Author Archives: kma_admin

President’s Message: Looking Forward to the 2019 Legislative Session

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Posted December 14, 2018 We received a lot of feedback from my last message regarding the Kentucky Supreme Court decision in the medical review panels case. As I expressed in the article, and many of you echoed, it is ironic that the opinion stated that the law “delayed” justice, when in fact it was designed to speed up the process. You can read my entire message here. While this is certainly a setback, it’s important for us a sphysician leaders

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Nov. 20 President’s Message: Reflecting on the Kentucky Supreme Court Decision on Medical Review Panels

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The Kentucky Supreme Court has once again struck down a professional liability reform measure – medical review panels – passed by the legislature, despite hard work by those who crafted the law with a specific desire to fit within the parameters of the state Constitution.  Many thought this modest step, supported by a wide range of interests from physicians and hospitals to the business community, was a reasonable way to begin to improve the liability situation in our state. Whatever

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Kentucky Medical Association Statement Regarding Kentucky Supreme Court Decision on Medical Review Panels

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Posted November 15, 2018 FOR MORE INFORMATION: Emily Schott Director of Communications (502) 341-1926 The Kentucky Medical Association (KMA) is extremely disappointed in the Kentucky Supreme Court’s ruling overturning the recently passed medical review panel law. Kentucky now remains one of the few states in the country with no meaningful tort reform, including medical liability reform, making our system more susceptible to higher costs and frivolous lawsuits. Many individuals and groups worked closely with legislative leaders and legal experts to

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Telehealth Update

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Posted November 7, 2018 The telehealth law passed last year becomes effective July 1, 2019 and requires Medicaid, managed care organizations (MCOs) and commercial health plans to cover medical services provided via telehealth to the same extent they cover medical services provided in-person. In some cases Medicaid and MCOs can negotiate a lower reimbursement rate for telehealth services if the healthcare provider agrees to a lower reimbursement rate contractually. Patients may live anywhere and receive telehealth treatment but physicians and

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Update – Medicare Payment Reduction by 50 Percent Will Not Be Implemented

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Posted November 6, 2018 In July, Medicare, proposed the use of the “Multiple Procedure Payment Reduction,” as a payment adjustment to rationalize “duplicative resource costs.”  An E/M service denoted by the use of the modifier 25 and billed on the same day as another procedure would be reduced by 50%. Thanks to organized medicine, led by the AMA, the payment reduction policy similar to what Anthem proposed last year was not implemented. The announcement was made last week by CMS

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Kristin Schutzman Inspired by Grandmother to Become a Physician

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Kristin Schutzman has known since childhood she wanted to be involved in medicine. Her maternal grandmother and retired nurse, Jean Corron, inspired her to pursue her dream. “I’ve always really looked up to her and got that drive to do something in the medical field from her,” Schutzman said. “She’s always been a very giving, loving person. I know that carried over to her work as a nurse. I’ve always tried to emulate that aspect of her. She’s such a

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October 2018 President’s Message: KMA Physicians Are Making a Difference

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Posted October 19, 2018 Last month I shared with you a vision I have of KMA physicians uniting on issues of importance to our profession and truly impacting change. I’m excited to report it’s happening! I would like to take the opportunity to recognize some of the individuals who are making a difference in the lives of patients and the practice of medicine. There is no shortage of kudos to distribute related to our incredibly successful Focus on Flu campaign.

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Three Steps to Implement a Diabetes Prevention Strategy for Your Patients

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Posted October 5, 2018 Submitted by the American Medical Association The prevalence of type 2 diabetes has been rising over the past 20 years. Based upon statistics on current health trends from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is estimated that 30 million adult Americans have diabetes1, or approximately 10% of the adult population. Even more adults are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes; the CDC estimates that currently 84 million adult Americans have prediabetes1, a

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Statewide Focus on Flu “Flu Shot Day” A Success

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Posted September 28, 2018 Wednesday, Sept. 26 successfully served as the Focus On Flu campaign’s statewide ‘Flu Shot Day’ as announced during the Sept. 18 press conference that drew media attention from across Kentucky. KMA and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky kicked off a busy agenda with a live appearance on Louisville FOX affiliate, WDRB. Anchor Candyce Clifft was joined by KMA President Bruce Scott and Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky President and CEO Ben Chandler to discuss the

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Physicians Needed to Help Monitor Flu Cases in Kentucky

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Posted September 28, 2018 Influenza season will be underway soon, and the Kentucky Influenza Surveillance Program needs your help!  In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) works with clinicians throughout the state to conduct surveillance for influenza-like illness (ILI) in outpatients.  These clinicians volunteer as sentinel providers and are an invaluable part of our influenza surveillance program.  Sentinel providers help us assess the timing, location, and impact of influenza

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