RELATED LINKS

2007 Washington Meeting

NASPER

Carrier Advisory Committee

The 'unsustainable' Sustainable Growth Rate formula

Medical malpractice reform

ASC and HOPD Medicare reimbursement

Capwiz

ASC Alert Information

United States House of Representatives

United States Senate

 Medicare 10.1% Cut averted

The final Medicare Extenders package passed the Senate and House and has been sent to the President for him to sign.

The bill summary indicates a .05% increase rather than the proposed 10. 1% cut. Thank you to all the ASIPP members for the many letters sent and contacts made to reach Congress.

Extender Package Summary

ASIPP has created a new Capwiz letter campaign to assist you contacting Congress. We have created a link for physicians as well as a link for staff, family, friends and patients. Please take the time to not only send a letter today. Additionally, we urge you to have your patients sign the letter and support this effort as well.

1. Customize and print off copies of the sample letter
2. Identify patients' state
3. As your patients sign out, ask them to fill out and sign the bottom of their state appropriate letter
4. Using the patient Capwiz link assign a staff member to submit the patients' letters

5. Also you can print off the Patient Information Page and post it in your office to provide Web site information.

The Key to a successful lobbying campaign is awareness, information, and action.

Sample Letters

It is also helpful to send your letter on your personal letterhead. If you choose to send letters via USPS or fax, the following links to sample Word files will be helpful. Please feel free to edit the letters to make them unique from your view point.  To find the names, addresses, phone and fax numbers of your elected officials click here

Sample Physician Letter

Sample Patient Letter

Sample Staff Letter

Sample Citizen Letter

Send ASC Comment Letter

If you are interventional pain physician who owns or works in an ASC, it is very important that you send a comment letter to CMS addressing the many disparities which exist between ASC setting and HOPD setting. These disparities coupled with the new proposal by CMS are of great concern to SIPMS.

The cut-off for comment letters is Jan. 28, 2008 but please customize and send your letter(s) as soon as possible. If you send you letter via USPS you must send one original and two copies (3 total should be mailed). You may also send your comment letter electronically by clicking on the following link: Submit comment letter. We ask that you also get your staff involved as they may also send comment letters.

The docket number and titel is: CMS-1392-FC - Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Changes to the Hpsoital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and CY 2008 Payment Rates; Changes to the Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System and CY 2008Payment; Changes to Hospital Conditions of Participation; Changes Affecting Necessary Provider Designations of Critical Access Hospitals Rates

To assist you in sending your letter electronically, we have provided step-by-step instructions.

• Click on the link to access the sample letter
• Save the file to your computer
• Edit the letter as you desire adding your name and address to the letter
• Click on the following  CMS link to submit
• Click on the "Submit Comment" button
• Fill out the personal information screen and click "Continue"
• Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and type "attachment" in the text box
• Click on "Continue"
• Click on "browse," choose the Word file containing the saved comment letter
• Choose the appropriate file type and click and click on "Save Comments"

 Change Your Specialty Designation

Use the CMS Form to Change your Specialty Designation to 09 - Interventional Pain Management

We are faced with the need to increase our 09 Interventional Pain Management specialty designation. Currently CMS claims there are too few IPM physicians, which negatively affects our reimbursement. Interventional Pain Physicians can now change their specialty code designation to 09 utilizing the CMS form CMS855I - see page 8, section D.

Accomplishments

NASPER

ASIPP®'s legislation, the National All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting Act, was singed into law by President Bush August 11, 2005, to become the nation's first law initiated by a physicians' group. It sets up a national, state-run prescription drug monitoring program to help curb prescription drug abuse. It was ASIPP's top priority for four years -- so important that it has it's own web site, nasper.org.

At ASIPP's 2005 Annual Meeting in Washington, Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY), present ASIPP CEO Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD (far right) with the pen used by President Bush to sign the NASPER law.

ASIPP-PAC

Through the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians-PAC, the organization is able to offer significant presence and influence in Washington. ASIPP members who wish to contribute may contact ASIPP Meeting Coordinator Paula Roberts at paula@thepainmd.com or phone 270.554.8373, ext. 149.

2008 Annual Meeting

Plan now to attend the ASIPP 10th Annual Meeting and the SIPMS 3rd Annual Meeting on June 21-25 in Washington, DC. In addition to celebrating a 10-year milestone, an important highlight of the Annual Meeting is our Legislative Session and Capitol Hill visits.

ASIPP members visit Capitol Hill each year to advocate ASIPP's position on current issues important to members and to build relationshipS with the legislators.

CARRIER ADVISORY COMMITTEE

After a four-year effort, ASIPP was successful in March 2005 in getting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to mandate the inclusion of an interventional pain management physician on each state’s Carrier Advisory Committee. See full details, including the representatives in many states and sample letters for those states still needing to nominate representatives.