Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule Invests in Primary Care, Despite Cut in Medicare Payments

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule on Nov. 2, which includes many positives for family physicians and patients that take effect Jan. 1, 2022, unless otherwise specified. Among the provisions are updates to telemedicine, vaccine administration, e-prescribing, and clinical labor pricing. On the negative side, the rule establishes a nearly 4% cut to fee-for-service Medicare payments. Members are urged to contact their members of Congress to stop this cut that endangers physician practices and ultimately patient access to care.

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MAFP on New Scope Bill: NPs Should be Part of, Not Independent From, the Physician-led Care Team

Legislation was recently introduced in the Michigan Senate that, if passed, would grant full autonomy to nurse practitioners in the state. Among the provisions of Senate Bill 680 are allowing NPs, without undergoing additional training or education, to care for patients absent of physician supervision or collaboration, and to prescribe opioids and other controlled substances. The MAFP advocacy team is meeting with the primary sponsor of the bill to advocate that NPs should be part of the care team, not independent from it, to ensure patient safety and continuity of care through preserving the patient-physician relationship.

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Michigan Expediting Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccines to Protect Children

On Oct. 26, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) committee voted to recommend approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 years. Data shows the vaccine is 90% effective in this age group. That same day, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive directive  to state departments and agencies to expedite the ordering and distribution of the vaccine once it receives federal authorization. There are more than 800,000 5-11 year-old children in Michigan, and the state has already pre-ordered 287,700 doses of the vaccine.

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Family Medicine Residency Program Director Recognized as Among Best in GME

The Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has selected Nikhil Hemady, MD, FAAFP, director of the family medicine residency program at Pontiac General Hospital, as a 2022 recipient of its Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award. This ACGME award recognizes program directors who have fostered innovation and improvement in their residency programs and served as exemplary role models for residents.

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