As the opioid crisis continues, calls to curb and prevent abuse have become more urgent. As of this writing, the database is not scheduled to be certified by the California Department of Justice until July 2018, meaning that authorized prescribers will be required to start checking January 2019 at the earliest.

The MACRA rules released last November for Year 2 (2018) of the Quality Payment Program (QPP) include increased flexibility for small and independent practice clinicians participating in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

The legislation creating the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was crafted to address multiple aspects of healthcare access and delivery. On the issue of access to care, a concern over the shortage of physicians, especially here in California, has been part of the conversation for some time.

A rarely mentioned entity that was created by language in the Affordable Care Act is the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, housed within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Last year, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 72, which forbids balance billing for out-of-network care at in-network hospitals or facilities. The law took effect July 1 of this year.