Affordable, effective practice management support

News and announcements

Affordable, effective practice management support

MMS offers Practice Management Consulting services at significantly reduced rates for members. You can get reliable, value-driven help to increase your practice revenue, improve workflow, and/or otherwise transform your practice. Call our Physician Practice Resource Center on (781) 434 7702 or email pprc@mms.org — or contact David Wasserman at dwasserman@mms.org.

Blue Cross Blue Shield: Changes to provider portal

BCBS of Massachusetts has announced changes to its provider portal (Provider Central) to address certain browser and search limitations. The changes include a cleaner layout and improved search functionality on more browsers.

What’s up in advocacy and policy

Medicare-Medicaid Integration Demonstration

The MMS today commented on a proposal by MassHealth to reform its managed care programs for many duly eligible beneficiaries. The Society expressed strong support for coordinated, integrated care for dual eligible beneficiaries, as in the OneCare and SCO programs. It welcomed many of the reforms contained in the Duals Demonstration 2.0, including streamlined communications and member appeals. The MMS emphasized the importance of the continuity of patient-physician relationships in any expansion of One Care and SCO programs, and urged the MassHealth administration to learn from the ACO/MCO transition process. The Society opposed reimbursement caps for physicians.

Reminders: Stuff you should click on

Claims: Are you having problems getting paid?

Looking for an efficient way to resolve unpaid insurance claims? The MMS is hosting three Individual Claims Consultation days this summer and fall. These are opportunities for you and/or your practice colleague to meet with representatives from insurance companies to troubleshoot specific claims. The events will be held in Holyoke (July 25), Waltham (Aug 16), and Lakeville (Sept 20). Click below for more information and registration.

Member verdict

“I had a significant claims concern. Being able to speak person-to-person to a representative was so much better than being on hold on the phone. I would recommend that members take advantage of this useful service that the MMS supplies.” — Laura L. McCann, MD, president, Charles River District Medical Society

Casual networking on the Cape

Please join your colleagues and friends for an evening of professional networking, with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Connect with physicians from across organizations and specialties, make new professional contacts, and meet MMS leaders. Physicians (members and nonmembers) and your guests are welcome. The event will be held on Saturday, July 28, 6:30-9:30 p.m., at Cape Cod Beer, 1336 Phinneys Lane, Hyannis. Please reply by July 13 to  sfrazier@mms.org or  mjussaume@mms.org. The MMS plans to bring fun, convenient, and casual networking events to all parts of the state. Questions? Call (800) 944 5562.

Benefit buzz

Legal Advisory Plan for medical groups

Did you know that your group professional liability insurance may not cover Board of Registration in Medicine (BORIM) complaints, or the policy may be limited?  Enroll in the MMS Legal Advisory Plan at a fraction of typical legal fees. The Plan provides your group physicians with affordable protection to fill the insurance gap and assures peace of mind. Click below for more info. Questions? Call (781) 434-7311 or email  lap@massmed.org.   

Member verdicts:

"The Plan is a bargain. The attorney was able to help me resolve the Board investigation easily."

"The LAP provides me with another level of comfort, even though I have malpractice insurance. The attorneys are experts in local Board matters, easy to reach and very helpful." 

Educational programs and events

Live event: Leadership and workplace effectiveness 
Managing Workplace Conflict: Improving Leadership and Personal Effectiveness
Thurs.–Fri., November 1–2

Featured online CME: Firearms safety
Talking to Patients About Gun Safety
Firearm Violence: Policy, Prevention, and Public Health (6 modules)
Initiating a Conversation with Patients on Gun Safety

Quote of the week

"These so-called health centers manipulate, shame and scare women away from comprehensive family planning services using false and medically inaccurate information."

—US Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Melrose) on the Supreme Court blocking a state law that requires "crisis pregnancy centers" to inform women that free or low-cost abortion, birth control, and prenatal care are available through public programs (MassLive)

Tweet of the week

@MAHealthforKids - Pediatrician, public health advocate, JHSPH MPH grad student. Save lives 1 @ a time AND millions @ a time. #Tweetiatrician

What’s new in health care

Check out the most clicked-on stories from this week's MMS Media Watch. Sign up for daily Massachusetts media roundups by email. Some publications are fully accessible only to their subscribers.

Paid family leave is now state law

A new mother in Massachusetts will get paid time off to care for her baby, beginning in 2021. A son will get paid time off to care for his ailing parent. 

US officials reject Baker's Medicaid proposals

Federal officials have rejected proposals from Governor Charlie Baker's administration to slash costs in the Massachusetts Medicaid program by limiting coverage for some prescription drugs and moving thousands of people off the program. 

$1 million earmarked to 'home grow' doctors in Western Mass. 

A $1 million earmark in the Massachusetts state budget is aimed at creating a pipeline of primary care physicians to rural and urban areas of western Massachusetts where there is a severe shortage of doctors. 

Partners shifting 100,000 employees, families to company-owned insurer

Partners HealthCare, the state's largest private employer, plans to shift health coverage for all of its employees and their families to the company's own insurance business, Neighborhood Health Plan, in a move aimed at containing costs. 

Boston ICE officials to arrest undocumented immigrants at government offices

Immigration officers in Massachusetts are again directed to arrest undocumented immigrants who show up for appointments at government offices in an abrupt reversal of a February order that ended that practice, according to court files. 

Healey ruling could be setback to recreational marijuana sales

A recent decision by Attorney General Maura Healey, an opponent of legal recreational marijuana, delivers a " devastating setback" for legal marijuana supporters who are still uncertain about legal sales beginning July 1, the leader of the coalition behind the voter law said.

MMS leaders: "Some children will be scarred for life"
Medical experts are starting to voice their concerns about long-term health repercussions that can result from family separation, and more lawmakers are heading to the border to see all of this first hand. 

Here's what we know about the state's paid leave program

As part of a sweeping wage and benefits bill passed by the Legislature this week — and expected to be signed into law by Governor Charlie Baker — Massachusetts is set to become the seventh state to mandate paid family and medical leave for its workers.