In this edition:

• How to win an iPad: Take this survey.
• Medicaid Reform Update
• BCBSNC to Cut Blue Medicare Payments by 2%
• ACP High Quality Clinical Guidelines
• Make Way for ICD-10
• New MACRA Resource from NCMS
• Sunshine Act Payments Data for 2014 Now Available
• New Accountable Care Guides for Hospitalists and Internal Medicine
• Pri-Med Conference Coming to Raleigh, Sept. 11
• NC,ACP's Alan Skipper Inaugurated as AENC President

How to win an iPad: Take this survey.

The NC Chapter of the American College of Physicians would like to have your input. Your responses to a brief online survey will be very helpful as we strive to be more responsive to the needs and priorities of North Carolina internists. This survey is confidential.

Take the survey now: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NCACPMember

Please take about ten minutes to complete this survey by August 16. A random drawing for an iPad will be held at the close of the survey period from respondents who provide their name and e-mail. Since you may receive this survey from more than one source, please only complete the survey once; multiple entries will be disqualified from the iPad drawing.

If you do not wish to provide your name and e-mail to be entered into the drawing but wish to receive future e-mail correspondence from the NC,ACP, please send your contact information to Evan Simmons at esimmons@ncmedsoc.org.

Take the survey now: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NCACPMember

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Medicaid Reform Update

NC,ACP Governor Peter R. Lichstein, MD (Winston-Salem) and Michael Norins, MD (Greensboro) met with key leaders in the N.C. House and Senate last week to remind legislators that the provider community is poised to improve the long-term health of North Carolinians and the state’s Medicaid budget woes. For a complete review of the Medicaid reform discussion, see the North Carolina Medical Society’s recent Medicaid Reform Update and this comparison table which outlines and compares major aspects of each Medicaid reform proposal and notes the NCMS’s position in each of the key areas.

The next few weeks will be a critical period for Medicaid reform. This is when the great divide between the N.C. House and Senate’s proposed budgets and Medicaid reform plans will be whittled down by a conference committee comprised of House and Senate lawmakers.

Will you commit a morning (up to the lunch hour) on any of the following dates for meetings with legislators in Raleigh?

• Tuesday, August 4
• Wednesday, August 5
• Thursday, August 6
• Tuesday, August 11
• Wednesday, August 12
• Thursday, August 13

From left: NC,ACP Deputy Director Denna Suko, Sen. Joyce Krawiec, and Dr. Peter Lichstein.

Sign up to participate by email to Denna Suko, dsuko@ncmedsoc.org.

Your support and participation can have a BIG impact on the future of health care in our state. Please check your schedule and let us know at your earliest convenience if you can participate in meetings with legislators in the coming weeks. Email dsuko@ncmedsoc.org.

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BCBSNC to Cut Blue Medicare Payments by 2%

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association of North Carolina (BCBSNC) recently announced that a new round of Medicare payment cuts would be implemented on Aug. 1, 2015. According to a BCBSNC notice, “[We] have determined that this alignment is necessary for providing our members continued access to high quality health care at an affordable price.” A payment cut of 2 percent will be applied to all covered services in the BCBSNC Medicare Advantage (Blue Medicare) plan. Read the notice here.

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ACP High Quality Clinical Guidelines

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Make Way for ICD-10

Ready or not, here it comes. Although CMS recently announced contingency plans for the transition to ICD-10, including guidance that allows for flexibility in the claims auditing and quality reporting process during the transition, we are urging providers to do your part to prepare for ICD-10 by the October 1, 2015, compliance date. CMS recently released a new ICD-10 Quick Start Guide to help providers on their way to ICD-10 implementation. This guide outlines 5 steps health care professionals should take to prepare for ICD-10 by October 1 compliance date. You can complete parts of different steps at the same time if that works best for your practice.

• Download the ICD-10 Quick Start Guide.
• ACP Members also have access to a wide range of valuable discounted and free resources from the ACP.

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New MACRA Resource from NCMS

The NC Medical Society (NCMS) has developed a new resource for physicians going forward in the post-SGR world. The new webpage on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA, aka the SGR repeal legislation) is now up and running. This page explains what physicians need to know about quality reporting going forward. More information will be added as details are made available from CMS closer to implementation. Go to the NCMS's MACRA webpage. 

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Sunshine Act Payments Data for 2014 Now Available

The 11.4 million financial transactions reported to CMS as required by the Sunshine Act totaled a whopping $6 billion. The Open Payments data was published by CMS on June 30. This is the second year of Open Payments data that is now available online. The first year’s data, 2013, was published in September 2014. We encourage all physicians to review the site and to ensure the accuracy of payments associated with them. Visit the Open Payments site.

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New Accountable Care Guides for Hospitalists and Internal Medicine

The Toward Accountable Care Consortium (TAC Consortium) unveiled new guides this week aimed at helping hospitalists and internal medicine physicians transition to new payment models. The guides provide strategic guidance for physicians establishing and participating in accountable care organizations (ACOs). These two new toolkits are part of a series that includes general as well as specialty-specific toolkits developed with financial support from TAC Consortium member organizations, the North Carolina Medical Society and the Physicians Foundation. The following individuals are recognized for providing content expertise:

• The Accountable Care Guide for Hospitalists: Rachelle P. Alpern, MBA/MHA Candidate 2015, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, for research and drafting, and to the following individuals for their expertise and input: Robert Hickling, Cone Health; Michael Norins, MD, Cone Health; and Vipul Shah, MD, Eagle Hospital Physicians.
  ..
• The Accountable Care Guide for Internal Medicine: Yuri Cabeza, MD, Cornerstone Health Care; Martha Chesnutt, MD, Boice-Willis Clinic; Nancy Henley, MD, NC Department of Health and Human Services; Richard Orr, MD, Cornerstone Health Care; and Grace Terrell, MD, Cornerstone Health Care.

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Pri-Med Conference Coming to Raleigh, Sept. 11

The ACP and Pri-Med will offer a Regional Conference in Raleigh on September 11, 2015. Pri-Med Annual Conference and Regional Conference curricula are developed in collaboration with the ACP. You can earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ or AANP contact hours of continuing education while exploring emerging evidence on best practices to improve care. To learn more about this activity or to see the full line-up of upcoming Pri-Med conferences, visit http://www.pri-med.com/medical-conferences.aspx.

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NC,ACP's Alan Skipper Inaugurated as AENC President

NC,ACP Executive Director Alan Skipper, CAE was inaugurated as President of the Association Executives of North Carolina (AENC) on July 13. The organization provides professional development and networking opportunities to those in the association management profession, including CEOs and the staff of associations across North Carolina. AENC celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.

Alan was honored as part of the AENC’s Awards Breakfast and Annual Business Session at the Durham Convention Center.

Congratulations, Alan!

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