San Diego County Medical Society

05/27/2026

The San Diego County Medical Society's bi-weekly newsletter, "News You Can Use (NYCU)," is out. To learn the latest news and events of interest to the San Diego physician and health care community you can read it here:

California’s physician community has lost one of its pioneer medical leaders. San Diego County Medical Society has only now learned that Ralph R. Ocam

05/20/2026

A new AMA survey shows physicians remain deeply frustrated by prior authorization requirements, with most reporting delays in care, treatment disruptions and negative impacts on patient outcomes. The findings come as CMA continues to push prior authorization reforms in California.

Despite renewed promises from health insurers to improve prior authorization practices, a new survey from the American Medical Association (AMA) shows that physicians remain deeply skeptical that meaningful reform is on the horizon.

The survey, released this week, found that only one-third of physicians believe insurers’ latest prior authorization reform pledge will make a meaningful difference for patients or physicians.

The findings reinforce what physicians in California continue to experience daily: prior authorization requirements routinely delay medically necessary care, disrupt treatment plans and divert physician time away from patients.

A new AMA survey shows physicians remain deeply frustrated by prior authorization requirements, with most reporting delays in care, treatment disruptions and negative impacts on patient outcomes. The...

05/18/2026

IT'S ASTHMA AWARENESS MONTH. LEARN ABOUT MEDI-CAL ASTHMA PREVENTIVE SERVICES.

Medi-Cal covers asthma preventive services — including asthma self-management education and in-home environmental trigger assessments — for eligible patients with asthma. Physicians play an important role in recommending these services.

Asthma affects 1 in 7 Californians. As California observes Asthma Awareness Month, the California Medical Association is encouraging physicians to familiarize themselves with Medi-Cal’s Asthma Preventive Services benefit, which expands access to asthma education and in-home environmental assessments for eligible patients.

Available since July 1, 2022, the benefit was created to support evidence-based interventions shown to improve asthma outcomes, reduce emergency department visits and hospitalizations, lower health care costs and help address disparities in asthma care.

Medi-Cal covers asthma preventive services — including asthma self-management education and in-home environmental trigger assessments — for eligible patients with asthma. Physicians play an important...

05/15/2026

Using a chatbot for health questions is dangerous. There is no substitute for consulting a trained and licensed health care professional.

Two studies put ChatGPT, Gemini and others to the test on questions of health. In one, they got almost half the answers wrong.

05/13/2026

The San Diego County Medical Society's bi-weekly newsletter, "News You Can Use (NYCU)," is out. To learn the latest news and events of interest to the San Diego physician and health care community you can read it here:

California Medical Association (CMA) is reminding physicians that health plans are prohibited from shifting the financial risk for COVID–19 testing, i

05/12/2026

CMA joined AMA, every state medical society and dozens of national health care organizations in urging Congress to pass bipartisan legislation aimed at strengthening enforcement of the No Surprises Act after insurers are repeatedly failing to comply with binding IDR payment determinations.

The California Medical Association (CMA), alongside the American Medical Association (AMA), all 50 state medical societies and 46 national health care organizations, is urging Congress to pass bipartisan legislation designed to strengthen enforcement of the federal No Surprises Act.

In a letter sent to congressional leaders, the organizations expressed support for the “No Surprises Act Enforcement Act” (H.R. 4710/S. 2420), which would authorize penalties for parties that fail to comply with statutory payment timelines following a final and binding Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) determination.

CMA joined AMA, every state medical society and dozens of national health care organizations in urging Congress to pass bipartisan legislation aimed at strengthening enforcement of the No Surprises A...

05/11/2026

3RD ANNUAL ADVANCES IN MEDICINE AND SURGERY CONFERENCE ON JUNE 22nd-JUNE 23rd IN SAN DIEGO - FREE FOR SDCMS MEMBERS

Join colleagues for a two-day education event to advance clinical knowledge across multiple specialties. Connect with physicians and healthcare professionals, share insights, and explore new developments.

Learn from leading physicians across multiple specialties. Explore emerging topics including AI for doctors and functional medicine. Participate in live Q & A sessions with expert speakers. CME Credit is available. Sponsored by the California Medical Association and MedWay.

The conference is FREE for SDCMS members (Use Code 2510), for students and for SAAPI and PMA members. The conference is at the Hildton Garden Inn, 17240 Bernardo Center Drive, San Diego, CA 92128. The session on Friday the 22nd begins at 1:45pm and ends at 5:15pm. On Saturday, the conference goes from 8am until final remarks at 2:45pm. Space is limited.

MedWay makes HR simple for healthcare practices with payroll, benefits, and compliance tools that reduce admin burden and let you focus on patients.

05/11/2026

After CMA raised numerous concerns about this automatic downcoding policy, Anthem has again extended their pause (to June 1), pending review by DMHC. https://www.cmadocs.org/newsroom/news/view/ArticleId/51181/Anthem-extends-pause-on-E-M-downcoding-policy-through-June-1

05/06/2026

Xavier Becerra is the clear choice for California's patients, physicians and health care workers.

Xavier Becerra's record reflects a consistent focus on ensuring that health care decisions remain grounded in clinical expertise and patient need. “As our healthcare system faces mounting pressures, Xavier Becerra brings the leadership and experience needed to navigate complex issues and protect California communities,” said CMA President Dr. René Bravo. https://www.cmadocs.org/newsroom/news/view/ArticleId/51180

05/05/2026

CMA joined a coalition of physician organizations urging federal regulators to crack down on health plans that are undermining the No Surprises Act by shifting costs onto patients, delaying payments and exploiting loopholes in the independent dispute resolution process.

The California Medical Association (CMA) joined a coalition of national medical specialty societies and state medical associations in urging federal regulators to strengthen enforcement of the No Surprises Act and increase transparency in the law’s independent dispute resolution (IDR) process.

In a joint letter sent to the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services, CMA and the other physician organizations said some health plans are finding ways to circumvent the law, which was designed to protect patients from surprise medical bills while creating a fair process for resolving payment disputes between physicians and insurers.

CMA joined a coalition of physician organizations urging federal regulators to crack down on health plans that are undermining the No Surprises Act by shifting costs onto patients, delaying payments ...

05/04/2026

Beginning July 1, 2026, DMHC will limit provider complaints to claims within 30 months—physicians should file complaints on older disputed claims now to preserve eligibility.

A key deadline is fast approaching for physicians dealing with unresolved payment disputes. Beginning July 1, 2026, the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) will reduce the lookback period for provider complaints from four years to 30 months. Once this change takes effect, physicians will no longer be able to file complaints for older claims that fall outside the new timeframe.

Physicians with claims that will exceed the 30-month filing window as of July 1, 2026, should submit complaints before that date to preserve eligibility.

Beginning July 1, 2026, DMHC will limit provider complaints to claims within 30 months—physicians should file complaints on older disputed claims now to preserve eligibility.