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Oct. 25, 2015
Vol. 4, No. 59
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TMA
submits letter to Department of Justice citing concerns of Aetna-Humana
merger
Chief Governmental and Community
Relations Officer
In a recent letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ),
TMA spells out concerns that the merger of Aetna and Humana would
have significant impact not only in the Texas health care market, in
terms of decreased competition, but also among physician practices in
terms of lesser contract negotiating leverage and other harmful
effects to practice operations.
To read TMA's letter and to learn more about the
proposed merger,
click here.
For local discussion on this and other government
topics, consider joining the BCMS Legislative and Socioeconomics
Committee by contacting Mary Nava.
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Proposed
changes to medical fee guidelines for Workers Compensation services
Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers'
Compensation is requesting public input on an informal rule proposal
for 28 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §134.204 relating to Medical
Fee Guideline for Workers' Compensation Specific Services. The Division
of Workers' Compensation will be accepting public input until 5pm CT,
November 4, 2015.
28 TAC §134.204 addresses reimbursement for workers'
compensation specific services including:
- Case
management services
- Functional
capacity examinations
- Chronic
pain/work hardening/work conditioning programs
- Maximum
medical improvement/impairment ratings and other similar exams
- Home
health services
Informal working draft:
Non-Substantive Reorganization of Title 28 Texas Administrative Code
(TAC) §134.204, regarding workers' compensation specific services
The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers'
Compensation (TDI-DWC) is accepting comments on an informal posting
of the working draft of the non-substantive reorganization of 28 TAC
§134.204.
The informal working draft was posted on the TDI-DWC
website on Oct. 21, and the comment period closes Nov. 4, 2015, at 5
p.m. Central time.
The informal posting is not a formal rule proposal and
comments received will not be treated as formal public comment for
the purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act. There will be
an opportunity to formally comment once the rules are proposed and
published in the Texas Register.
Texas Department of Insurance,
Division of Workers' Compensation
Maria Jimenez
Workers'
Compensation Counsel, MS-4D
7551 Metro
Center Drive, Suite 100
Austin, Texas
78744-1645
The purpose of the non-substantive reorganization of 28 TAC §134.204
is to reorganize existing subsections into several new sections for
ease of compliance for system participants. The amendment of existing
28 TAC §134.204 is necessary to correspond to the 60 day delayed
applicability date of new 28 TAC §§134.209, 134.210, 134.215,
134.220, 134.225, 134.230, 134.235, 134.239, 134.240 and
134.250.
The division may also repeal 28 TAC §134.202 and 28 TAC
§134.302 because the rules are no longer effective.
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Picture from left to right
VICTORIA RANARD, ANYA PEREZ, BRANDY
DOMINGUEZ, RON WALLER, ALLISON GILL, JAIMIE WEATHERS, DR.ROBERT
RAMIREZ, YVETTE CORONADO, AND CARRIE DELACRUZ
Unsung
Hero nominee
Brandy Dominguez, office
manager for Certified Allergy and Asthma of San Antonio, was
nominated for the Unsung
Hero Award by Dr. Robert Ramirez.
"As the office manager,
Brandy exceeds the team expectations in many ways. She not only
handles employee affairs but also supervises billing duties
efficiently and professionally. She has always maintained a positive
attitude towards employees and more importantly, our patients. She
has excellent bargaining skills which helped tremendously with our
recent renovation project. Brandy also led the initiative to attain
OSHA and HIPAA compliance training. As a leader with good work
ethic and personal values, she has earned the respect of everyone in
the office as both a manager and mentor." -- Dr. Robert Ramirez
Congratulations, Brandy Dominguez!
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What
does BCMS do for you?
The Bexar County Medical Society is the oldest county
medical society in Texas with a history dating back to 1853. Today
the society represents more than 4,500 doctors in Bexar and the
surrounding counties and provides a wealth of services including political
advocacy and legal counsel while also serving as a historical
repository and communications outlet.
BCMS Executive Director and CEO Stephen C. Fitzer has
summarized the Value Proposition of BCMS in an excellent article that
can be found here. We
would encourage you to read the article and then check out the latest
issue of San Antonio Medicine magazine to get a more complete
understanding of what BCMS does and the services it provides to its
members on a regular basis.
To read San Antonio Medicine click here.
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A PLATINUM CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
SPONSOR
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Platinum-level
Circle of Friends sponsors contribute $10,000
or
more to BCMS annually.
Support
our sponsors; our sponsors support us!
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A GOLD CIRCLE OF FRIENDS SPONSOR
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Gold-level
Circle of Friends sponsors contribute $5,000
or
more to BCMS annually.
Support
our sponsors; our sponsors support us!
Thank
you to our BCMS Circle of Friends sponsors! This information is sent
on behalf of a valued sponsor, 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 patient.
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Bexar County
Medical Society
6243 I-10 West,
Suite 600
San Antonio, TX
78201
210-301-4391
www.bcms.org
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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,
All
rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.
Copyright
© 2015 Bexar County Medical Society, San Antonio, Texas.
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