Happy Friday! Here’s your NCMS Morning Rounds.

May 14, 2021

Has Your Practice Returned to Pre-COVID Office Procedures?

This week our regular survey includes questions on whether procedures implemented during the pandemic such as checking patient temperatures and social distancing in waiting areas have changed recently. Please take just a moment to complete this survey to help track the evolving impact the pandemic has had on your practice.

TAKE THE SURVEY

Since March 2020, the NCMS, the NC Medical Group Management Association and Curi have been collecting data from these regular surveys to help us advocate on your behalf with policymakers and to develop resources you can use. Thanks to your participation we have a clearer understanding of how North Carolina medical practices have responded to the pandemic and the challenges you face. Thank you!

Position Available on NC Respiratory Care Board

The NCMS has the opportunity to fill a position on the NC Respiratory Care Board. The Board licenses respiratory care practitioners and ensures the qualifications and activities of those engaged in respiratory care are in accord with law and in the best interest of the public. The Board shall issue and enforce standards for the licensure of respiratory care practitioners, but the Board is not a Board of arbitration and has no jurisdiction to settle disputes between private parties. Learn more about the Board here.

Here is some of what would be expected of you as an appointee to the Board:

  • Quarterly Board Meetings: Second Thursday of July, October, January, and April
  • Quarterly Board Committee Meetings: First Friday of September, December, March, and June
  • Members are assigned at least one committee per the Board Chair. The expectation is that they participate in Board Meetings to fulfill 21 NCAC 61 .0101.

The contact for the NC Respiratory Board is its Executive Director William L. Croft, Ed.D, Ph.D., RRT, RCP, who may be reached at (919) 878-5595.

If you are interested in serving on the Board, please contact Evan Simmons at the NCMS, [email protected] by May 18.

NC Medicaid Updates – Today is an Important Day

Today, Friday, May 14, is the last day of open enrollment for Medicaid Managed Care when Medicaid beneficiaries can pro-actively select a pre-paid health plan (PHP) and primary care provider (PCP). This one-pager can help your patients with this process. The fact sheet is available in Spanish here. Those who do not actively select a health plan or primary care provider by the deadline will be auto-assigned.

Today also is the deadline to attest for a June payment as an Advanced Medical Home (AMH) Tier 3 practice. Those who have successfully attested to meeting Glidepath payment eligibility in NCTracks in the previous cycle do not need to do so again.
The NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has developed a reconsideration process following the validation of the provider submitted attestation information. You have the option of requesting an AMH Glidepath Payment reconsideration under the following circumstances:

*You missed the attestation deadline due to hardships related to the COVID-19 pandemic, or
*You disagree with the outcome of the validation determination.

The deadline for submission of Reconsideration Requests is May 23.

For more information, please see the Medicaid bulletin article ‘Advanced Medical Home Tier 3 Glidepath Attestation Payment Updates.’

For more information about the transition to NC Medicaid Managed Care, visit the Medicaid Transformation website or the NC Medicaid Enrollment Broker website.

In the News

As America ‘Turn[s] The Corner’ Against Covid-19, When Will Social Distancing Guidelines Change? Advisory Board, 5-10-21

Learning Opportunity

NC Asthma Summit 2021 – Reimagining Asthma Care in a Digital World, Wednesday, May 19 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

May is National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month – join with colleagues to learn more during this live morning webinar. Hot topics include COVID-19 & Asthma. Telehealth, ACES & Asthma and new/updated asthma guidelines.

The NC Asthma Summit is a collaboration between the Asthma Alliance of North Carolina (AANC) and UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC.

Learn more and 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!