Brian Dooreck, MD

Vitally Important Ambulance Funding Expiring! Act NOW! The board of the American Ambulance Association urges you to contact your Members of Congress immediately to support the extension of the ambulance Medicare add-on payments. These temporary reimbursement increases under the Medicare ambulance fee schedule—2% for urban, 3% for rural, and 22.6% for super rural areas—are set to expire on December 31, 2024. Without renewal, EMS agencies nationwide will face significant financial challenges, threatening our lifesaving operations. We must alert elected officials to the extreme hardship the loss of these funds would present to EMS access in our communities. The Call to Action is pre-written and only requires a few clicks to deploy to your members of Congress! American Ambulance Association President Randy Strozyk and President-Elect Jamie Pafford-Gresham urge EMS professionals to contact Congress now in support of the extension of the vitally important ambulance Medicare add-on payments. These represent vitally important revenue for first responders across the nation. Use the AAA letter-writing tool to quickly and easily send a note to your Senators and Representative today! Complete Call to Action https://lnkd.in/ev6i3Jn3 Contact Congress today in support of key legislation that would shore up access to the add-ons: House Bill H.R. 1666: Introduced by Representatives Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Buddy Carter (R-GA), and Paul Tonko (D-NY), this bill aims to extend the current Medicare add-on payments at their existing levels for an additional three years. Senate Bill S. 1673, The Preserving Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2023: Introduced by Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Susan Collins (R-ME), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA), this bill not only seeks to extend the add-on payments for three more years but also proposes to increase the payment levels to better offset rising operational costs: Urban areas: from 2% to 3.4% Rural areas: from 3% to 4.3% Super rural areas: from 22.6% to 26.2% Without the extension in the House bill—and ideally, the proposed increases in the Senate version—many EMS agencies may be forced to cut services or close altogether, leaving communities vulnerable. Congress needs to hear from us NOW to ensure these provisions are included in upcoming legislation. Our collective outreach can help secure the resources necessary to keep our ambulances on the road and our communities safe. Contact Congress Today https://lnkd.in/ev6i3Jn3 Contact Congress today, then take a moment to share this request with your EMS colleagues via email, text, and social media. Now, more than ever, we must speak with one voice to safeguard the financial future of mobile healthcare.

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💊 Breaking News: Medicare Drug Price Negotiations 💊 The federal government’s recent action to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies is a benefit for Medicare beneficiaries! This initiative is set to reduce healthcare costs for seniors, helping them manage their health more affordably and maintain a higher quality of life. Expect more proactive steps from the government to continue leveling the playing field for Medicare recipients. Want to learn more about Medicare and how it impacts you? Join our Medicare 101: Understanding the Basics webinar later this month! 🎓 📅 Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/gaaqRMbD #Medicare #DrugPricing #SeniorHealth #CostSavings #Medicare101 #HealthcareReform #MedicareForSeniors #MySeniorHealthPlan #Webinar

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The 2024 Doctors As Consumers study includes data from 2,238 physician respondents across 23 specialties. The study includes: - New data on the types of podcasts regularly listened to, and actions taken after listening to them - Streaming TV usage by dayparts and top subscription services watched - Non-professional content that physicians regularly research, follow, or read about online, and so much more! For access to this study or to learn more about our portfolio of Professional Health studies, contact us > https://hubs.ly/Q02WPXRr0 #DoctorsasConsumers #MediaHabits #LifestyleActivities #MarketResearch #M3MI

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Nearly 1 in 12 adults in the United States carry medical debt, according to a recent Peterson-KFF Survey. Participants report “cutting spending on food and clothing, using savings to pay for medical bills, and borrowing money from friends and family." At HealthBridge, this strengthens our resolve to alleviate this patient burden. #healthcare #revenuecycle #patientpayments #healthcarepayments #paymentsolution #healthcareinnovation https://lnkd.in/ewr7VwpK

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Don’t miss the American Telemedicine Association Insights Summit on Virtual Nursing: https://lnkd.in/e67gPnFi Join industry experts November 17-19, 2024, at Loews, Arlington, TX, for insightful discussions on how virtual nursing is transforming healthcare through innovation and patient-centric care. Some of the exciting topics include: Building a culture of change Measuring success with KPIs and ROI Integrating technology seamlessly Navigating legal and ethical challenges Lessons learned from successful virtual nursing implementations Be part of the future of nursing innovation! #VirtualNursing #HealthcareInnovation #NursingLeadership

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💬"How do we redesign the whole healthcare system to pay for outcomes that matter to patients?", Dr. David N. Bernstein. 🎉 Our latest episode is now live. In this episode, Dr. Bernstein unpacks the concept of #ValueBasedHealthcare, sharing how a stronger doctor-patient relationship and outcome-focused systems can reshape the future of healthcare. Links to the episode on YouTube, Spotify & Apple Podcast are in the comments.👇 #HealthcareMatters

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Excellent read Medical Economics. We appreciate you sharing our report findings on the #Valuebased health care Market Read @ https://rb.gy/j3q3ld .View market insight @ https://t.ly/ZyYAD 

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Medical Directors, are you struggling to Get Meaningful Insights? 📢 Here are three steps to guide your field team toward gathering impactful insights: 1. Define the key decisions you need insights to support over the next 6–8 months.  2. Develop clear questions that, when answered, will validate or guide those decisions.  3. Share these questions with your field team, explaining their importance and how insights from multiple HCPs will strengthen decision-making. Transform field insights into actionable data for #MedicalAffairs success. #HealthcareStrategy #Medical Directors

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Curious about how long you might live? 👵🧬 Learn what current research says about human life expectancy and what you can do to extend your health span. https://lnkd.in/dWduuawx #Aging #Seniors #LifeExpectancy #Longevity #LivingTo100

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Exclusive Update on Medicare Coverage Determination for Special Stains and IHC Stains by Palmetto and WPS Effective July 14, 2024, two Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), Palmetto and WPS, have finalized their Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs) concerning medical necessity guidelines for special stains and immunohistochemical (IHC) stains. These determinations, LCD L36805 (WPS) and LCD L35922 (Palmetto), provide clear and stringent criteria under which Medicare will cover these stains. Key Points of the LCDs: *Conditions for Coverage: 1.Medical Necessity: The special stains and IHC stains must be medically necessary to ensure a complete and accurate diagnosis is reported to the treating physician. 2.Communication and Utilization: The results of the stains must be communicated to and used by the treating physician in the patient's treatment plan. 3.Documentation: The pathologist must document in the pathology report the rationale for performing the additional stains. *Prohibitions and Requirements: -A statement in the pathology report that merely says "IHC confirms the diagnosis" will not be considered sufficient for coverage. -The necessity of the stains must be justified with specific documentation within the surgical pathology report, detailing why the stains were performed and the results obtained. *Specifics of the LCD L36805 (WPS): -This policy emphasizes that reflex templates or pre-orders for special stains and IHC stains before reviewing the routine hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain by the pathologist are not considered reasonable and necessary. -Only the pathologist may determine the need for special stains after reviewing the routine H&E stain. -Exceptions include recognized standards of care in certain biopsies and the suspicion of infectious diseases. *Specifics of the LCD L35922 (Palmetto): -Like WPS, Palmetto’s policy requires detailed documentation of the medical necessity for special stains or IHC studies and their results in the pathology report. -The policy delineates scenarios where over-utilization or incorrect billing of these stains may occur, such as the use of pre-orders for special stains without prior review of the H&E stain. Implications for Pathologists and Healthcare Providers These determinations highlight the critical role of pathologists in ensuring that the use of special stains and IHC stains is both necessary and properly documented. Healthcare providers must ensure compliance with these guidelines to secure Medicare coverage for these diagnostic tests. Proper documentation and communication with treating physicians are paramount to adhere to these new standards. For further details, you can review the complete LCDs on the CMS website using the following LCD IDs: L36805 and L35922. #Medicare #Healthcare #Pathology #MedicalNecessity #IHCStains #SpecialStains #Palmetto #WPS

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SDOH Part 2 drops this Friday! This episode, we’re joined by industry experts to discuss concepts like precision care incorporating SDOH assessments into practice. We cover various aspects of SDOH, including health equity, data collection challenges, and technological solutions for improving patient care by addressing social needs such as health literacy, nutrition, and housing. Subscribe at the link below and tune in this Friday. #podcast #valuebasedcare #SDOH

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The 6/10 Healthcare Labyrinth Blog is live. Click the image below to read. I begin a 3-part blog series detailing my modest proposal for healthcare reform. The three tenets of my healthcare reform vision are (1) driving affordable universal access, (2) reforming price, and (3) pivoting to care management from our obsession with utilization management. In this blog we tackle price reform. #healthcare #healthcarereform #healthinsurance The Healthcare Labyrinth Marc S. Ryan 🇺🇦

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The White House Projects $6 Billion Medicare Savings from IRA Drug Price Negotiations in 2026 The Biden Administration's Inflation Reduction Act is projected to save Medicare approximately $6 billion in 2026 through its Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. This initiative aims to lower prescription drug prices, benefiting millions of Medicare beneficiaries by reducing out-of-pocket costs by an estimated $1.5 billion. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure highlighted the program's impact on improving access to life-saving medications. However, a report from PhRMA suggests that 3.5 million beneficiaries may experience an increase in costs, raising concerns about the IRA's broader effects. Despite legal challenges from the pharmaceutical industry, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services remains committed to expanding the program to include more drugs in future years. For more details please click the link! https://lnkd.in/dtqP-y6t #marketaccess #reimbursement #pricing #hta #heor #healtheconomics #medicaldevices #pharmaceutical 

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Designing a proactive, preventive approach to health care can help identify risks early, reduce clinician burnout, and improve patient satisfaction. 💡 This article informs best practices for developing empathetic, engaging content to empower patients through the following elements: -Personalizing patient education -Addressing social determinants -Holistic health integration -Simplifying medical information -Human connection in healthcare Read the article: https://lnkd.in/ecpUq8zE

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