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04/07/2020

OSMA Advocates for Direct Relief Payments For Ohio Physicians

As you know, the Ohio State Medical Association (OSMA) is committed to keeping Ohio physicians informed on state and federal updates related to COVID-19, especially how they impact Ohio’s medical practices and healthcare professionals.



Today, the OSMA joined the American Medical Association (AMA), national specialty societies, and other state medical associations advocating the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) dedicate a portion of the $100 billion in the CARES act allocated for the medical community for direct payment to physicians.

Read the Letter to Health & Human Services > 

Specifically, our organizations are “urging HHS to provide one month of revenue to each physician (MD or DO), nurse practitioner, and physician assistant enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid to account for financial losses and non-reimbursable expenses.”

Every physician and physician practice has been dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some are feeling the impact of being on the front lines of care, while most others are unable to provide care to their patients and being forced to reduce practice hours, furlough or layoff employees and find new and creative ways like telehealth to provide patient care.


How the proposal would work:

  • Regional Medicare Administrator Contractors (MACs) would calculate an individual’s average monthly payment amount from October-December 2019. On average, Medicare patients account for 35% of all patients.

  • HHS would take the individuals average monthly Medicare billing and multiply it by three to get average overall monthly billing that would be the amount paid.

  • There would be an alternative formula for those specialties that have lower than average Medicare billing as a percentage of all patients.

The OSMA will be working with the Ohio Congressional Delegation in the days ahead to ensure that HHS prioritizes this proposal and quickly makes a decision to create direct relief to all Ohio physicians. We will be keeping you informed as this moves forward, as we know it will have a significant impact on physicians across our state.


Also, today marks the observance of World Health Day. While this year’s World Health Day looks very different, we find comfort in the fact that we’re all in this together. Thank you to physicians and healthcare workers everywhere on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis and working tirelessly to keep our communities safe.



If you have questions about this information
or OSMA’s services to physicians:

Call 800-766-6762 or email OSMA.

 

 

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