Media contact: Shelly B. Rodrigues (415) 345-8667 srodrigues@FamilyDocs.org

California-based Diabetes & Family Medicine Experts Respond to New Study Showing Diabetes-related Costs are $218 Billion Annually
November 18, 2008
A nationally prominent expert at treating diabetes, a chronic illness with potentially serious complications including blindness, limb amputation and death, said today many complications of diabetes are preventable and family physicians play a key role in preventing and controlling the disease.

Vetoes Allow Profits to Trump Patient Care, Family Physicians Say
October 1, 2008
Family Physicians said Californians' health care is seriously compromised by Gov. Schwarzenegger's veto of a bill that would have mandated more money spent on health care and another that would have made it more difficult for health plans and insurers to refuse to pay for care.

State Government Proves to be a Poor Partner in Health Care, Family Physicians Say
September 23, 2008
Citing the record-setting budget delay and changes to the Medi-Cal program that will plunge an estimated 250,000 children into the ranks of the uninsured, family physicians today said the process and result of this budget show that "the California state government is ill prepared to be a good partner with us in the delivery of health care to poor Californians."

Family Physicians Hail Patient Care Benefits of Court Order Overturning Medi-Cal Payment Cuts
August 20, 2008
Family physicians today are commending a federal district judge's order that Monday overturned the State of California's 10% cut in fees to physicans who see the 6.5 million patients covered by the Medi-Cal program. "The judge agreed with our evidence that patients would suffer if the payment cuts were allowed to stand," said Jeffrey Luther, MD, president of the California Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP). Click here to access a copy of the court order granting a preliminary injunction.

California Academy of Family Physicians Offers Emergency Loans to Doctors Facing 10% Medi-Cal Payment Cuts
August 7, 2008
The California Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP) today announced a program to provide loans to members suffering the negative economic effects of the 10% Medi-Cal cut in payments to physicians that took effect July 1.

Family Physicians Welcome Healthier Future for California;
Laud Governor's Signing of Trans Fat-Banning Bill
July 25, 2008
Family physicians across the state today commended the Governor’s signature of a bill making California the first state in the U.S. to bar restaurants from using health-compromising trans fats in food preparation.

Family Physicians Laud Congress on Medicare Veto Override;
Call on CA Legislators to Similarly Rescind Medi-Cal Cuts
July 16, 2008
The California Academy of Family Physicians today congratulated the state’s Congressional delegation on protecting seniors’ health care by overriding President Bush’s veto of key Medicare legislation.

Medi-Cal Cuts Place Millions of Patients’ Care in Jeopardy on July 1
July 1, 2008
Family medicine physicians across the state are bracing for the health care crisis facing their patients when a 10% reduction in physician payments takes effect on July 1.

California Seniors’ Health at Risk After U.S. Senate Vote, Family Physicians Say - June 27, 2008
Family physicians statewide warn that the 10.6% Medicare cut in payments to doctors taking effect July 1 puts California’s seniors’ health on the line.

Federal Judge Remands Medi-Cal Lawsuit Back to State Court - June 24, 2008
A coalition of health care providers has prevailed in its effort to have a lawsuit seeking to prevent a planned 10 percent cut in Medi-Cal and Denti-Cal payment rates heard in state, rather than federal, court.

First Wave of Budget Cuts Hits Health Care Providers Today - June 23, 2008
The first wave of budget cuts hits California today, when the state begins a two-week freeze of Medi-Cal reimbursements to health care providers, ending July 7.

Family Physicians Issue California Health Care Report - May 21, 2008
The California Academy of Family Physicians released a report outlining the shortcomings of health care in California, their negative effects on patients, and the need for serious change.

California Academy of Family Physicians Announces Family Physician of the Year - April 2008
The California Academy of Family Physicians recently announced Condessa Curley, MD, MPH of Los Angeles as the recipient of the 2008 Family Physician of the Year Award.

Long Beach Family Medicine Residency Director to Receive ‘Educational Excellence' Award from California Academy of Family Physicians Foundation - April 2008
Susan Melvin, DO is the recipient of the CAFP-F Award for Educational Excellence in Honor of Barbara Harris. CAFP-F annually presents this award to an individual who exemplifies innovation in family medicine education.

Physician Leaders Pilot Ways to Increase Workforce Diversity, Patients’ Access to Interpreters, and Culturally Proficient Care - April 2008
Physician leaders have a new prescription for clinics, health systems, and doctors’ offices: Take a lesson in cultural proficiency and call me in the morning, so we can tackle this important work.

Smoking Elimination Initiative to Set New Precedent for Collaborative CME - March 2008
7 partner organizations today jointly announced Continuing Education Aimed at Smoking Elimination (CEASE), an innovative continuing medical education initiative designed to improve public health by reducing the number of Americans who smoke.

Proposed 10% Medi-Cal Cuts Will Cut Patients’ Ability to Find Medical Care, Say Family Physicians Statewide - February 2008
Warning that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed 10% reduction in Medi-Cal payments will likely result in many physicians treating fewer Medi-Cal patients, family medicine physicians are opposing the cut.

California Academy of Family Physicians Video Webcast: Medicare Cuts Threaten Patients’ Access to Care - December 2007
Cuts to physician payment in the Medicare program scheduled for 2008 and 2009 may drive more physicians from the program, forcing elderly and disabled patients from accessing needed care, according to a new video Web cast from the California Academy of Family Physicians.

Family Physicians Urge Lawmakers to Act on Health Care Reform - October 2007
The President of the California Academy of Family Physicians today called on the state's elected leaders to resolve their political differences to ensure health care coverage is available, affordable and accessible for the millions of people in California who currently are uninsured.

Patient's Health at Risk as Clinics Struggle Statewide - August 2007
Family physicians, the bedrock of primary and preventive care statewide, are urging California lawmakers to pass a state budget and resume funding to community clinics immediately to prevent interruptions in essential patient care.

Primary Care Shortage Threatens California Health Care Reform - July 2007
As California lawmakers undertake much-needed health care reform, a silent threat looms that could derail even the most well intentioned plans. That deafening silence is the sound of no doctors available to care for many of the planned 3 million to 4 million newly insured Californians expected when health care coverage is made more widely available.

Ada Marin, MD, MPH Named California Family Physician of the Year - March 2007
On Friday, March 30, 2007, during its 59th Annual Scientific Assembly at The Fairmont Hotel San Francisco, the California Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP) will announce Ada Marin, MD, MPH of San Diego as the recipient of the 2007 Family Physician of the Year Award.

UCSF Professor to Receive ‘Educational Excellence' Award from California Academy of Family Physicians Foundation - March 2007
On Friday, March 30, 2007, during its 59th Annual Scientific Assembly at The Fairmont Hotel San Francisco, the California Academy of Family Physicians-Foundation (CAFP-F) will announce San Francisco's Peter Sommers, MD, as the recipient of the CAFP Foundation Award for Educational Excellence in Honor of Barbara Harris.

Primary Care Not Viable Without Substantial Increase in Resources - February 2007 The lesson for California's and the nation's policymakers from an article published yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine is: "Primary care practice is not viable without a substantial increase in the resources available to primary care physicians."

Medical Leadership Council Announces New Database to Assist Physicians with Language Access - February 2007
The Medical Leadership Council on Cultural Proficiency has unveiled a first-of-it's-kind database to assist physicians and others in providing improved language access and culturally competent health care.

Op-Ed: Reform Our Health Care System