Happy Tuesday! Enjoy your NCMS Morning Rounds.

September 7, 2021

Legislative Update

Thank you to each of you who attended the September 1 advocacy event with US Rep. Greg Murphy, MD, and NC Rep. Kristin Baker, MD. A follow-up survey will be sent. We hope you’ll take time to complete it. We’d also like to thank the NCMS members who volunteered as experts for the WRAL hotline, answering viewers’ questions on vaccinations.

HB608 — Dignity for Women Who are Incarcerated has gone through a long and lengthy process but passed the House on a concurrence vote last week and has been sent to the governor as of last Thursday. We’ll continue to update you on when—or if—the governor signs the bill. Thank you to all who worked tirelessly on this issue.

We’re still in the budget negotiation process between the House and the Senate, but we’ve heard an agreement has been reached on a number; 27.5 billion dollars is the amount that both the House and Senate budget conferees have agreed to spend. We’re likely to see a final budget agreement by the end of September. We’ll keep you updated.

DME Suppliers: Payment for Respiratory Equipment Affected by Recent Recall

On June 14, Philips Respironics issued a recall for several models of continuous positive airway pressure devices, respiratory assist devices, and mechanical ventilators covered by Medicare under the Durable Medical Equipment (DME) benefit. Read Respiratory Equipment Affected by Recent Phillips Respironics Recall to learn about:

  • Your responsibility to assist patients who are renting or own affected devices
  • Covered items and services related to this recall

Scholarship Opportunity

The Governor’s Institute is offering scholarships to attend the 2021 Addiction Medicine

Essentials Conference to be held virtually on October 22-23, 2021. Scholarships are provided by

the Dr. Henry Blansfield Addiction Medicine Education Fund, the NC Society of Addiction

Medicine and the Governor’s Institute. All scholarships cover registration fees for the full

conference.

Learn more here.

In the News

Has The Delta Variant Hit Its Peak? Here’s What Experts Think, Advisory Board, 9-2-21

Learning Opportunity

2021 Addiction Medicine Essentials Conference, Friday, October 22, 2021 – Saturday, October 23, 2021

The 4th annual Addiction Medicine Essentials conference is just around the corner and this year, it couldn’t be easier to attend – it’s online. The conference is suitable for clinicians with all levels of addiction medicine expertise. 101 level workshops are offered for clinicians new to addiction medicine as well as more advanced 201/301 level content for experienced addiction medicine clinicians.

Register here.

 

If you have policies you’d like your NCMS Board of Directors to consider, please complete the Board input form here. Thanks for reading!