March 21, 2005

Interventional pain physicians now included on Carrier Advisory Committees

            ASIPP executive director Dr. Laxmaiah Manchikanti said the inclusion of interventional pain physicians on state Carrier Advisory Committees marks a major victory, following a four-year effort.

            “This is great news,” Manchikanti said. “Our four-year struggle has ended, thanks to tireless efforts from ASIPP and congressional support.”

            The Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a memo March 4, including Interventional Pain Management specialists on the list of clinical specialties to be included in carrier advisory committees.

            “This will improve our ability to participate in the decision-making and policy-making of Medicare and Medicaid,” Manchikanti said, “which will improve patient care and access.”

            Manchikanti credits U.S. Rep. Anne Northrup (R-Kentucky) with spearheading the effort to include this specialty, bringing the total to 34 specialties now represented on the committees. He said many other representatives and senators supported the effort in Congress and sent letters to CMS, too.

            Carrier Advisory Committees (CACs) are the vehicles by which Medicare Part B Carriers provide an opportunity for health care professionals in their state to offer input into the decision-making process, resulting in the creation of Local Carrier Determinations (LCDs), formerly known as Local Medical Review Policies (LMRPs).

            Some interventionalists have served on CACs, representing the specialties of Anesthesiology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Neurology. Now, Interventional Pain Management shall be represented, along with the other primary specialties.

            Manchikanti asks each ASIPP state society to notify the ASIPP office, if it is not represented on its state CAC, so ASIPP may assist in writing letters of support. If a state society is already represented on its CAC, he asks that it submit the representative’s name to ASIPP.