FMA News

Dec. 20, 2023

A 3.37% Medicare payment cut is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, and the FMA is urging all physicians to help us prevent this imminent threat. While Congress is not expected to take action on this issue between now and Jan. 1, new legislation — H.R. 6683, the “Preserving Seniors’ Access to Physicians Act of 2023” — would address this cut retroactively. Please ask your congressional representative and senators to sign onto this bill by clicking here and submitting the provided form letter. You can also add a personalized note explaining how this legislation would affect you.

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Dec. 14, 2023

As part of the background screening process, every physician who applies for licensure in Florida must submit a set of fingerprints to the Department of Health. The information is then stored in Florida’s Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse, and licensees must retain the stored fingerprints every five years from the date they were first submitted. Failure to meet the retention deadline will result in the information being deleted automatically, and a new set of fingerprints will have to be submitted.

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Dec. 7, 2023

Selecting a lender and banking partner for your acquisition, startup, or any practice-related transaction is a crucial decision. As this article from FMA preferred vendor Panacea Financial explains, it’s essential to consider the level of support and services your lending bank offers, and how its structure allows you to concentrate on your core expertise: patient care. Created for doctors by doctors, Panacea Financial is a nationwide digital bank offering concierge-level service and special benefits for FMA members.

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Dec. 7, 2023

As 2023 draws to a close, so does another eventful year in Florida’s healthcare regulatory environment. The FMA’s end-of-year regulatory report summarizes some of the most notable decisions made by the state boards of medicine, osteopathic medicine, nursing and pharmacy, and how the FMA is representing you.

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Nov. 30, 2023

A class-action lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare claims that the company used artificial intelligence in lieu of medical reviewers to inappropriately deny Medicare Advantage patients access to post-acute treatment. The lawsuit further illustrates the scrutiny health insurers are under for claim denials within their Medicare Advantage plans.

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Nov. 15, 2023

The state Department of Health has released its 2023 Physician Workforce Annual Report, a detailed look at the state of the medical workforce in Florida. Our latest article includes a link to the full report and summarizes key findings about practice patterns, demographics, and other trends among Florida-licensed physicians.

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Nov. 8, 2023

UF Health Central Florida recently celebrated the 100th procedure using the WATCHMAN FLX™ left atrial appendage closure device, which reduces patients’ risk of stroke and ultimately provides an alternative to lifelong use of blood thinners. Philip Martin, 82, underwent the procedure at UF Health Leesburg Hospital under the care of interventional cardiologist Maria Baldasare, MD. “Patients get a similar benefit as if they were taking an anticoagulant, Eliquis or warfarin for example, but without that bleeding complication that may occur,” Dr. Baldasare said.

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Nov. 1, 2023

On Monday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order prioritizing the establishment of new safety, security, and fairness standards for artificial intelligence (AI), especially within the domain of healthcare. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will implement a safety program aimed at mitigating potential harm or unsafe practices linked to AI.

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Oct. 25, 2023

Earlier this month, FMA Secretary Alma Littles, MD, CEO Chris Clark, and other healthcare leaders joined Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez at a press conference in Tallahassee touting the Florida Reimbursement Assistance for Medical Education (FRAME) Program. The FRAME Program assists eligible healthcare practitioners, including physicians, with the repayment of medical education loans. The FMA secured an annual appropriation of nearly $6.6 million for this program during the 2022 Legislative Session, and physicians and residents received the majority of funds allocated this year. The 2024 awards cycle will reopen on Feb. 1.

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Oct. 25, 2023

After more than a year of IV nutrition, AdventHealth patient Rene Galloway became the world’s first recipient of a new endoscopic procedure that has allowed her to eat again. Performed by AdventHealth gastroenterologist Kamibiz Kadkhodayan, MD, and his team, this original, two-step procedure was done with an endoscope and other FDA-approved devices, without the need for traditional surgery. “There’s been a fear of eating because it was painful … and Dr. K. got rid of that fear for me,” Galloway said.

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Oct. 19, 2023

On Oct. 9, Google Cloud unveiled Vertex AI Search, a tool that aims to streamline the retrieval of clinical information from diverse medical records. This HIPAA-compliant service is designed specifically for healthcare and life sciences organizations, addressing critical challenges such as workforce shortages, increasing administrative costs, and burnout among physicians and healthcare providers. Early access to Vertex AI Search is available, and testing is being conducted in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and Hackensack Meridian Health

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Oct. 13, 2023

A special Message from FMA President Jason M. Goldman, MD, FACP regarding the events happening in the Middle East.

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Oct. 12, 2023

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued a new temporary rule extending telehealth controlled substance providing flexibilities through next year. This means DEA-registered physicians and other providers will be able to prescribe schedule II-V controlled substances via telehealth through Dec. 31, 2024, regardless of whether they had established telemedicine relationships with their patients on or before Nov. 11, 2023.

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Oct. 4, 2023

On Aug. 10, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made 2022 MIPS performance feedback available — information that determines whether physicians will receive positive, neutral or negative payment adjustments on Medicare services furnished in 2024. The AMA has heard alarming reports of physicians facing MIPS penalties in 2024 for the first time since the program started. Physicians are encouraged to review their information as soon as possible, as the deadline to submit an appeal (also called a targeted review) is 8 p.m. (EDT) Monday, Oct. 9.

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Sept. 21, 2023

Following direct feedback from patients, the AdventHealth Digestive Institute is improving the care experience by making it easier to schedule appointments and offering services in a more relaxed setting. There are also plans for a medical spa in Orlando, which will give AdventHealth’s digestive health patients access to the reconstructive and plastic surgery team post-procedure.

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Sept. 21, 2023

If you participated in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in 2022, you can review your performance feedback, including your MIPS final score and payment adjustment factor(s), on the Quality Payment Program website. Learn how to request a targeted review by reading an update from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

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Sept. 7, 2023

As a result of a lawsuit filed by the Texas Medical Association (TMA), several components of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rule concerning the “No Surprises Act” have been invalidated. This is the fourth lawsuit filed by the TMA, and the latest ruling is substantially beneficial to physicians.

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Aug. 24, 2023

What, if anything, should be done about the higher costs associated with hospital outpatient care vs. care provided at independent physician practices? This update explains the ongoing debate over mitigating these cost differences — quite significant in some cases — and the limitations of “site-neutral” payment policies.

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Aug. 17, 2023

Congratulations to the physicians and friends of medicine who received the FMA’s 2023 awards. They were honored in the House of Delegates during the FMA's 2023 Annual Meeting.

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Aug. 17, 2023

According to a recent ProPublica investigation, physicians are being forced to pay millions of dollars in fees each year — likely adding up to billions collectively — to receive electronic payments. Meanwhile, the middlemen processing these fees share millions in revenue each year with insurance companies.

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Aug. 10, 2023

For his “unparalleled generosity and dedication to those less represented in medicine,” Palm Beach County anesthesiologist Roger Duncan III, MD, received the 2023 FMA Award of Distinguished Service on Sunday, July 30, in the House of Delegates. Dr. Duncan’s many achievements include founding and implementing a program that has given more than 10,000 students a closer look at future careers in medicine, pharmacy, and biomedical engineering, among others

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July 24, 2023

Tuesday, Aug. 1, is World Lung Cancer Day. For those with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, having an inflammatory side effect, called an immune-related adverse event (irAE), from a monoclonal antibody treatment correlates with patients living longer, according to findings in a recent JAMA article co-written by AdventHealth Cancer Institute Executive Medical Director Mark Socinski, MD.

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July 13, 2023

During the 2023 Legislative Session, state lawmakers passed SB 252, an act relating to protection from discrimination based on health care choices. In addition to making significant changes to the 2021 “vaccine passport ban,” this legislation includes new provisions regarding masking and COVID-19 treatment options that could affect your practice of medicine.

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July 13, 2023

Telehealth use among physicians more than tripled between 2018 and 2020, and the pandemic permanently changed the landscape of remote patient care. A new FMA policy article highlights notable telehealth use trends, changes in the surrounding state and federal regulatory environments, and helpful physician resources.

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July 13, 2023

With the passage of SB 1580, the 2023 Florida Legislature gave health care providers and payors the right to “opt out of participation in or payment for any health care service on the basis of a conscience-based objection.” The bill, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, coupled this “right of medical conscience” with a provision protecting health care practitioners’ “use of free speech.”

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July 5, 2023

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing health threat across the globe, causing at least 700,000 deaths in 2019 alone, according to the World Health Organization. To combat this emerging crisis, Jose Alexander, MD, director of microbiology, virology, and immunology at AdventHealth Orlando, advocates for an integrated approach that combines microbiologists’ investigative skills and primary care physicians’ therapeutic acumen.

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June 29, 2023

While not normally an issue that affects the practice of medicine, this year’s immigration bill — SB 1718, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis last month — contains provisions that many physicians should be aware of. Read the FMA’s legal update to learn about new requirements for physician employers and hospitals under SB 1718.

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June 22, 2023

SB 264, signed into law by Governor DeSantis on May 8, 2023, is most notable for the provision that bars citizens of a foreign country of concern who are not lawful US residents from buying agricultural land or property within 10 miles of a military base. While most of the 29-page bill is of little concern to FMA members, tucked in the back is a section that amends the “Florida Electronic Health Records Exchange Act” and affects physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, and most other health care providers. Learn more about SB 264 and its relevance in this article from FMA General Counsel, Jeff Scott, Esq.

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June 14, 2023

Last fall, AdventHealth physician Jose Alexander, MD, and his team developed a brain-eating amoeba test that reduces diagnosis time from days to hours — a game-changing advancement in treatment, as the amoeba kills its host in only three to seven days. While testing previously took up to six days, the new test can produce reliable and clinically actionable results within three hours.

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June 14, 2023

The declining value of Medicare physician payment is an ongoing problem that threatens the economic viability of medical practice and vulnerable patients’ access to care: After adjusting for inflation in terms of practice costs, the AMA found that Medicare physician pay decreased 26% between 2001 and 2023. A new FMA fact sheet explains how this trend undermines physician-owned practices, why Florida is especially vulnerable, and what it will take to create a sustainable Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.

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June 12, 2023

The AMA has adopted a resolution on Medicare payment reform, which was brought forward by several state and specialty societies, including the FMA, during the recent AMA House of Delegates Annual Meeting in Chicago. The resolution aims to achieve predictable, sustainable, and fair physician payment through Medicare.

Read the Press Release

June 1, 2023

Over the past 10 years, researchers at the AdventHealth Translational Research Institute (TRI) have tackled some of today’s biggest health problems, conducting more than 200 studies and producing 350-plus peer-reviewed published works. In a special essay, AdventHealth Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer Steven R. Smith, MD, shares highlights from TRI’s decade of medical discovery, including groundbreaking studies that are currently underway.

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June 1, 2023

According to data published by the Kaiser Family Foundation earlier this year, HealthCare.gov issuers in Florida denied an average of 13.1% of in-network claims in 2021 — below the national average of 17%, but still substantial. Denial rates and the reasons for claim denials also varied significantly by issuer. As FMA Director of Healthcare Policy and Innovation Jarrod Fowler concludes in a new article, “The findings of this report appear to indicate that greater oversight of claim denials is warranted.”

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May 18, 2023

With the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency’s (PHE) expiration last Thursday, May 11, physicians should familiarize themselves with the PHE-related flexibilities that are permanent, those that will remain in place through Dec. 31, 2024, due to the omnibus bill passed last year, and the flexibilities that ended immediately with the PHE’s expiration.

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May 11, 2023

May 6-12 is National Nurses Week. In this opinion piece, Neil Finkler, MD, Chief Clinical Officer for AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division, writes about an effort to improve the overall work experience for AdventHealth’s nurses, and how his physician colleagues are supporting it.

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May 4, 2023

As the 2023 Legislative Session comes to a close, your Florida Medical Association has taken tremendous strides in improving the practice of medicine through the state budget process. It is through these accomplishments that the FMA is working to increase physician pay for those treating Florida’s most vulnerable patients; create new residency slots; and alleviate the medical student loan debt burden.

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April 14, 2023

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to affect physicians and the Public Health Emergency not set to expire until May, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recognizes that many medical practices will not be able to participate in MIPS. Therefore, this spring, CMS will open an application that physicians can submit to apply for a MIPS Extreme and Uncontrollable Circumstances waiver. If approved, this waiver will allow physicians to reweight one or more MIPS performance categories due to the COVID-19 PHE.

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April 14, 2023

DNV, one of the nation’s fastest-growing accrediting bodies, presented AdventHealth with its Healthcare Innovation of the Year Award during the 10th annual DNV Healthcare Symposium in Louisville, Ky. AdventHealth is the first healthcare system in the world to develop and implement a groundbreaking virtual MRI program that improves patient access, imaging quality and patient satisfaction.

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April 6, 2023

According to recent reports, UnitedHealthcare plans to eliminate about 20% of its prior authorization requirements while Cigna claims to have done so for nearly 500 services since 2020. Meanwhile, insurance company “clawbacks” of provider payments reached a record high last year.

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April 6, 2023

Research has shown that even a brief intervention by a physician can make the difference in a patient’s success when attempting to quit tobacco products. However, time windows during patient office visits can be tight, leaving little room for those conversations.

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Mar. 30, 2023

With advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) constantly appearing in the news, some of you might be wondering what the FMA’s policy is on this increasingly important matter.

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Mar. 15, 2023

County and specialty medical societies are invited to nominate eligible physicians to serve on the FMA’s reference committees. The deadline for nominations is Friday, May 12.

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Mar. 15, 2023

As the FMA continues tackling Medicare payment reform, physicians can use our new fact sheet as a guide for discussing this issue with policymakers.

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Mar. 15, 2023

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), a body that advises Congress on Medicare payment issues, recently called for providing a 1.45% Medicare payment update for physicians in 2024. This amount is equal to half of the Medicare Economic Index (MEI), a measure of practice cost inflation.

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Mar. 15, 2023

Typically, the burden of solving medical problems lies with universities, government-funded institutions, or medical and pharmaceutical companies. Despite the time and effort these well-funded entities have dedicated to solving medical challenges, there continues to be a growing list of important unsolved medical problems.

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Mar. 9, 2023

The FMA congratulates member Andrea Friall, MD who has been selected to receive the Capital Medical Society’s Thomas L. Hicks, MD Outstanding Physician Award.

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Mar. 2, 2023

The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) will expire at the end of the day on Thursday, May 11. With this transition quickly approaching, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have released more guidance on PHE-related flexibilities for physicians and other healthcare providers.

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Feb. 16, 2023

The Kaiser Family Foundation’s recent analysis of 35 million prior authorization requests submitted to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans in 2021 includes this noteworthy observation: Though the rate of prior authorization request denials varied significantly among MA organizations, in most cases, the vast majority of denials that were appealed ended up being overturned.

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Feb. 16, 2023

After nearly 10 years as part of the TrialNet studies, physicians at AdventHealth Central Florida Division are administering the world’s first treatment to delay the onset of Type 1 diabetes (T1D). This treatment is now approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and available to patients in Central Florida, giving hope that T1D will one day be completely curable.

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Feb. 2, 2023

On Jan. 30, CMS announced that it will seek to crack down on Medicare Advantage plans through changes to the risk adjustment data validation (RADV) program in a newly proposed rule. The purpose of the RADV program is to ensure that Medicare Advantage programs are receiving proper reimbursement for patients, based on the medical diagnoses that are attributed to those patients via medical documentation.

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Feb. 2, 2023

On Jan. 30, President Biden announced that the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) will end on May 11. With this change looming on the horizon, it would be helpful for physicians to familiarize themselves with which flexibilities following the end of the PHE will be permanent, which will remain in place through Dec. 31, 2024, due to the passage of the omnibus bill passed last year, and which will expire immediately following the expiration of the PHE.

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Jan. 25, 2023

Great news for physicians: On Feb. 1, the state Department of Health will launch the Florida Reimbursement Assistance for Medical Education (FRAME) Program to assist eligible healthcare practitioners with the repayment of medical education student loans. The FMA secured an annual appropriation of nearly $6.6 million for the program during last year’s Legislative Session, and eligible physicians and residents will be able to apply for up to $20,000 per year to reimburse medical educational expenses.

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Jan. 19, 2023

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) presented FMA member George Guthrie, MD, with the 2022 President’s Award in November for his exceptional dedication to the growing field of lifestyle medicine. Dr. Guthrie, a family medicine physician with AdventHealth’s academic practice in Winter Park, has a special interest in lifestyle management for patients with chronic Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and coronary heart disease.

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Jan. 19, 2023

Where does physician payment reform stand at the federal level, and how are demographic shifts shaping Florida’s physician workforce? In his latest update, FMA Director of Healthcare Policy and Innovation Jarrod Fowler, MHA, summarizes the ongoing effort to make the Medicare physician payment system sustainable and notable takeaways from the Florida Department of Health’s new Physician Workforce Report.

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Updated Jan. 12, 2023 | Originally published Dec. 1, 2022

Throughout the pandemic, physicians have widely embraced telehealth flexibilities granted under the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency to deliver telehealth services to their patients. These flexibilities were extended through 2024 under recently passed legislation.

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Jan. 12, 2023

Today, Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a legislative proposal to reign in unchecked Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and drive transparency among prescription drug prices influenced by the pharmaceutical industry. This proposal furthers the administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug prices and assist Floridians in making more informed health care decisions.

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