Arkansas Chapter, American College of Cardiology P.O. Box 55088, Little Rock, AR. 72215 501-224-8967 Passwords Certain pages are available only to Arkansas ACC Chapter members. To access these pages: Click on "Bulletin Board" Username is your last name Password is your ACC member number (the same number you use to access ACC.org). Use the Bulletin Board to make suggestions and participate in online conversations with your colleagues. From here, you may also gain access to other password-protected pages. Chapter Meeting in Little Rock April 18 We held a dinner meeting, discussing ideas for future activities. Mr. David Wroten, Executive Director of the Arkansas Medical Society, spoke about the recent legislative session. Click on the Legislative Uptate" button on left pane to see a summary. Please check back for more information on our plans. NOTE: Before you can view the Legislative Update page, you must login to the system by clicking on "Bulletin Board." (See instructions above). Arkansas Physicians May be Eligible to Collect Payment under Nationwide BCBS Settlement: In 2003, several physicians along with their state medical societies filed a lawsuit against a majority of the BCBS plans across the nation. The lawsuit alleged that between May 1999 and the present, BCBS improperly denied, delayed and/or reduced payments to physicians providing covered services to plan members. As a result of this lawsuit, the BCBS plans have agreed to settle rather than continue to pursue legal action. Through this settlement a majority of the BCBS plans agree to resolve business practices that have long frustrated physicians and jeopardized the delivery of quality patient care. The settlement also includes a pay out of $131,209,507 which, together with accrued interest from June 30, 2007, will be distributed to qualifying physicians who complete the necessary paperwork by October 19, 2007. Even though Arkansas BCBS was not named in the settlement, physicians may still be eligible to receive compensation if they treated patients covered by any of the BCBS plans listed in the settlement. Many of Arkansas' bordering states have been named in the settlement: BCBS of Tennessee, BCBS of Louisiana, BCBS of Oklahoma, and BCBS of Mississippi. Settlement claims must be filed no later than October 19, 2007. You may complete the claim payment process by going to /www.bcbsphysiciansettlement.com. Again, please note that in order to qualify for settlement payment, you must file a completed, signed claim form no later than October 19, 2007. Settlement fund payments will be sent to the address on your claim form if the proposed settlement is approved and no appeals are filed. Cash distributions are likely to be received in mid-2008. To review a copy of the complaint and for more background on the case including the list of BCBS plans, please visit www.BCBSPhysicianSettlement.com or www.hmosettlements.com.