Monday Rx: MICRA Update, New LACMA Team Member, Q2 Practice Makeover Winners and Upcoming Events May 10, 2022 ACEs, Adverse Childhood Experience, Assembly Bill 35, Building Emotional Strength in Kids, Californians Allied for Patient Protection, CAPP, CMA, Community-Based Organization, Events, Fraud Enforcement, MCLE, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Member Engagement Coordinator, Mental Health, MICRA, Practice Makeover Program, TIC, Trauma-Informed Care, Webinar 1086 CMA CEO Dustin Corcoran provided an update on the MICRA compromise now known as Assembly Bill 35 and provided a summary of provisions and impacts on providers as CMA President Robert E. Wailes testified last week in the California Senate Judiciary Committee in support of AB 35— jointly authored by Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Reyes and Senator Tom Umberg—which will implement the agreement reached by Californians Allied for Patient Protection (CAPP) and the Consumer Attorneys of California to modernize the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA). The modernized framework, which unanimously passed out of the committee, will ensure that health care is accessible and affordable, while balancing compensatory justice for injured patients. For those members who are unaware of the specific outcomes, the element likely to garner the most interest surrounds changes to the limit on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases, which is currently $250,000, as opposed to the ballot measure, which would have effectively eliminated the cap on non-economic damages entirely, under the agreement: Cases not involving a patient death will have a limit of $350,000 on the effective date of January 1, 2023, with an incremental increase over the next 10 years to $750,000 and a 2.0% annual inflationary adjustment thereafter. Cases involving a patient death will have a limit of $500,000 on the effective date of January 1, 2023, with an incremental increase over the next 10 years to $1 million and a 2.0% annual inflationary adjustment thereafter. Critical MICRA guardrails that will remain in place with modest updates include the ability to pay awards of future damages over time and limits on plaintiff’s attorney’s contingency fees. Under the agreement, the initiative will be withdrawn from the ballot and this watershed agreement will preclude another costly fight. Today’s Los Angeles Times editorial provides a different perspective. Click here to read the article. Welcome Stephanie Mares, LACMA’s new Member Engagement Coordinator! Stephanie’s role will be to ensure that LACMA is delivering the highest quality membership service, improving the membership experience and maximizing programs in order to drive growth. Stephanie will manage the processing of new members and distribution of membership materials and work closely with appropriate team members to prepare and execute all marketing campaigns, recruitment activities and retention efforts. Stephanie will also maintain the information and functionality of LACMA’s websites and affiliated websites and work closely with me to onboard and manage group partner relationships by building a rapport with key contacts and communicate Association news on a regular basis. Welcome Stephanie! Congratulations to the Q2 Practice Makeover Winners! Dr. Maryam Seddigh Tonekaboni Northridge, CA Dr. Paul Wallace Los Angeles, CA Dr. Jeffrey Huang Alhambra, CA Dr. Donald Stevenson Inglewood, CA Dr. Augustine Iluore Hawthorne, CA LACMA President, Dr. Jeffery Lee visited this quarter's winners of the Practice Makeover Program. We are now taking applications for Q3. Click Here to Apply Today The Role of a Public Option Health Plan to Achieve Universal Coverage Join us to discuss the role of a public option health plan with the Chief Executive Officer of L.A. Care Health Plan John Baackes, moderated by our President-Elect Omer Deen, MD and Board Member Hector Flores, MD. Our objectives are: List the essential components of a Public Option Health Plan Describe how a public option plan would improve coverage, make health care coverage more affordable for consumers, and equitable for providers Describe how a public option plan would improve our state’s goals for quality, value-based performance, and ability to address social drivers of care Identify, explain and discuss how to reduce the barriers in cultural and linguistic, health equity disparities and implicit bias in caring for patients in a public option health plan. Date: May 9, 2022 Time: 6:00 pm This program qualifies for 1 hour of CME credit. Register here. MICRA Update with Dustin Corcoran, CEO & Alicia Wagnon, Esq. Deputy General Counsel of CMA Register and join CMA for a discussion of MICRA updates. Date: May 11, 2022 Time: 2:00 pm Register here. A Case Study: Fraud Enforcement in Medicare Advantage This joint education program will address emerging issues for providers and healthcare lawyers. We will use a real-life case study (the Sutter case) to explore the interplay between Medicare Advantage and Medicare fraud and abuse, when health plans delegate risk adjustment to physicians and share financial risk with them. In these arrangements, who has responsibility/liability for coding: the plan, the delegated physician organization, the physician, others? When does education about coding become pressure to upcode? What protections are there for physicians or others who want to raise objections? What factors increase and decrease risk? What types of conflicts can arise? What are the key takeaways? Date: May 19, 2022 Time: 5:30 - 6:00 pm Registration | 6:00 - 8:00 pm Program 2 hrs. MCLE and CE Credits (Including 1 hour Legal Ethics) Register here. Building Emotional Strength in Kids Learning Objectives: 1. Identify risk factors and warning signs of mental health concerns in youth. 2. Increase protective factors and develop strengths in youth to encourage positive mental health trajectories. 3. Learn evidence-based strategies for helping youth build coping and resilience skills. 4. Offer critical insights and best practices for parents, 1st responders, educators, and their support staff in caring for children. 5. Discuss how collective trauma has impacted children and the lives they lead. 6. Address the importance of being trauma-informed when communicating and caring for children. Date: May 25, 2022 Time: 5:30 - 6:30 pm Location: Zoom Register here. Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) and Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) Education and Practical Resources for all Community-Based Organization Employees Topics Include: • Introduction to ACEs and trauma-Informed care • Identifying organizational imperative for trauma-informed care • Explore the ROI for embracing trauma informed approaches • Practical steps to Integrating trauma Informed care in the workplace Webinar Dates and Times: Wednesday, May 11th: 10:00AM-12:00PM Thursday, May 12th: 12:00PM-2:00PM Friday, May 13th: 2:00PM-4:00PM Monday, May 16th: 4:00PM-6:00PM Southern California Homelessness: Preventive Strategies and Solutions This virtual community conversation will consist of policy makers and service providers. Topics of discussion include: Homeless crisis challenges in southern California Strategies to support the homeless population The impact of homelessness on foster youth Wednesday, May 18th: 10:00AM-11:00AM Register here. #MondayMotivation "Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day." Gustavo Friederichsen Chief Executive Officer Los Angeles County Medical Association “If it matters to our LACMA members, it matters to me.”