered Appropriate Use Criteria Program - 03/14/2024

After longstanding opposition from the Texas Medical Association and others, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finally nixed the appropriate use criteria program for advanced diagnostic services as part of the 2024 Medicare physician fee schedule.

Feds’ Response to Cyberattack Aids Physicians, But Further Measures Needed - 03/14/2024

Eligible physician practices and others impacted by the recent cyberattack on Change Healthcare now may apply for accelerated and advanced payments for certain Medicare and Medicaid claims.

Medicare to Debut “Stay of Enrollment” Status for Physicians, Others - 03/13/2024

Medicare soon will introduce a “stay of enrollment” status for physicians and others enrolled in the federal program, despite pushback from the Texas Medical Association.

UPDATE: Cyberattack Disrupts Payment and Revenue Cycle Management - 03/12/2024

Physicians using Change Healthcare – a health care technology company that is part of Optum and owned by UnitedHealth Group – may experience claims disruptions after the company experienced a cyberattack on Feb. 21.

CMS Announces Flexibilities Following Cyberattack - 03/12/2024

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced several flexibilities that aim to help physicians in the wake of the cyberattack against Change Healthcare, which upset payment and revenue cycle management operations in pharmacies and health systems across the country.