Welcome to The ACP Advocate,
In our first article today, ACP offers advice and resources to help physicians prepare for the new Medicare payment system. For instance, ACP’s Top 10 Things You Need to Do for MACRA offers a list of short-term actions that physicians and staff in their practices can initiate now to be ready for when MACRA rolls out, no matter how the final rules are structured.
I also addressed MACRA in my latest blog post, 'Relax, it’s only MACRA.'
Our second article tells how a fresh new spirit transformed the usual flurry of activities during ACP's annual Leadership Day activities this month. Without SGR dominating discussions during participants' Capitol Hill meetings, those involved this year felt a mix of relief and new momentum.
In our final article, read about the FDA's decision to curb the sale of all tobacco products to minors, which has drawn praise from ACP. The decision will become effective in August, and includes e-cigarettes, cigars, hookah tobacco and pipe tobacco.
While my most recent post was about MACRA, for more coverage of what's happening in Washington, take a look at my award-winning blog, The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty. You can also follow me on Twitter @BobDohertyACP.
As always, please send your feedback and suggestions on this newsletter to: TheACPAdvocate@acponline.org.
Yours truly,
Bob Doherty
Senior Vice President
Governmental Affairs and Public Policy
American College of Physicians |
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| In the news |
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Are You Ready for MACRA?
ACP offers advice and resources to help physicians prepare for the new Medicare payment system
As the new era of Medicare reimbursement reform inches closer and closer, some physicians are following every twist and turn in the transition from the SGR (sustainable growth rate) system for Medicare reimburse... (read more)
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ACP Applauds FDA's Crackdown on Youth Access to Tobacco Products
Agency extends its regulatory authority to e-cigarettes, hookah and more
The Food and Drug Administration's decision to curb the sale of all tobacco products to minors, starting in August, has drawn praise from the American College of Physicians, though the College noted that more wo... (read more)
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| About this newsletter |
| The ACP Advocate is an e-newsletter, edited by the College's Washington, DC governmental affairs division, created to provide you, our members, with succinct news about public policy issues affecting internal medicine and patient care. To learn more about ACP's Advocacy and to access the ACP Advocate archives, go to www.acponline.org/advocacy. |
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| In focus |
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Hardship Exemptions for Meaningful Use |
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Given the insufficient time provided for EPs to attest to MU in 2015, and as a result of PAMPA legislation, CMS has posted the streamlined MU hardship exception applications as well as guidance for eligible professionals on how to apply. The deadline for applying for a hardship exception for the 2015 MU reporting period and 2017 payment adjustments is July 1, 2016. |
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Toolkit to Help Doctors Combat Climate Change |
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Physicians can play a substantial role in addressing climate change by advocating for climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and educating themselves about climate change and how it affects public and individual health, and the potential health threats it may pose to their community. View the toolkit developed to help physicians reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in their practices. |
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Toolkit for the Pediatric to Adult Care Transitions Initiative |
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This ACP Initiative is a collaborative effort to develop a toolkit to facilitate more effective transition and transfer of young adults from pediatric to adult care, with a major focus on providing a framework for the adult care clinicians. The new toolkit contains disease/condition-specific tools developed by internal medicine subspecialties to assist physicians in transitioning young adults with chronic diseases/conditions into adult care settings. |
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