August 5, 2009
Healthcare Bill - Continue to Write Congress |
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We know most everyone has strong opinions and great fears regarding the pending healthcare bill. We caution you to pay close attention to the bill; the progress, proposals, and debates.
There are some good aspects to the bill but unfortunately there are many bad aspects that could have dire consequences to our specialty of interventional pain management and the nation in general. Because of this, we urge you to contact Congress immediately and ask your government officials to say "no" to the healthcare bill as it is currently written.
Once again we have provided you a Capwiz link to send your message. While we provide sample text for those who chose to use it, the letter is editable and you should feel free to change it as you desire. The important thing is to let Congress know how you feel about the bill.
Capwiz link for physicians: http://www.capwiz.com/a sipp/issues/alert/alertid=13785876&type=ML
We also encourage you to get staff, patients and family to get involved. We have provided a link appropriate for non-physicians as well. Capwiz link for non-physicians: http://www.capwiz.com/a sipp/issues/alert/?alertid=13805151&type=ML |
White House Using Internet Campaigns to Try to Influence Health-Care Debate |
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As public skepticism mounts about President Obama's plans to overhaul the nation's health-care system, the political team that got him elected is returning to the online world of grass-roots activism in an attempt to reclaim control of the debate (Connelly, The Washington Post, August 5, 2009).
The Washington Post |
Landmark Massachusetts Health Reform Showing Cracks in Access, Coverage |
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Health system reform is hitting a few snags in Massachusetts at a time when many policymakers are eyeing the state for clues as to how federal reform efforts could play out (Sorrel and Trapp, American Medical News, Aug. 3, 2009).
amednews.com |
Comparing the Three Main Health Reform Bills |
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Nobody knows what the final healthcare reform package that emerges from Congress will include. In fact, at this point, nobody knows if anything resembling comprehensive healthcare reform will pass Congress this year. As Congress goes into August recess, many lawmakers in both parties are saying they intend to hold public meetings with constituents to gauge their support-or disapproval-of the health plans on the table. Here's a quick look at the three plans now getting the most attention. Keep in mind that there are a lot of moving parts in these plans, and the details can fluctuate dramatically from day to day (Commins and Simmons, HealthLeader Media, August 4, 2009).
HealthLeaders Media |
Florida Medicaid Clients Dropped in Computer Failure |
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Roughly 1 million of Florida's 2.6 million Medicaid patients were mistakenly deleted from eligibility rolls due to a computer glitch. A spokeswoman for the state Agency for Health Care Administration said that the problem has been fixed, although a reason for the computer failure has yet to be determined (Miami Herald, August 5, 2009).
The Miami Herald |
UK News: NHS Refuses to Pay for Painkilling Injections |
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Tens of thousands with chronic back pain will be forced to live in agony after a decision to slash the number of painkilling injections issued on the NHS, doctors have warned (Donnelly, Telegraph, August 2, 2009).
The Government's drug rationing watchdog says "therapeutic" injections of steroids, such as cortisone, which are used to reduce inflammation, should no longer be offered to patients suffering from persistent lower back pain when the cause is not known. Instead the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is ordering doctors to offer patients remedies like acupuncture and osteopathy
More on the subject...British Pain Society president ousted after row over NICE guidelines
Telegraph.co.uk |
HHS Delegates Authority for the HIPAA Security Rule to Office for Civil Rights |
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HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on Monday that authority for the administration and enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security Rule has been delegated to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). OCR's administration and enforcement of the Security Rule, which had previously been delegated to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will eliminate duplication and increase efficiencies in how the department ensures that Americans' health information privacy is protected.
hhs.gov |
Voluntary Refunds Don't Protect Against RACs |
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For many providers, self-auditing has become an important RAC preparation tool. Certainly, internal audit results can show where additional education is necessary to ensure appropriate coding, billing, and documentation practices. And this will result in fewer RAC denials, because if practices are correct, the RACs will find fewer errors to deny (Kraynak, HealthLeaders Media, July 30, 2009).
But many providers also assume that reporting errors (and refunding identified overpayments) discovered while self-auditing will protect those claims from RAC review - CMS says "no."
HealthLeaders Media |
Recovery Act to Fund 12 State Efforts to Improve Care in ASCs |
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HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today provided the down payment for a nationwide effort to reduce health care associated infections in stand-alone or same-day surgical centers. The first effort will begin later this month in 12 states under provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
"Keeping patients healthy is one of the requirements of the Recovery Act, and the first 12 states that have volunteered to focus attention on these surgical centers are taking a giant step in helping to reduce infections that affect millions of patients every year," said Secretary Sebelius. "CMS's efforts with states to reduce the number of infections quickly are just one part of protecting the health of the nation's health care system."
CMS |
Panel to Decide How Florida Pain Clinics Can Operate |
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Seven doctors recently appointed to a state panel aimed at controlling pill mills have only a few weeks to decide how pain medicine can legally be practiced in Florida (Associated Press, July 29, 2009). .
The new law that allows for an electronic database for prescription narcotics also requires pain practitioners to register with state health authorities by early January, so rules about qualifications and the forms needed to apply must be ready well before then
Miami Herald |
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Copyright © 2008
American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians ®
81 Lakeview Drive, Paducah, KY 42001
Phone 270.554.9412, Fax 270.554.5394
E-mail asipp@asipp.org
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