The Weekly Dose           Bexar County Medical Society

Week of April 7,  2013 

Vol. 2, No. 30

 

Denials start May 1

for new enrollment

requirements

 

By John K. Wisniewski

BCMS CEO/Executive Director

  

The enrollment requirement for ordering/referring physicians which is part of the ACA will no longer result in warnings.

  

Beginning May 1, claims for services ordered or referred by physicians not appropriately enrolled will be DENIED.

 

This would be a good week to verify you're ready. TMA has a tool to determine if you have registered with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) PECOS (Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System) program. Access it by clicking here.

 

In addition to checking your status, if applicable, resolve any warnings received by your billing department, as a result of orders or referrals you receive. 

  

 

Joshua Creek Ranch

opportunities available

 

For the first time in several years, there are vacancies available at Joshua Creek Ranch through the BCMS corporate membership. The cost is $600 from now through February 2014.

 

Located in the Texas Hill Country just 45 minutes northwest of San Antonio and 90 minutes southwest of Austin, Joshua Creek Ranch occupies a uniquely diverse terrain including miles of Joshua Creek and Guadalupe River bottomland planted in fields of grain crops for prime pheasant hunting habitat; bordered by limestone bluffs that rise to oak- and elm-studded pastures lush with prairie grasses providing perfect quail hunting cover; and densely wooded areas conducive to Texas deer hunting, both whitetail and axis.

 

Open throughout the year, Joshua Creek Ranch's hunting season from October through March is complemented by year-round sporting clays, Texas fly-fishing for rainbow trout November through May, and spring-summer activities including corporate meetings and retreats, reunions, private parties, a Texas summer youth program, river sports such as kayaking, canoeing and tubing, workshops for artists and musicians, and more.

 

For more information on the ranch, click here.

 

To inquire about a membership,

call BCMS at 210-301-4371.

 

TRENDING TOPICS

 

83rd Session Update

BCMS physicians participate in

First Tuesdays visit to Capitol

 

By Mary E. Nava, MBA

BCMS Chief Governmental and

Community Relations Officer

  

A big THANK YOU to the following BCMS physicians, and Alliance and BCMS representatives who attended the April 2 First Tuesdays visit to the Capitol last week:  Chelsea Clinton, MD; Michael Guirl, MD; Pam Hall, MD; David Henkes, MD; Jim Humphreys, MD; Margaret Kelley, MD; Scott Kercheville, MD; Ashok Kumar, MD; Robert Luedecke, MD; BCMS President Gabriel Ortiz, MD; Raymond Osbourn, MD; Janet Realini, MD; Maria Tiamson-Beato, MD; BCMS Alliance President Lee Robin; Alliance members Jun Beato, MD, and Anne Foster; and BCMS CEO/Executive Director John Wisniewski.

 

Participants had a busy day meeting with legislators and staff members to update them on a number of legislative bills concerning a variety of topics, including:  advance directives and end-of-life issues; immunizations, silent PPOs, uniform prior authorizations for prescription drugs and medical services; telemedicine, Medicaid, GME, OIG, women's health, PAs, APNs, TMB and license/DEA renewals.

 

Also on April 2, James Humphreys, MD, BCMS vice-president and chairman of the BCMS Legislative and Socioeconomics Committee, testified before the House Insurance Committee on behalf of TMA in opposition to HB 2838 by Rep. John Smithee (R-Amarillo). HB 2838 requires physicians and other healthcare providers to tell patients the price accepted as payment in full for healthcare services and to provide it in writing at least 48 hours prior to providing the service(s).

 

To read HB 2838, click here.

 

To read Dr. Humphreys' testimony,

click here.

 

The last First Tuesdays visit to the Capitol will be May 7. To register,

click here.

 

PHOTO ABOVE: BCMS First Tuesdays participants stop to take a photo with Rep. Mike Villarreal (District 123) (center) April 2 at the Capitol.

 

Stay tuned to this column for more updates on the status of bills and other activities as the 83rd Legislative Session continues.

  

For local discussion on the 83rd Legislative Session, First Tuesdays trips to the Capitol and other legislative and socioeconomics topics, consider joining the BCMS Legislative and Socioeconomics Committee by contacting Mary Nava at mary.nava@bcms.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

 

Seminar to focus on new income alternative 

 

Robert C. Cadena Jr. at Retirement Solutions invites BCMS members to a seminar on Non-traded BDCs: The New Income Alternative.

 

The seminar will provide information on adding investments in private U.S. companies to diversity a portfolio through a Business Development Company (BDC),

a highly regulated investment designed to give the investing public access

to private debt and equity securities.  

 

Cadena is a registered representative of Invest Financial Corp.

 

Thursday, April 11

11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Speaker: Jim Hermes

of FS2 Capital Partners

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar 

255 E.  Basse Road

San Antonio 78209

 

 

To register, contact Gloria Peveto at Retirement Solutions: gloria@retirementsolutions.ws

210-342-2900 

Circle of Friends web logo 

 

This information is sent on behalf of a valued BCMS Circle of Friends sponsor at the SILVER level, but it is not an endorsement. Donations from Circle of Friends sponsors help keep down the cost of dues and allow BCMS to continue to provide quality service to its members. The society continues its pledge to you and only will involve itself in services and programs that benefit you, the member, and your patients.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 About The Weekly Dose 

  The Weekly Dose is a service of the Bexar County Medical Society.

Some of the suggestions conveyed may not be applicable to your practice today,
 but the goal is to offer information over time that returns value in excess

of the cost of your membership.

If you would like to recommend future topics to share with your colleagues,

please submit them to the BCMS executive director at john.wisniewski@bcms.org.

All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.

Copyright © 2013
 Bexar County Medical Society, San Antonio, Texas.

 

 

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