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Ad Reservations: 5/1/2015 * Ad Art Due:  5/6/2015  Issue Date: 6/1/2015
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Cover Story - TMA's vigilance thwarts Medicare gaffes...
The missteps also come as Congress considers a major overhaul to a program that continues to frustrate physicians and threaten access to care. Earlier this year, Medicare printed incorrect patient responsibility amounts for claims submitted by non-participating physicians. Meanwhile, despite medicine's warnings against it, Medicare proceeded with audits of the Physician Quality Reporting System. Only the "survey" letters physicians received shrouded the fact that they were, in fact, audits, at the same time threatening recoupment for nonparticipation even though they are voluntary. TMA alerted Medicare and the AMA of the issue, and it seems the collaboration is leading to a fix to clarify the language in the audit requests.
PUBLIC HEALTH
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) recently released, "Gestational Diabetes in Medicaid: Prevalence, Outcomes, and Costs." The report, shows the prevalence of diabetes among pregnant women in the Medicaid program in Texas is at 9 percent. The report also notes the prevalence of diabetes among adults in Texas increased by 50 percent from 2002 to 2012. The article will examine the link between maternal obesity and gestational diabetes and highlight key points in the Medicaid report. The story will note policy recommendations from the Texas Diabetes Council to improve the care of patients with gestational diabetes and include comments from Diabetes Council Chair Victor Gonzalez, MD, who is also a TMA member. 
Practice Management
Private practice physicians face unique challenges outside of the realm of caring for patients. The article will serve as a guide for these physicians in dealing with vendor contracts. EHR vendor contracts are just one of the many contracts physicians must either work with their office manager -- or work alone -- to establish. According to TMA's 2014 Survey Report on Electronic Health Records, 81 percent of physicians who responded currently use or plan to implement EHRs in their practice. Other contracts include IT services, phone systems, waste management, billing or CPA, employment contracts, and PQRS vendor contracts. According to TMA HIT Director Shannon Vogel, physicians don't thoroughly read contracts before signing them, and they often agree to 'Terms and Conditions' too easily, feeling unable to change the conditions once they are in writing. As a result, she says, many get stuck for years in an agreement that behooves the vendor, not the physician. 
Additional stories to be covered are Quality, Economics and Law.
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EXHIBIT at  TexMed 2015 , May 1-2, Austin 
TexMed is the premier educational showcase and expo of the Texas Medical Association that gathers more than 1,700 Texas physicians, medical students and medical office staff in one place over two days."
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For More Information Contact: Rebecca Stevens, rebecca.stevens@texmed.org or 512-370-1423
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