June 20, 2024
As you may remember, the search for the new UCA Chief Executive Officer began a few months ago in March.
We were pleased to see such an outpouring of interest for the position and in our association; we received over 1,000 applications. Since then, the CEO search committee has been hard at work interviewing qualified candidates and interviews are continuing into late June and early July.
There are some incredible folks interested in taking on this esteemed role, and I am confident about the future of our association knowing one of them will be at the helm.
Costs keep climbing and reimbursements stay flat. Make your mark by contributing as little as $10 to the UCA Advocacy Fund and earn the title of “Friend of UCA Advocacy.” Friends are recognized with their name on our website and in the Advocacy Newsletter.
Thank you to WebForDoctors for donating $10 to UCA for every referral and $100 for every new client as part of their new referral program.
If you’d like to discuss setting up a similar program, please contact Cindy Simpson, UCA Corporate Relations Manager.
Recently, Rob Mahan, MBA, President of the California Urgent Care Association (CalUCA) and Eric Ellis, MD (CalUCA Government Affairs), successfully engaged with five California Assembly Members and one State Senator.
The group discussed the significant role Urgent Care facilities play in supporting local communities, highlighting centers’ role in the context of the Managed Care Organization (MCO) Tax Bill. The discussions were crucial to ensure Urgent Care centers remain part of this beneficial program. Fortunately, the current bill includes rate increases for Urgent Care centers, which positively impacts both communities and the centers themselves.
“This was a powerful visit,” Mahan said, “but the first of many that need to take place if the goal is to ensure that Urgent Cares are to be considered in California policy.”
Urgent Care Awareness Month has come and gone. Thank you to all that gave to UCA’s Advocacy Fund. We were short of our $3,000 goal, but let’s keep the fun going! The drawing for free registration to the 2025 Urgent Care Convention in Dallas, TX has been extended through June 30.
With the rise of Urgent Care as a key component in healthcare services, it’s become clear that inclusion in all levels of planning — national, state, and local — is crucial and we need your help to make that happen. Give today and help ensure a bright future for Urgent Care!
By giving, you join us as a Friend of UCA Advocacy.
Aetna will adjust its payment policy for surgical services provided in Urgent Care centers, as well as standalone centers.
They will start reimbursing these procedures at 75% of the agreed-upon rate. This update is a move to broaden the scope of their modifier 54 policy to encompass services rendered at locations with codes 20 and 49, which represent Urgent Care and independent clinics, respectively. Additionally, Aetna plans to apply similar reductions to payments for surgeries billed by nurse practitioners or physician assistants. For further updates on health plans, you can check out Texas Medical Association’s (TMA) Resource Center.
Patients presenting to Urgent Care with severe illness or injury should be recognized immediately and appropriate
intervention should be initiated.
The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for the recognition of patients presenting with serious illness or
injury that may need immediate medical attention. This policy is to be used in conjunction with the Abnormal Vital
Signs Policy.
Urgent Caring, a peer-reviewed publication from the College of Urgent Care Medicine, is published quarterly and includes editorials, case studies, expert insights, Urgent Updates and more.
Watch for your second quarter edition coming to college member emails this month.
Patients with a wide variety of medical complaints present to Urgent Care for evaluation and treatment, sometimes with conditions that require services that are beyond the scope of practice of the Urgent Care, exceed the capabilities of the Urgent Care, or require services that may be temporarily unavailable at the location of the Urgent Care. Urgent Care centers should have a policy in place delineating how to safely evaluate and direct these patients to the appropriate level of care. It is recognized that urgent care organizations vary in scope, and some may provide more extensive services than others.
Urgent Updates are highlights of guidelines from other groups, reviewed by Urgent Care physicians. These highlights represent the actual intent of these articles and how they relate to the practice of Urgent Care medicine.
Join us for the 2024 AI Webinar Series featuring an AI expert, sharing their learnings and how you can apply them.
June 27: Morris Pita, MBA and John Adie, PhD, FACRRM, FRACGP, FRNZUC, FRNZGP, B.Min., MBChB, BHB
Urgent Care Association
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