California will not have enough money to pay for vital health care programs beginning today unless lawmakers take immediate action.

This week and all the way up to Tuesday's deadline, Senate Republicans chose not to vote for legislation that would have prevented issuing IOUs (i.e., a "promise to pay" certificate sent to state vendors that will not be redeemable until October). While some programs have funding that is mandated and will avoid IOUs, many will not, including: Expanded Access to Primary Care, California Children's Services, the Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training Program, and the Child Health Disability Prevention Program. As revenue intake levels continue to fall in the state, the budget gap continues to grow. Without an increase in revenue, programs from Medi-Cal to Healthy Families (which is freezing enrollment after July 17) could face massive cuts.

We ask ALL CAFP members to visit this Web site and call your state representatives to let them know how these cuts will affect your patients and your practice, and urge them to seek additional sources of revenue.  

It's official! We have a date ... and a great site for CAFP's 62nd Annual Scientific Assembly.

Mark your calendars for May 15-16, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on San Francisco's Union Square. That's where the 2010 ASA will be held. The Grand Hyatt provides a $169/night room rate and is in a central location in San Francisco, near all city attractions. Public transportation is also easily accessible. We'll have the meeting space to ourselves, and program changes are in store - based on your feedback and evaluation.

Register now for the early-bird rate of $69. We will offer at least 20 CME credits plus SAMs group sessions!  Click here to register today!

From Health Information Technology (HIT), to the state budget crisis, to "meaningful use," and everything in between, CAFP remains busy looking after the interests of family physicians and their patients.  Superimposed on all are the heavy-duty discussions in Washington, DC around national health system reform. 

• CAFP Deputy Executive Vice President Shelly Rodrigues, CAE heard President Obama's address to the American Medical Association on June 15, with its emphasis on primary care;
• CAFP took specific positions on various, revenue enhancements as alternatives to drastic cuts to key health programs such as Healthy Families and Child and Maternal Health; 
• Director of Health Policy Sandra Newman, MPH is active on two state HIT subcommittees examining how American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds (also known as the stimulus package) for HIT will affect California; and
• CAFP Legislative Advocate Tom Riley, Legislative Assistant Adam Francis, and FP Key Contacts advocated for your priorities in the state budget. 

A special thanks to all the CAFP volunteers who are making important contacts with legislators during this time.

The 2010 CAFP Congress of Delegates will be held on March 6-8, 2010 at the Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza in downtown Sacramento.  Monday, March 8 will be CAFP's Legislative Day in Sacramento; family physicians from all over the State will storm the Capitol and advocate for the issues most important to their practices and patients.  Delegates and Alternates - and general members - will not only have the opportunity to help shape CAFP policy, but also to gain hands-on experience in working with the media, giving legislative testimony, and speaking to legislators.  With legislative advocacy assuming a more important role than ever in the future of family medicine, isn't it time you learned the ropes?  Contact your county chapter leader to learn how you can become a delegate or alternate, or simply plan to attend as an observer.  For more information, contact Susan Hogeland at 415-345-8667.

Academy representatives will attend a July 22 meeting hosted by Palmetto GBA.  The meeting is one of the periodic Carrier Advisory Committee meetings that Medicare contractors hold yearly. These meetings are focused on getting feedback from medical and specialty societies on local coverage determinations and policies currently being considered.  Please contact CAFP Director of Health Policy Sandra Newman, MPH with any concerns.

In exchange for two years of service with the National Health Services Corp., family physicians and other primary care doctors can receive loan repayment assistance up to $50,000. Additional slots were made available through the federal economic stimulus bill signed into law in February.  Click here to find job opportunities in California - such as those in high-need areas in health centers, rural health clinics and other health care facilities. 

8/2: Sonoma Chapter Neighbors in Health Day

For more information on upcoming events, click here.

Quit Keeper is a quit meter patients can download onto their computers to keep track of a variety of statistics associated with quitting smoking.

Some of the statistics it tracks include:

• Number of days the patient has not smoked;
• Amount of money saved from not smoking;
• Number of cigarettes not smoked;
• How much life was saved, and much more!

There are many quit statistics available through Quit Keeper; ask your patients to give it try and download the simple software here. Every little encouragement can make a big difference to your patients who want to be, or are already, smoke-free!   

New articles from two long-time champions of family medicine and primary care researchers were released in two leading medical journals last week.  Kevin Grumbach, MD and Thomas Bodenheimer, MD - both with the University of California, San Francisco Center for Excellence in Primary Care - were lead authors on commentaries calling for a national effort to revive primary care as part of health care reform legislation.

In "A Lifeline for Primary Care," appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine (June 25, 2009), Drs. Bodenheimer and Grumbach propose the urgent need for a comprehensive federal initiative to revitalize primary care.  Also focused on primary care, in "A Health Care Cooperative Extension Service," in the Journal of the American Medical Association (June 24, 2009), lead author Dr. Grumbach lays the groundwork for a primary care assistance program that would help primary care practices make improvements in their operations.  Dr. Bodenheimer proposes payment reform, infrastructure investments, and enhanced workforce recruitment by redirecting Medicare GME funds as necessary components of the revitalization plan.  More information on both articles is available here.

CAFP is proud to announce Lee Burnett, DO, FAAFP as our July Member of the Month.  Dr. Burnett is a graduate of Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine and practices at a small group practice in Mission Viejo, CA.  He currently serves as Command Surgeon in the US Army Reserve and has been deployed to Iraq twice since 2003.  An active CAFP member, Dr. Burnett serves as Chair of the Academy's Communications Committee.

Dr. Burnett is also the founder of the Student Doctor Network, a grassroots Web community providing comprehensive health care education information to interested students.  Click here to learn more about Dr. Burnett.

For more information about the Student Doctor Network and how to become a content contributor, go to http://www.studentdoctor.net/. 

If you would like to become or nominate a future Member of the Month, please contact CAFP Membership Manager Jessica Kuo.

Today is the last day to pre-register for the AAFP's National Conference for Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students and save $50. The conference will take place July 30-August 1. Questions or problems? Contact AAFP at 800-274-8043 or CAFP Student and Resident Coordinator Dasha Sakharova at 415-345-8667. Visit the AAFP's Web site for more information.

Join Academy members for the California reception at the Hotel Phillips on Friday, July 31 from 4:30-6:30 pm.  Enjoy wine and light appetizers while networking with California's leaders, your fellow students, and residents.  There will also be a raffle to win great prizes!

The Academy has released its latest set of policy recommendations in Fractured: Family Medicine's Fix to Ensure a Healthy California.  The document highlights key data, research, polling and studies on a range of issues affecting Californians. 

These issues include workforce development, safety net programs, education and training, and the Patient Centered Medical Home.  Fractured reports that the "Lack of adequate primary care services and the corresponding shortage of primary care physicians in California results from a number of factors, including: flat or declining payment, increased administrative burdens, and instability in our medical education system. The shortage has left California ill-equipped to serve its diverse patient population." 

The report is an update to Strong Medicine: Family Medicine's Fix for a Healthy California, and has been widely distributed to legislators and policymakers in Sacramento and Washington, DC.  Download the report here.

On Monday, President Obama continued his push for health care reform when he delivered a speech in front of doctors at the American Medical Association House of Delegates.

"I need your help doctors," the President said. "To most Americans, you are the health care system. We just do what you tell us to do. That's what we do. We listen to you. We trust you. That's why I will listen to you and work with you to pursue reform that works for you."

The president addressed all of the controversial elements of his plan:

• Mr. Obama said it is an "illegitimate concern" that "a public option is somehow a Trojan horse for a single-payer system. ...I believe that it's important for our reform efforts to build on our traditions here in the United States. When you hear the naysayers claim that I'm trying to bring about government-run health care, know this: They're not telling the truth."
• In place of Medicare's sustainable growth rate, he said, "We will ensure that you will be reimbursed in a thoughtful way that's based on patient outcome."
• Several times, the President said he wants to keep what works in the current system and fix what's broken. "We will make this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period," he said. "If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away."
• Referring to a widely circulated New Yorker magazine article concerning Medicare spending in McAllen, Texas, Mr. Obama said, "We spend vast amounts of money on things that aren't necessarily making our people healthier." He said he wants the government to invest in comparative effectiveness research. "Identifying what works is not about dictating what kind of care should be provided. It's about providing patients and doctors with the information they need to make the best decision. I have the assumption that if you have the information, you're going to make the best decision. I have confidence in that."

The president was warmly received by the AMA audience, including CAFP Deputy Executive Vice President Shelly Rodrigues, CAE, who said Mr. Obama hit a home run. Many who disagreed with his policy positions said they were impressed that he came to Chicago to speak directly to the organization. You can read the entire speech by clicking here.