3.19.2010   In a developement that could be significant for the future of medicine in Louisiana, nearly 60 percent of the graduates of LSU's medical schools in New Orleans and Shreveport learned Thursday that they will be undergoing further training in the state.  Read the entire article by John Pope in the Times-Picayune.

 

3.17.2010   State health chief Alan Levine told lawmakers Tuesday that he is uncertain how he would handle further budget cuts this fiscal year. “It will be a blend of really thinking through what the options are, doing a little prayer,” said Levine, secretary of the state Department Health and Hospitals. Lower than expected tax collections — possibly $400 million less — may force lawmakers to once again trim the state budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30. They recently lopped $248 million from the current year’s $29 billion budget. Read the entire story by Michelle Millhollon with The Advocate.

3.15.2010  Settlement Update: Although Humana's multi-district litigation class action Settlement Agreement officially terminated on Oct. 19, 2009, Humana has voluntarily agreed to continue to abide by many of the most important terms of the Settlement Agreement in an effort to foster continued communication with physicians and transparency of the payment process. The Physicians Advocacy Institute Inc. (PAI) and Humana executives met with attorneys for several of the state medical associations represented on PAI's Board to finalize the business plan. As a result of these discussions, Humana has agreed to maintain several key Settlement provisions in effect, including: (1) 90 days' advance written notice prior to implementing material adverse changes, including fee schedule reductions; (2) use of the clinical definition of medical necessity as spelled out verbatim in the Settlement Agreement; (3) use of the coding rules required by the Settlement Agreement; and (4) 18-month limitation on seeking overpayment recovery. The AMA commends PAI for its efforts on behalf of physicians and Humana for its willingness to continue to abide by many of its Settlement Agreement provisions. Physicians can visit www.ama-assn.org/go/settlements to access a document listing these provisions to ensure that Humana adheres to these commitments.

2.18.2010  Physicians have until March 17 to change their Medicare participation or nonparticipation status for this year, meaning that doctors who have not already changed their status still can do so and those who made a change can still retract it. Because the decision would be retroactive, those who switch from "nonparticipation" to "participation" would have to refund any balance billing collected from their patients between Jan. 1 and their new decision date. To help ensure that physicians are making informed decisions about their contractual relationships with the Medicare program, the AMA has developed a document that explains the current situation with respect to Medicare payment updates for 2010 and the various participation options that are available to physicians. The purpose of the document is to ensure that physicians are fully aware of the Medicare participation options they have, and the AMA does not advise or recommend any one of the three options described there. Visit http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/399/med-par-options.pdf to view the document.

2.10.2010  Caroline Abreu will never take her health for granted. The Natchitoches resident has been receiving medication since 2006 from the Cenla Medication Access Program, a Rapides Foundation initiative. Starting with covering the nine Central Louisiana parishes served by the Rapides Foundation, based in Alexandria, the program expanded by 30 parishes in 2008 after forming a partnership with the Louisiana Bureau of Primary Care and Rural Health. In November, CMAP started covering the entire state. Read the entire article by Jeff Matthews with The Town Talk (Alexandria).