Advocating for Colorado practices: Colorado Medical Society meets with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

The Colorado Medical Society and Colorado Hospital Association were invited to a dialogue session with the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Pictured with CMS Immediate Past President Mark B. Johnson, MD, MPH, CMS Senior Director of Policy Amy Goodman, and representatives from CHA are federal CMS Principal Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Blum; and Special Advisor Kristiana Yao, representative of the federal CMS Denver regional office. Those in attendance discussed our partnership work and issues in Colorado, including recent successes and challenges. The federal CMS sought to understand how they can best partner with CMS to provide innovative solutions.

Do you receive a group bill from CMS? Renew today!

All practices that have opted in to group billing should have received invoices for 2023 membership. Pay by check by remitting to the address listed on the invoice or if your practice prefers to pay by credit card, call Mihal Sabar, CMS accounting manager, at 720-739-8358. Questions? Has your roster changed? Contact CMS at membership@cms.org or 720-859-1001. Thank you for your help in maintaining your physicians' memberships!

Outbreak of Ebola in Central Uganda poses low risk to U.S.

The CDC issued a Health Alert Network Health Advisory about a recently confirmed outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Uganda caused by the Sudan virus. It summarizes their recommendations for:

• U.S. public health departments and clinicians
• Case identification and testing
• Clinical laboratory biosafety considerations 

No suspected, probable or confirmed EVD cases related to this outbreak have been reported in the U.S. However, as a precaution and to remind clinicians about best practices, they’re communicating with public health departments, public health laboratories, and health care workers to raise awareness.

The CDC and U.S. Department of Homeland Security will screen travelers to the U.S. who have spent time in Uganda in the prior 21 days. CDPHE will assess and monitor travelers to Colorado from Uganda within the preceding 21 days and alert local public health agencies of any people undergoing travel monitoring in their jurisdiction.

CMS joins AMA in urging action on Medicare physician payment

The Colorado Medical Society joined the American Medical Association and many other state medical and specialty societies in alerting House and Senate leaders to the financial instability that Medicare physician payment policies will bring to practices throughout the nation in the coming year.

In the letter, the organizations asked Congress to do the following prior to scheduled Medicare payment cuts taking effect in 2023:



• Extend the Congressionally enacted 3 percent temporary increase in the Medicare physician fee schedule that was intended to offset budget neutrality adjustments for new office visit policies.
• Provide relief for an additional 1.42 percent budget neutrality cut that is planned for 2023 to offset new facility visit policies.
• End the statutory annual freeze and provide an inflation-based update for the coming year.
• Prevent a scheduled 5 percent payment cut for Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs) and the corresponding impossible-to-meet revenue threshold increase at the end of 2022.
• Waive the 4 percent PAYGO sequester triggered by passage of the American Rescue Plan Act.

Read the letter here. Read more information here.

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