It’s Friday once again! Enjoy your
NCMS Morning Rounds.
May 29, 2020
The NC General Assembly is back in session and the NCMS advocacy staff is busy tracking its work. Keep up-to-date on all the proposals most likely to impact your practice and your patients at our Legislative blog. The blog is continually updated with behind-the-scenes, quick summaries as the proposed legislation makes its way through the various committees and floor votes. Go to the NCMS Legislative Blog.
NCMS PPE Deliveries Continue
The NCMS has continued to deliver personal protective equipment to our Community Practitioner Program (CPP) practices throughout the state. These medical offices are located in underserved communities. Learn more about our NCMS Foundation’s CPP and how we are helping to ensure every community has the health care they need – especially during this uncertain time.
The masks and test kits delivered to these practices in western NC are thanks to the generous donations from Centene, the NCMS’ partner in Carolina Complete Health, and the University of North Carolina. NCMS Vice President for Member Services Ashley Newton, MBA, delivered the much-needed supplies to the following practices:
- Newton Family Physicians, Newton
• Midway Medical Center, Clyde
• Surry Rural Health Center, Mt Airy
• Silver Creek Family Practice, Morganton
• Morganton Eye Physicians, Morganton
• Hendersonville Pediatrics, Hendersonville
NCMS Urges Senators to Support Additional Help
Yesterday the NCMS reached out to Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) to support federal legislation that would offer additional help to patients and medical practices struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As NCMS CEO Robert W. Seligson, MBA, MA, states in the letter: “It has been a time of incredible disruption of patient care, and the state’s economy and physician practices are being heavily impacted from the effects of this crisis.”
The letter enumerates the provisions in the HEROES Act, recently passed by the US House of Representatives, and urges Senators Burr and Tillis to come together to compromise and support bipartisan legislation to “serve those with COVID-19 and those whose coverage is being displaced. We ask you to support a final bill that will help practices remain open to care for all North Carolina patients.”
Early Access to NCTracks Annual Survey
For those practices that accept Medicaid, NCTracks is offering NCMS members early access to its Annual Provider Survey for 2020. The survey will officially open on Monday, June 1, but NCTracks is offering you advance access now.
This is your opportunity to provide NCTracks feedback on direct customer interaction such as their call center, provider relations, training and communications as well as your thoughts on functional areas such as pharmacy prior approval and provider enrollment.
The survey has been newly designed to take less than 10 minutes to complete. Responses will be accepted until June 15.
In the News
The Epic Battle Against Coronovirus Misinformation and Conspiracy Theories, Nature, 5-27-20
Learning Opportunity
REMINDER: Be sure to tune into today’s NCMS Foundation’s Kanof Institute for Physician Leadership Power Hour from 1 to 2 p.m. to discuss diabetes prevention. Learn more and register here.
Also, today from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. NC AHEC and the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) will continue the weekly forum in which NC Division of Public Health subject matter experts are on hand to answer your questions about the COVID-19 response. Access this webinar through this Zoom link or, for audio only, by calling +1-646-558-8656 and entering meeting ID 705979628#.
NCDHHS has held these forums since the pandemic began and would like to know if you still find them useful. Please share your perspective with NCDHHS’ Maribeth Wooten at [email protected].
If you have policies you’d like your NCMS Board of Directors to consider, please complete the Board input form here. Thanks for reading!