Newsroom
February 7, 2018
“We are excited that Project Access® has expanded into Madison County and appreciate all the physicians participating in Project Access®,” said Dr. Susan McDowell, a family medicine physician at Hot Springs Medical Center.
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February 2, 2018
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released proposed changes for the Medicare health and drug programs in 2019 that increase flexibility in Medicare Advantage that will allow more options and new benefits to Medicare beneficiaries, meeting their unique health needs and improving their quality of life.
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February 2, 2018
The US Department of Health and Human Services is introducing the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BCPI Advanced) Model designed to better support healthcare providers who invest in practice innovation, care redesign, and enhanced care coordination. The CMS Innovation Center has launched the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement and this bundled payment model qualifies as an Alternative Payment Mode (Advanced APM) under the Quality Payment Program.
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February 2, 2018
As the Trump administration moves to give states more flexibility in running Medicaid, advocates for the poor are keeping a close eye on Indiana to see whether such conservative ideas improve or harm care.
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February 2, 2018
Literature has shown that prescribers receive little education on the treatment of pain resulting in less effective pain treatment with worse outcomes. Attendees will learn the evidence-based analysis of the relative effectiveness of medications and their side effects, recommendations on how to improve treatment of acute and chronic pain and recognizing substance use/opioid use disorders. This program will include the three required topics outlined by the new CME requirement in 21 NCAC 32R .0101.
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January 31, 2018
CareNet Counseling in McDowell County received $8,720 from WCMS Foundation's Endowment Fund (as part of a $20,000 Community Foundation of WNC People in Need Grant) to support community-based, professional mental health counseling for the residents of McDowell Country, regardless of ability to pay.
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January 29, 2018
On February 6, primary care providers will learn how to help their patients manage chronic pain effectively with pharmacological and behavioral health approaches that reduce the risk for opioid misuse and dependency.
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January 29, 2018
Colon Cancer Awareness 5K run/walk
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January 23, 2018
RALEIGH - The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded the NC Rural Center a $100,000 grant to increase regional leadership development in North Carolina's 29 Appalachian counties.
The grant will allow the Rural Center to expand its Homegrown Leaders program, an initiative to develop and support highly-skilled, highly-motivated leaders who are committed to building regional collaboration across multi-county regions in North Carolina.
"Thanks to the support of the Appalachian Regional Commission, we will be able to provide training opportunities to current and emerging leaders in rural Appalachia," said Rural Center President Patrick Woodie. "The Rural Center has a long history of supporting and nurturing rural leadership in North Carolina. This grant will allow us to help these 29 counties develop and support a diverse group of leaders who are committed to bringing about positive change in their communities and region
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January 22, 2018
WCMS is proud to advocate in collaboration with the Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council, along with other local food councils across North Carolina, to sponsor a campaign to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other nutrition programs from cuts or major restructuring.
Local food councils strive to bring our communities together to work on issues related to food, health and agriculture. We have launched this campaign because SNAP and other nutrition programs are critical to the wellbeing of children, elderly, and families living with food insecurity, and because their future will be the subject of Congressional debate early in 2018. SNAP receipts are also very important to the food and agricultural economy within our state.
As the 2018 Farm Bill is debated in Congress, all of us in Congressional District 10 who are concerned about the nutritional needs of our neighbors at risk of hunger and food insecurity need to speak up and defend the programs that have proven to be effective.
Specifically, our statement urges Congressman Patrick McHenry and Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis to reject any proposals that:
- cut funding to SNAP or other federal nutrition programs,
- shift costs to the states, or
- otherwise reduce benefits affecting low-income working families, children, the unemployed, or the elderly.
WCMS signed on to the letters for District 10 Representative Patrick McHenry and Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr. Click on this link for a sample letter to our legislators.
Senator Tillis SNAP Advocacy letter
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January 18, 2018
Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) is offering FREE technical assistance to help practices in Western North Carolina understand and enroll in the Quality Payment Program (QPP). You may earn a positive Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) payment adjustment for 2019 if you submit 2017 data by March 31, 2018. MIPS-eligible clinicians opting not to participate will receive a 4% reduction in Medicare reimbursement in 2019.
QPP is a revenue neutral program meaning that penalties will be assessed to low –performing providers and redistributed to providers performing well. MAHEC can help you determine your baseline score and aid you in developing a strategy going forward to maximize your score for Payment Year 2 and beyond.
Read more here.
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January 11, 2018
CMS today announced new guidance that will support state efforts to improve Medicaid enrollee health outcomes by incentivizing community engagement among able-bodied, working-age Medicaid beneficiaries.
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January 10, 2018
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) announced the launch of a new voluntary bundled payment model called Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced).
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January 3, 2018
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that doctors and other eligible clinicians participating in the Quality Payment Program can begin submitting their 2017 performance data using a new system on the Quality Payment Program website (qpp.cms.gov). The data submission system is an improvement from the former systems under the CMS legacy programs, which required clinicians to submit data on multiple websites. Now, eligible clinicians will use the new system to submit their 2017 performance data for the Quality Payment Program during the 2017 submission period which runs from January 2, 2018 to March 31, 2018, except for groups using the CMS Web Interface whose submission period is January 22, 2018 to March 16, 2018.
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December 21, 2017
As of yesterday, Henderson County’s pertussis outbreak had increased to 52 cases, mainly in school-aged children. So far, in Buncombe County, we have had 1 probable case (lab negative, but symptoms consistent with pertussis).
Please remain vigilant and continue to promote pertussis immunization for everyone, but especially those in their 3rd trimester of pregnancy or in contact with infants.
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