Below is a collection of news and updates from the Florida Medical Association.
February 24, 2022 In a major victory for medicine, a United States District Court Judge yesterday issued a ruling setting aside certain portions of the controversial Sept. 2021 interim final rule implementing the federal No Surprises Act. Read a brief legal update from the FMA summarizing the ruling and its significance for physicians.
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March 31, 2022
The CMS Office of the Actuary has released its projections for National Health Expenditures (NHE), which aim to capture all spending on healthcare in the United States and are considered by government officials to be the official estimates of such expenditures. However, pandemic-driven uncertainty surrounds projections of future spending.
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March 24, 2022 Florida is one of only two states where Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees represent the majority of beneficiaries, and MA enrollees are projected only to increase as a proportion of total Medicare beneficiaries in the coming years. It will become increasingly important to focus on finding ways to improve MA for beneficiaries and physicians alike, but how can that goal be achieved?
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March 16, 2022 FMA physician leaders and senior staff travel to Washington, D.C. to discuss the urgent need to make the Medicare system more sustainable and to prevent another round of cuts to physician practices while building momentum for broader, systemic changes to Medicare.
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March 10, 2022 At the FMA, federal advocacy is a multi-faceted and continuous effort that includes educating lawmakers, spearheading initiatives within the House of Medicine, and working with physicians at the grassroots level. This brief article gives insight into those activities and how they ultimately benefit Florida-licensed physicians.
March 3, 2022 As recently reported, last week’s court ruling in a lawsuit challenging the arbitration system under the federal No Surprises Act (NSA) was a significant victory for physicians. While this development might pave the way for more physician-friendly rulings in various lawsuits against the NSA, Congress could greatly enhance the new law for the benefit of patients and physicians by enacting some relatively small changes. Learn more by reading the FMA’s latest policy update.
March 3, 2022 In this special essay, Dr. Metzger – who will be retiring soon after nearly 60 years as a practicing nephrologist – reflects on the many advancements in transplant medicine and how the AdventHealth Orlando Transplant Program has evolved. “As luck would have it, the timing of my medical career coincided perfectly with the early days of kidney transplant exploration, which allowed me to grow as a physician right alongside these clinical advancements,” he writes.
April 28, 2022 Last year’s Parents' Bill of Rights law specifically made it a misdemeanor of the first degree in Florida for physicians and other healthcare providers to provide medical services to minors without first obtaining written parental consent, with exceptions only for emergency care or treatment provided in a hospital or college health service. Thanks to the FMA’s advocacy, effective July 1, 2022, physicians will be able to provide emergency medical treatment to minors anywhere such treatment is needed.
April 21, 2022 A report from IHS Markit commissioned by the Florida Safety Net Hospital Alliance and the Florida Hospital Association projects a shortfall of 17,924 physicians in the Sunshine State by the year 2035.
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April 21, 2022 On Friday, April 15, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services opened the Federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process for providers (including air ambulance providers), facilities, and health plans and issuers to resolve payment disputes for certain out-of-network charges.
April 21, 2022 A National Institutes of Health study shows playing a musical instrument is a prescription to guard against the daily pressures of life. Therapeutic outcomes of playing music include better communication skills, improved emotional release, and decreased anxiety and agitation.
April 14, 2022 In 2021, the FMA succeeded in getting legislation passed that granted liability protection for COVID-related healthcare claims through Dec. 31, 2021. However, the protections were effective only until 2022. During this year’s Legislative Session, we secured a one-year extension of those protections through SB 7014, which Gov. DeSantis signed into law in February. This FMA priority legislation extends liability protections on claims occurring before June 1, 2023.
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April 14, 2022 For AdventHealth epidemiologist Vincent Hsu, MD, who plays violin, the orchestra has been a refuge from intense, pandemic-driven stress. “(It) offers physicians, clinicians, and healthcare workers the incredible opportunity to reflect, bond, and heal through music,” Dr. Hsu says in an essay about the project. “When I sit down at our periodic practices and play, I can feel the stress melting away.”
April 7, 2022 Physicians and scientists AdventHealth and recently completed a preprint study that found ondansetron, a long-approved drug for treating nausea, is associated with lower COVID-19 mortality, particularly for patients on ventilators. The study is believed to be the first of its kind to use artificial intelligence to report disease outcomes in COVID-19 patients.
April 1, 2022 Florida Medical Association (FMA) President Douglas R. Murphy Jr., MD today announced that its Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Chris Clark, will now serve as Chief Executive Officer of the nearly 150-year-old association. Clark takes over as CEO beginning today, Friday, April 1, 2022.
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May 19, 2022 Despite decades of research establishing the benefits of exercise to our overall health, much remains unknown about what happens deep within the body at a molecular level during and after exercise. To find out, the Translational Research Institute at AdventHealth Orlando partnered with the National Institutes of Health for a six-year, grant-funded research study focused on “the molecular map” that underlies the effects of physical activity in humans.
May 12, 2022 Effective July 1, authorized prescribers in Florida will be able to prescribe Schedule III, IV, and V controlled substances via telehealth, thanks to FMA priority legislation signed by the Governor. In a new article, FMA Assistant General Counsel Mary Thomas, Esq., examines the intersection of controlled substance prescribing and telehealth in Florida, and what physicians should know going forward.
May 5, 2022 Effective July 1, Florida physicians will have more power to fight insurance-mandated step-therapy protocols, thanks to FMA priority legislation passed by the 2022 Legislature. By requiring greater transparency from insurance companies, HB 459 will make it easier for physicians to navigate the notoriously difficult tasks appealing or requesting exemptions from burdensome step-therapy protocols.
May 5, 2022 A recently released federal report revealed that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans often inappropriately delay or deny valid prior authorization requests, including requests for services that would have been approved for traditional Medicare beneficiaries. The FMA is supporting legislation containing specific improvements to modernize the MA program’s prior authorization process – changes that would benefit physicians and MA enrollees.
June 30, 2022 More than three months after the end of the 2022 Legislative Session, all the bills that passed both chambers have finally been presented to and acted upon by Gov. Ron DeSantis. FMA General Counsel Jeff Scott, Esq., summarizes important healthcare-related bills that passed, the Governor’s action on each of those bills, and when the legislation takes effect.
June 29, 2022 A new study suggests that expanded access to telehealth services under Medicare during the COVID-19 pandemic has not led to overutilization. The study’s finding mirrors what the FMA, AMA, and other medical societies have been saying since those flexibilities were granted: Expanded telehealth access can save lives without increasing costs.
June 23, 2022 Steven McCarus, MD, an obstetrics and gynecology surgeon at AdventHealth for Women, recently reached a milestone by performing his 100th gynecological procedure using the minimally invasive Senhance Surgical System, which is unique in Florida at AdventHealth Winter Park.
June 16, 2022 In a huge victory for Florida physicians with outstanding medical education loans, the FMA was able to secure an annual appropriation of $6 million for the Medical Education Reimbursement and Loan Repayment Program. While the Program was established in 2002, the Florida Legislature has never funded the Program, until now.
Updated June 16, 2022 | Originally published June 8, 2022 As soon as next week, the Florida Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine are expected to release an office surgery emergency rule that will make critical changes to the standard of care for gluteal fat transfers, more commonly known as Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBLs).
June 1, 2022 Florida Speaker of the House of Representatives Chris Sprowls has appointed FMA member Rajan Wadhawan, MD, FAAP, of Winter Park, to serve as an inaugural member of Florida’s Rare Disease Advisory Council. The 20-member council will make recommendations to state leaders aimed at improving health outcomes for patients living with rare diseases. Board-certified in pediatrics and neonatal perinatal medicine, Dr. Wadhawan is a senior executive officer for AdventHealth for Children AdventHealth for Women.
July 28, 2022 The FMA considers Medicare system stabilization to be a top priority. Currently, a lack of payment updates that keep pace with inflation and a pile of looming cuts are threatening access to care for vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries by undermining medical practices’ economic viability. The FMA believes that these cuts must be stopped.
July 21, 2022 Last week, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra sent out a letter notifying frontline healthcare providers of the Department’s guidance regarding the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), in regards to emergency medical conditions involving pregnant patients. The impact of this guidance in Florida appears to be limited. While recently enacted state legislation prohibits the performance of an abortion if the gestational age of the fetus is more than 15 weeks, the legislation retains some exceptions. Read the FMA’s update for more information.
July 14, 2022 Acknowledging a lack of legislative action to change the way pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) operate in Florida’s prescription drug market, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 22-164, which focuses mainly on PBM reform and is effective immediately.
Aug. 8, 2022 Joshua Lenchus, DO, a Board-certified internal medicine physician based in Fort Lauderdale, was installed as 146th President of the Florida Medical Association (FMA) on Saturday, August 6, 2022. Dr. Lenchus is Chief Medical Officer for Broward Health, a health system with more than 30 locations throughout Broward County.