[MMA News Now, July 29, 2010] The Minnesota Medicaid Drug Utilization Review (DUR) board is currently seeking to add two additional physician-members.

[ABA Health, July 22] The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) calls for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to significantly increase the scope of the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program by the end of 2010.

[MMA News Now, July 23, 2010] The MMA has officially endorsed the “Healthcare Truth and Transparency Act of 2010.” This bill would make it illegal for any healthcare provider to make statements or engage in advertising and marketing efforts that would lead the public to believe that the healthcare provider had greater training or education than he or she actually had. The bill also calls for the Federal Trade Commission to determine the current prevalence of such false advertising. The legislation is being sponsored by U.S. Reps. John Sullivan of Oklahoma and David Scott of Georgia.

[Star Tribune, July 21, 2010] A study at United Hospital in St. Paul found that patients who suffer heart attacks get faster care and are more likely to survive if they are taken directly to a hospital catheter lab by the ambulance crew. This system requires specially trained paramedics who can diagnose heart attacks on their own without the aid of emergency room professionals.

[ABC News, July 16, 2010] The Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee of the FDA voted 10-6 against recommending new diet drug Qnexa, noting that there is a lack of data about the drug’s cardiovascular effects.

[MMA News Now, July 15, 2010] The Minnesota Medical Association has signed on as a supporter of Senator Franken’s Healthy Kids All the Time Act.

[MMA News Now, July 15, 2010] A panel of state lawmakers met Wednesday to examine the federal health care overhaul and Minnesota's efforts to provide health care to more people.

[MMA News Now, July 15, 2010] The MMA recently announced its support for the Minnesota Department of Health’s plan for developing health information exchange in Minnesota.

[MMA NEWS NOW, July 15] The Obama Administration unveiled a national HIV/AIDS strategy Tuesday.

[MMA News Now, July 15, 2010] The MMA released its letter to Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Commissioner Sanne Magnan, M.D. regarding the 2011 Minnesota Statewide Quality Reporting and Measurement System.

[MMA News Now, July 15, 2010] The Obama administration, in conjunction with the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury, released new regulations Wednesday about the coverage of preventive services by private health plans.

According to the new rules, new health insurance plans, starting on or after September 23, 2010, must now cover many preventive health services without requiring copayment, coinsurance, or a deductible, as part of the recent health reform law.

[MMA News Now, July 15, 2010] The MMA submitted comments to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) regarding proposed amendments to workers’ compensation rules governing medical services and fees, penalties, and certified managed care. Of particular concern is an amendment that would allow certified managed care plans to negotiate health care provider reimbursement rates. The MMA is strongly discouraging the DLI from adopting them.

[MMA News Now, July 15, 2010] The Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday released the much-anticipated final rules for “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHR).

[MMA News Now, July 8, 2010] President Obama appointed Donald Berwick, M.D., Wednesday to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

[MMA News Now, July 8, 2010] The deadline for the submission of reports and resolutions for the Minnesota Medical Association’s Annual Meeting is fast approaching.The deadline for submitting an application to become a delegate has been extended, so all members are encouraged to fill out the delegate interest form. All reports and resolutions must be proposed to the MMA by Friday, July 9, 2010.

[MMA News Now, July 8, 2010] Minnesota law now requires that as of July 1, 2010, every clinical setting that moves patients must have a plan in place for safely handling patients. 

[MMA News Now, July 8, 2010] Honoring Choices Minnesota, a community collaborative in the area of advance care planning, is holding an event on Tuesday, July 20th.

[MMA News Now, July 6, 2010] The MMA and the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) called for Gov. Tim Pawlenty or the state’s next governor to expand the state’s Medicaid program in a commentary published in the opinion section of the Star Tribune. 

[MMA News Now, July 1, 2010] Minnesota was revealed this week as the 32nd most obese state in the country.

[MMA News Now, July 1, 2010] The “Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010,” seeks, among other things, to bring more consistency to what is known as the “3-day payment window.” The law, which was signed into effect on June 25, 2010 by President Obama, seeks to bring Medicare billing policy into alignment with traditional hospital billing practices that have been established since 1991.

[MMA News Now, July 1, 2010] The recent Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 mandated a 2.2 percent increase to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for services performed Between June 1, 2010, and November 30, 2010. In light of this, the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) is offering physicians and other practitioners who are currently non-participating, the opportunity to gain participating status.

[MMA News Now, July 1, 2010]  Minnesota mental health care providers showed a slight improvement in quality of care compared to one year ago, according to a study by the non-profit health care organizations MN Community Measurement and the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement.

[MMA News Now, July 1, 2010] Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Wednesday decided not to appoint any independent, actively-practicing, physicians to a 14-member task force to help implement federal health care legislation.

[Star Tribune, July 1, 2010] Twin Cities hospitals and nurses say they have reached an agreement to avert a strike that was scheduled to begin next week.

[MMA News Now, July 1, 2010] The MMA’s effort to reduce the paper work associated with pay for performance programs is paying off.

[MMA News Now, June 28, 2010] President Obama on Friday signed a law canceling a pay cut for Medicare physicians and replacing it with a 2.2 percent pay increase.

[MMA News Now, June 23, 2010] Oncologists are warning that the failure of Congress to address 21 percent Medicare reimbursement cuts due to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula will devastate the country's cancer delivery system and force many oncology practices to stop accepting new Medicare patients.

[MMA News Now, June 24, 2010] The Minnesota Medical Association, in partnership with the Twin Cities Medical Society (TCMS) and the Minnesota Medical Group Management Association (MMGMA), has completed its annual review and summary of the 2010 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota (BCBS) Aware Provider Service Agreement. As part of that review process, the MMA indentified a concerning provision that we want to bring to your attention.

[MMA News Now, June 24, 2010] Rishi Kumar, 2010 Chair of the Minnesota Medical Association Medical Students Section (MMA-MSS) has been awarded a Mortar Board Fellowship, a $5,000 award.

[USA Today, June 16, 2010] The Food and Drug Administration launched a website Tuesday where patients and health care professionals can find safety information about recently approved drugs and vaccines.

[MMA News Now, June 24, 2010] The MMA is seeking members to volunteer on its committees for three-year terms beginning January 2011. Service on a committee provides an opportunity for member input on key policy issues.

[MMA News Now, June 24, 2010] A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that it was likely that the House would pass a stand alone bill that would spare doctors from cuts in Medicare payments, according to news reports

[MMA News Now, June 23, 2010] The MMA opposes Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s decision to pass up more than $1.48 billion in federal funds by stopping the state from participating in the early Medicaid enrollment contained in the new federal health care law.

[Star Tribune, June 19, 2010] After a week of partisan wrangling, the Senate on Friday passed legislation to spare doctors a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments looming for months. But the last-ditch effort came too late.

[MMA News Now, June 21, 2010] David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, took time during the 2010 Minnesota E-Health Summit to field questions from doctors about the implementation of electronic health record (EHR) technology.

[MMA News Now, June, 17, 2010] Every U.S. state medical society and more than 35 specialty societies signed a statement on June 16 urging Congress to deal with Medicare’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.

[MMA News Now, June 17, 2010] MMA Members serving as Delegates and Alternate Delegates to the American Medical Association attended the AMA Annual Meeting June 12-15 in Chicago. Blanton Bessinger, M.D., MMA member and pediatric cardiologist from St. Paul, Minn., was re-elected to the AMA Council on Constitution and Bylaws at the meeting. Although John Van Etta, M.D., MMA member and internist from Duluth, was not successful in his bid for election to the AMA Board of Trustees, he was praised for his innovative campaign.

[USA Today, June 16, 2010] The Food and Drug Administration launched a website Tuesday where patients and health care professionals can find safety information about recently approved drugs and vaccines.

[Star Tribune, June 16, 2010] Virtually certain of losing a showdown vote in the Senate, Democrats frustrated in their quest to extend jobless benefits and help for doctors facing Medicare payment cuts are scaling back a catchall tax and spending bill.

[MMA News Now, June 16, 2010] Do more than belong—get involved! MMA members help shape the future of medicine, and one of the most effective ways to do that is by serving on an MMA committee. For 2011, all MMA committees have been redesigned to focus on key issues and more effectively engage members in shaping policy and setting priorities.

[MMA News Now, June 16, 2010] St. Paul-based Emergency and Community Health Outreach (ECHO) is making its 20-minute “Understanding Colon Cancer” video available to MMA members free of charge. The presentation is available in English, Somali, Spanish, Lao, and Hmong.

[MMA News Now, June 16, 2010] The Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety’s (MAPS) annual conference will be held November 4 and 5 at The Northland Inn in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Physicians, administrators, and other health care professionals interested in improving patient safety in all clinical settings are encouraged to attend.

[MMA News Now, June 16, 2010] The walls of Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare are a lot more colorful thanks to Karolyn Stirewalt, Policy Counsel at the Minnesota Medical Association.

[MMA News Now, June 3, 2010] According to a report released by the Minnesota Department of Health on June 2, spending on health care in Minnesota increased to $35 billion in 2008. This represented an increase of 5.7 percent from the $33 billion that was spent on health care in 2007.

[Rochester Post-Bulletin, June 4, 2010] Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius toured Mayo Clinic on Thursday June 4, 2010 along with Mayo Clinic President John Noseworthy, M.D., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Al Franken, Rep. Tim Walz and, from Wisconsin, Rep. Ron Kind.

[MMA News Now, June 10, 2010] The Minnesota Nurses Association launched Thursday what has been billed as the largest nursing strike in American history.

[MMA News Now, June 10, 2010] Some slight revisions were made to the MMA's endorsed version of the Provider Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form, which is a signed medical order form that communicates the patient’s end-of-life health care wishes to other health care providers during an emergency. 

[Brainerd Dispatch, June 2, 2010] While the state did restore General Assistance Medical Care for adults without dependent children, the new rules effective June 1 for the program will make it much more difficult for outstate residents to participate, according to Cass County Health, Human and Veterans Services Director Ane Rogers.

[Start Tribune, June 6, 2010] County officials across Minnesota say they could improve medical care for as many as 5,000 poor, disabled Minnesotans -- adrift in a cobbled-together state health program that took effect under a change in state law last week -- by shifting patients into the state-federal Medicaid program.

[MMA News Now, June 8, 2010] An AMA physician survey shows that many physicians are already limiting the number of Medicare patients they treat.

 [MMA News Now, June 3, 2010] The MMA wants to hear how the new rules for General Assistance Medical Care enrollees are affecting your patients and your practice. The new rules that eliminate fee-for-service payments for GAMC enrollees started June 1.

[MMA News Now, June 10, 2010] Congress failed to stop a 21 percent Medicare cut for the third time this year.

[MMA News Now, May 27, 2010] The House may vote Thursday evening on a bill that would stop a 21 percent Medicare cut from going into effect June 1.

[MMA News Now, May 27, 2010]  The Federal Trade Commission has, for the fifth time, agreed to delay enforcement of the “Red Flags” Rule through December 31, 2010.  During that time, Congress may consider legislation that would affect the scope of entities covered by the Rule.  The Rule became effective on January 1, 2008, with full compliance for all covered entities originally required by November 1, 2008. 

[MMA News Now, May 26, 2010] The Regional Extension Assistance Center for HIT (REACH)—the federal HIT regional extension center—is holding informational calls to help clinics learn about how they can implement health information technology systems and receive bonus payments from the federal government.

[New York Times, May 24, 2010] An alternative to CPAP machines may be throat exercises.

[MMA News Now, May 27, 2010] The American Medical Association released its “Health Insurer Code of Conduct Principles” Tuesday calling on all U.S. health insurance companies to adopt consistent corporate practices that will bring transparency and accountability to the multibillion-dollar health insurance industry.
 

[MMA News Now, May 26, 2010] MMA CEO Robert Meiches, M.D., recently joined with about 60 other health care stakeholders to discuss the future of accountable care organizations in Minnesota.

[MMA News Now, May 19, 2010] The 2010 legislative session was dominated by the need to erase a nearly $3 billion budget deficit. It was in this legislative environment that the MMA set out to achieve three major goals: limit reimbursement cuts, save the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program, and improve the state’s peer grouping initiative.

[MMA News Now, May 18, 2010] The following is a summary of what happened to some of the bills the MMA was monitoring during the 2010 Legislative session.

[MMA News Now, May 19, 2010] Medical clinics should have a few more rights the next time they negotiate contracts with health plans because of contracting legislation passed during the 2010 legislative session.

[MMA News Now, May 20, 2010]  The American Medical Association on Tuesday flatly rejected a bid by Congress to give physicians back-to-back years of higher Medicare payments followed by a $500 billion tab. 

[MMA News Now, May 17, 2010] The 2010 Legislative Session came to an end Monday with lawmakers passing a budget that cut medical service payments and failed to take advantage of more than $1 billion of available federal health care funds.

[MMA News Now,  May 14, 2010] - Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed a peer grouping bill Thursday evening that the MMA worked with lawmakers to introduce and get passed.

[MMA News Now, May 13, 2010] Mercury is still Minnesota's main chemical of concern when it comes to eating fish, according to a new study about perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOs).

[MMA News Now, May 13, 2010] DFL lawmakers added substantial last-minute cuts to payments for medical services in the final health care budget bill that passed Wednesday.

[Washington Post, May 12, 2010] Michelle Obama revealed results of the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity: a 124-page report laying out 70 recommendations and a gentle warning that, while the federal government can't solve the obesity epidemic, it is prepared to take action where others don't.

[Star Tribune, May 12, 2010] House and Senate conferees reached agreement early Wednesday on another piece of Minnesota's budget puzzle, a bill that would preserve the state's core health and human services programs while cutting $114 million in the current budget cycle and another $155 million in 2012-13.

[Star Tribune, May 12, 2010] The evidence is strong that GAMC, the safety-net health care program Pawlenty tore down with a veto last May 14, has not been adequately rebuilt. The federal government is tossing Minnesota what is literally a lifeline for thousands of this state's most vulnerable citizens. Pawlenty may want to move to a larger political arena, but he is still Minnesota's governor. With Berglin's help, he ought to catch that line.

[American Medical News, May 10, 2010] Physician ratings program soon will go into effect in California -- but without the support of the state medical association.

[MMA News Now, May 11, 2010] The MMA is urging physicians to contact lawmakers to tell them that not to cut payments for medical services.

[MMA News Now, May 10, 2010] Physicians, nurses, hospitals and advocates for low-income Minnesotans joined together Monday to urge Gov. Tim Pawlenty and lawmakers to shift individuals in General Assistance Medical Care program to the state's Medical Assistance program.

[MMA News Now, May 6, 2010] The Minnesota Department of Health is seeking feedback about proposed measures that would be added to Minnesota’s statewide quality reporting system.

[MMA News Now, May 6, 2010] The MMA is urging lawmakers and Governor Tim Pawlenty to approve a health budget that expands Medical Assistance and captures more than $1 billion in federal health care funds during the next three years.

[MMA News Now, May 6, 2010] The MMA has chosen members for the MMA Work Group to Advance Health Care Reform.

[MMA News Now, May 5, 2010] The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Governor Pawlenty overstepped his authority when he "unallotted" $2.7 billion in state funding last year to help balance the state's budget.

[West Central Tribune, May 1, 2010] - Rick Wehseler, M.D., who was named this spring by the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians as its 2010 Family Physician of the Year, considers himself typical of the 2,500-some doctors in Minnesota who practice family medicine.

[Business North, May 4, 2010] The College of St. Scholastica and Duluth-based National Rural Health Resource Center are participants in a $21 million federal grant to help all rural hospitals in Minnesota and North Dakota make the federally mandated shift to electronic medical records by 2015. Urban and rural primary care clinics in the two states also are eligible.

[MMA News Now] Rochester and the Mayo Clinic were awarded $12.2 million Tuesday as part of the federal government’s Beacon Communities program. A proposal for the Twin Cities and Duluth wasn't so fortunate.

Minneapolis, May 4, 2010 - Minnesota Medicine has extended the deadline for its writing contest to Tuesday, May 11.

Minnesota Medicine has extended the deadline for its writing contest to Tuesday, May 11.

 [MMA News Now, May 4, 2010] The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act promises many changes for the practice of medicine. This MMA Webinar unravels the layers of this large and complex law. The MMA highlights key provisions with respect to Medicare payment, Medicaid eligibility, quality improvement, public health investment, and disclosure requirements and discuss how federal reform may influence state reform efforts already underway.

[MMA News Now, April 29, 2010] This spring five medical students who received Minnesota Medical Association Foundation (MMAF) Scholarships matched with residency programs.

[Sharing Mayo Clinic, February 23, 2010] A mother recounts her journey through the medical system as she tried to find a diagnosis for her 14-year-old daughter who was suffering from chronic vomiting. Her search for a treatment ended when she discovered Philip Fischer, M.D., at Mayo Clinic and learned her daughter had postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

[Star Tribune, April 28, 2010] A compromise plan to provide health care for thousands of the state's poorest residents appeared to be unraveling Tuesday, after Hennepin County affirmed its decision not to participate and legislators scrambled to find a solution.

[MinnPost, April 28, 2010] The new health care legislation signed by President Obama in March contains a little-known section called the Physician Payments Sunshine provision. It requires drug and medical-device companies to record, starting in 2012, any physician payments that exceed $10 in a searchable public database. That database must be up and running on Sept. 30, 2013.

 [Minnesota Public Radio, April 27, 2010] — If the main point of the nation's influenza vaccination program is to reduce deaths from flu, then the program has failed, at least among people over 65.

[MMA News Now, April 27, 2010] House and Senate lawmakers put forward their health and human services budget proposals this week.

[MinnPost, April 2, 2010] Seventy-five percent of Minnesota's 85,000 uninsured children are eligible for state public health-care programs but their parents probably don't realize it.
 

MINNEAPOLIS, April 26, 2010 - Timothy J. Crimmins, M.D., Vice President and Director of Health, Safety and Environment at General Mills has been elected Chairman of the Board of the Hennepin Health Foundation. The charitable foundation supports Hennepin County Medical Center.

MINNEAPOLIS, April 19, 2010 - President Obama nominated Donald Berwick, M.D., Monday to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

MINNEAPOLIS, April 22, 2010 - A recent report indicates a persistent quality gap between outcomes for patients on public programs and those insured privately.

MINNEAPOLIS, April 22, 2010 – The profitability of Minnesota’s HMOs improved in 2009 with the plans benefiting from state public program business.

MINNEAPOLIS, April 16, 2010 - President Obama signed the “Continuing Extension Act of 2010” on Thursday that delays a 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut unitl June 1.

MINNEAPOLIS, April 15, 2010 - The MMA is supporting a DFL plan released Wednesday that would result in $1.136 billion in new federal payments to the state over three years and would presumably improve reimbursement levels for providers who treat GAMC enrollees.

MINNEAPOLIS, April 15, 2010 - A peer grouping bill supported by the MMA passed the House Tuesday on a vote of 129 to 2.

MINNEAPOLIS, April 15, 2010 - Medicare’s hold on physician claims officially expired today, as the Senate continued to debate whether to stop a 21.3 percent Medicare physician payment cut.

MINNEAPOLIS, April 14, 2010 – The Minnesota Department of Health has released details about the process for including new measures in Minnesota’s statewide quality reporting system.

MINNEAPOLIS, April 12, 2010 – The MMA has finalized and endorsed the state’s end-of-life medical form known as POLST, Provider Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment. This form is more specific than an advance directive and is signed by a patient’s provider, making it a medical order to follow a person’s wishes for their final days.