·  Stop the Extinction of Facet Joint Interventions in Noridian States - 6 Days Remaining to Comment

·  Help Stop Proposed Cuts to Physician Reimbursement and Facility Payment for Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) and Intrathecal Therapy

·  New ASIPP Course - Documentation for Dummies

·  Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop

·  Medicare pay for services by non physicians comes under scrutiny

·  Estimate for 10-Year Deficit Raised to $9 Trillion

·  Presidential Panel: Swine Flu Could Infect Half of U.S.

·  Courts: Informed Consent Must Include All Options

·  Survey: Americans Unwilling to Pay for Healthcare Reform

·  ISIPP Annual Meeting

·  Physicians Wanted

Stop the Extinction of Facet Joint Interventions in Noridian States - 6 Days Remaining to Comment

Noridian has made a pending determination on facet joint interventions. If not convinced otherwise, after the August 31 comment period, facet joint reimbursements will be denied based on a determination that they are experimental.

The states affected by this pending rule are: Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

Those who are covered by Noridian must act quickly by sending comment letters and also contacting Congress. If we do not act immediately, this ruling will be devastating to the interventional pain physicians and their patients who currently covered under Noridian. If implemented, this policy will have a disastrous affect on patient access and eventually this will be a nationwide ruling.

We have provided a link to a basic sample comment letter to Noridian.You should customize it on your personal or business letterhead and expand as you desire. We encourage you to use this letter for your patients as well. You may e-mail or mail the letter but it must be received by August 31, 2009.

Please see the comment letter which ASIPP sent to Noridian on August 10. This letter contains a great deal of information and references that may be helpful if you choose to edit and expand your letters.

We also ask you to contact Congress by using the Capwiz link. You may edit this letter as well.

Please don't delay - act today and encourage others to respond as well. Comment letter deadline is August 31, 2009. Please fax copies of letters sent to 270-554-5394.

Help Stop Proposed Cuts to Physician Reimbursement and Facility Payment for Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) and Intrathecal Therapy

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposal imposes substantial reductions in physician work reimbursement by reducing RVUs for a series of spinal cord stimulator and intrathecal drug delivery system CPT codes. These proposed reductions are as high as 57%.

ASIPP asks for your support to prevent CMS from adopting these proposals which would threaten patient access to SCS therapy by sending your comment letters by the August 31 deadline. You may send these with little effort by utilizing the simple electronic method.

Click here to learn more about these cuts and for directives on how to comment.

New ASIPP Course - Documentation for Dummies

Documentation for Dummies is a new and exciting practice management course that will offer in-depth training on documentation, billing, coding, and compliance for interventional pain practices. This is a an opportunity for you and your staff to gain new information and also to get answers for your troubling coding questions. Registe r

This course will be held on Oct. 9-11 in Memphis, TN at the the historic Peabody Hotel and will focus on the more practical aspects of coding and billing and the correct way to document medical necessity and indications.

The lectures will be given by the most experienced in the field. You will be taken through the proper evaluation and management services and documentation step-by-step process, leading to an algorithmic approach to interventional pain management.

This is a course you can't afford to miss!

Course details can be found online. Brochure

Register Today!

Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop

Register today for the Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop in Interventional Pain Techniques will provide an opportunity for hands-on instruction in basic, intermediate or ABIPP Part II examination preparation. Register

The course will be held on October 9-11 in Memphis, TN at the historic Peabody Hotel and the world famous Medical Education and Research Institute.

With the choice of multiple experience levels, this course is ideal for those with more basic skills desiring to develop new skill to those more experienced who are preparing to take the ABIPP Part II examination.

Space is limited in each level so early registration is encouraged.

Register Online Today

Medicare pay for services by non physicians comes under scrutiny

Medicare is paying millions of dollars for claims on services that are performed by non physicians who are not properly trained or qualified, according to a report released Aug. 5 by Dept. of Health and Human Services investigators (Silva, American Medical News, August 24, 2009).

The HHS Office of Inspector General examined Medicare Part B data for the first quarter of 2007 to determine how often the program paid for services billed by physicians but performed by non physicians, through a provision known as "incident to" services. Under this rule, physicians are allowed to bill for a treatment performed by a non physician, as long as that worker has the appropriate training, certification and licensure. Physician assistants, nurses, medical technicians and medical assistants are included in the non physician category.

amednews.com

Estimate for 10-Year Deficit Raised to $9 Trillion

The nation's fiscal outlook is even bleaker than the government forecast earlier this year because the recession turned out to be deeper than widely expected, the budget offices of the White House and Congress agreed in separate updates on Tuesday (Calmes, The New York Times, Aug. 25, 2009).

Presidential Panel: Swine Flu Could Infect Half of U.S.

Swine flu could infect half the U.S. population this fall and winter, hospitalizing up to 1.8 million people and causing as many as 90,000 deaths -- more than double the number that occur in an average flu season, according to an estimate from a presidential panel released Monday (Stein, Washington Post, August 25, 2009).

Washington Post

Courts: Informed Consent Must Include All Options

Separate high court rulings in Maryland and Wisconsin may impose greater liability risks on physicians who fail to tell patients about treatment options. Doctors must inform patients of all relevant treatment alternatives and the risks, according to unanimous decisions issued separately July 24 by the Maryland Court of Appeals and the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The two courts also clarified that proof of medical negligence is not required for plaintiffs to bring an informed-consent claim (Sorrel, American Medical News, August 24, 2009).

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Survey: Americans Unwilling to Pay for Healthcare Reform

Many Americans may support the idea of health reform, but only a minority are willing to pay higher taxes to accomplish it, according to a study published in the journal Health Affairs.

In a January 2009 online survey, researchers at Stanford University's Hoover Institution asked Americans whether they would be willing to pay the higher taxes to cut the number of uninsured Americans by either a half or a quarter, through either Medicaid expansion or government subsidies to help low- and moderate-income people and their employers purchase insurance.

Healthcare Finance News

ISIPP Annual Meeting

The Illinois Society of Interventional Pain Physicians will hold its Annual Meeting at Nick's Fishmarket O'Hare in Rosemont, IL on October 6 at 6 pm. The Featured Speaker will be Leo Kapural, MD of Cleveland Clinic

Click here for more information

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