It's January. That means the start of many new laws, enacted by the Legislature. One of those, SB 941, affects the Emergency Medical Services Fund (EMSF) program, which is implemented by the County of Orange and administered by the Orange County Medical Association. Because some of the changes are significant, EMSF-enrolled physicians and their billing agents should learn about the changes and submit claims accordingly.

This month, the 2006 Winter Olympic Games will be held in Torino, Italy. Of significant concern to Olympic organizers is the issue of public health and safety. A flood of people puts a strain on the normal resources of an area and creates health and safety issues. See how organizers of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City handled the challenge.

Over the past decade, CalOptima has maintained a low administrative overhead while significantly improving the access to quality healthcare for eligible patients. While there have been many bumps in the road along the way--some of them putting the organization at odds with physicians--the overall performance of CalOptima is something the county and its stakeholder partners take great pride in. Now, a second decade opens with its own set of serious challenges, including some that threaten CalOptima's financial viability.

The four changes include a new address for claims, a new state law, tobacco settlement revenue decrease and electronic transfer of funds available.

All physicians who meet the POE selection criteria are eligible for nomination. It's that simple. There is very little subjective discretion used in the process since every application is measured only against the criteria. Here is advice for future applicants.

For organized medicine in California, 2007 will be a year filled with much change, but many of the same challenges.

In the movie "Apollo 13," there is a famous scene of program engineers desperately at work trying to figure out how to bring the crew safely back to earth. They gather up all of the material that the crew has at its disposal and throw it on a table. As I have watched the developing drama in Sacramento about repairing the healthcare system, that "Apollo 13" scene comes to mind.

Relatively new to the medical billing world, I knew I was in for some confusion. However, I did not realize just how discombobulated the entire medical billing world really is. I wanted to compare four government payers-Medicare, Medi-Cal, the Medical Services for Indigents Program (MSI) and the Emergency Medical Services Fund (EMSF).

To increase funding for uncompensated emergency medical services, the Legislature passed and the governor approved SB 1773 in 2006. The law gives California counties the option of increasing vehicle fines to pay for uncompensated emergency room care through the Emergency Medical Services Fund Program.