CMA Calls for Cutting Waste from Medi-Cal, Using Savings to Fund Health Care for Children
Contact:
Andrew LaMar
916-444-5532 

Sacramento - The California Medical Association praised state lawmakers for ordering an audit of Medi-Cal's costly Treatment Authorization Request (TAR) process today and said the state should streamline the program and use the savings to pay for health care for children.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 21, 2009

CMA to Governor: Medi-Cal Cuts a Step in Wrong Direction
Contact:
Andrew LaMar
(916) 444-5532

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) just voted to delay implementation of the Red Flags Rule until August 1, 2009.  The AMA will utilize this time to convince the FTC and Congress that physicians are not "creditors" and therefore should not be subject to this rule.

Redefining A Dream
Local Pediatrician Seeks Support For African Hospital

Teresa Hammond

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THE ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE recently passed by Congress included $19 billion for health information technology (HIT), the vast majority of which will be directed to physicians to subsidize the purchase and usage of Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems. Qualifying Medicare providers stand to gain up to $44,000 under the program; qualifying Medi-Cal providers stand to receive as much as $65,000. These funds are predicated on physicians using EHRs, so practices and groups that already have purchased EHR systems can also qualify for funds.

In all the conversations about HIT over the years, this is the first real effort to steer substantial resources to physicians to help them with the adoption of technologies to help streamline and improve their practices. CMA has long advocated for such direct assistance, which is critical to physicians' ability to afford these systems, particularly for solo and small practice doctors. Without physician input, these funds may have been steered through hospitals or health insurers, or not allocated at all.

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