April 5, 2006

States to Have New Medicaid Program Options

In a March 31, 2006 press release, Health and Human Services secretary Mike Leavitt presented “new flexibilities available to states that will help maintain access to affordable health care, and allow states to use innovative approaches to providing health insurance and long-term care services.”

The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), which passed last February, is expected to give states greater control over both the design and the administration of their Medicaid programs. Prior to DRA states could not implement new delivery systems or experiment with benefits without seeking federal approval for a “waiver” of Medicaid rules.

Read the press release.

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2006pres/20060331.html

Update – Harvard/ASIPP Epidural Steroid Injection Practices Survey

The nationwide survey regarding epidural steroid injection practices is still accepting survey volunteers. Practicing Interventional Pain Physicians are invited to participate in this Web-based survey. The survey consists of 73 questions that can be completed in one or multiple sittings with the use of a username and password.

To participate, use the following link: http://www.solutionslabs.com/survey_portal.html You will get a box explaining that the site certificate is self-signed. Choose “Accept” - you'll then receive a prompt for a username and password to gain access to the site.

Username: esisurvey   -   Password: participant

Once inside the survey space (which resides in an internal server for security purposes), you may register a private username and password which will enable you to take the survey completely or stop mid-survey and continue later as time allows.

Thank you for you anticipated participation. If you have any questions or concerns, please send them to the following e-mail address esi_survey@solutionslabs.com

Does Your State Have CAC Representation?

Thanks to all the state representatives who responded to our request and notified us of their services. To date 30 states have notified us of their representation. If your state is represented but not listed, please notify us so we can add your state to our Web site. asipp@asipp.org  

Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

If your state does not have Interventional Pain Management CAC representation, go to our Web site to learn how to gain representation. Don’t let your state miss out on this important Medicare decision-making opportunity.

Follow this link to find out how your state can gain CAC representation

Facts from the Department of Justice

• "One out of every 10 high school seniors now reports abusing powerful pain killers.” - Partnership for a Drug-Free America’s Attitude Tracking Survey
• “Abuse of certain prescription drugs – controlled substances such as pain killers and performance enhancing steroids – has become an increasingly widespread problem in the United States, leading to dangerous abuse, addiction and sometimes fatalities.” - Karen P. Tandy, Administrator, DEA
• Since 1995, the number of drug abuse-related emergency room visits involving pain relievers such as Vicodin®, Percocet®, OxyContin®, and Darvon® increased 153 percent from 42,857 to 108,320.” - Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN)
• If  you have information regarding illegal prescription drug sales or rogue pharmacies operating on the Internet, you can report suspicious internet pharmacies online: https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/webforms/jsp/umpire/umpireForm.jsp pr or you can make an anonymous, confidential report to the appropriate authorities by contacting the Pharmaceutical Drug Abuse Hotline (toll-free) at: 1-877-RxAbuse (1-877-792-2873)

News in Government & Medicine

Policy Leaders Address Physicians – Medicare Pay Reform A Priority

Federal reimbursements to physicians prove to be a big issue this year in Washington. But congressional and administration leaders who spoke recently at the AMA National Advocacy Conference say physicians will need to meet policy-makers half way. Sen Hillary Rodham Clinton and CMS administrator Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, both addressed the issue of payment reform, saying that the system for physician reimbursement is unsustainable and must be repaired but not without a great deal of help from physicians.

Both Clinton and Dr. McClellan praised the AMA for taking the initiative in achieving comprehensive payment reform by agreeing to develop scores of Medicare quality measures for voluntary reporting, staring next year. This reform measure is hoped to eventually lead to the federal government paying more for better care. (see Feb. 22 e-news update for more on AMA reform plan)

Senate Dismisses Bush’s plan for Medicare Budget Cuts

In last month’s first budget debate for fiscal year 2007, the Senate rejected President Bush’s call to cut billions from planned Medicare growth.

Instead the Senate approved a $2.8 trillion budget resolution that for the most part, leaves Medicare with its current funding. If the House and the Senate agree on a compromise version of the measure, it will serve as a blueprint for those who appropriate and authorize money for the government’s programs. But the House is currently working on a measure that more closely follows the White House plan, thus setting the stage for a fight to come up with the needed blueprint.

Subscribers can read more on this subject at amnews.com

Budget differences:

The Senate rejected President Bush's call for nearly $36 billion worth of cuts in Medicare growth, instead approving a fiscal 2007 budget resolution that would leave the program virtually untouched. Here's how these two budgetary paths compare (figures in billions):

Source: American Medical News and the Senate Budget Committee, White House Office of Management and Budget

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2007/

Patriot Act retains medical record access for FBI

Although the renewed USA Patriot Act still allows the FBI to search confidential medical records as part of counter-terrorism investigations, it now provides new legal options for physicians ordered to hand over patients’ records. The bill was signed into law by President Bush on March 9 after months of debate over key provisions some of which covered areas of concern over inadequate protection of civil liberties.

The new law makes 14 of the Patriot Act’s 16 provisions permanent, but two provisions are extended for only four years. One of which pertains to searches and seizures of medical records. Under Section 215 physicians are required to hand over patients’ medical records upon the request of the FBI as part of a counter-terrorism or counter-intelligence investigation. But the section prohibits them form telling patients their records have been disclosed.

Changes to the Patriot Act have imposed tougher requirements on the FBI before they can obtain a court order to search private records. Additionally, physicians now have the right to challenge the gag order for up to one year after the documents have been turned over to authorities and physicians are now allowed to consult an attorney.

Read the Department of Justice’s Fact sheet on the Patriot Act… Provisions

Wisconsin Lawmakers OK $750,000 Tort Cap

Wisconsin physicians hope that there second battle to bring non-economic damage caps back to their state will be stick. The Legislature this month overwhelmingly passed a measure setting a $750,000 limit on such awards. The vote came only three months after Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a $450,000 cap approved by legislators.

The medical community and lawmakers rallied behind the new bill, which would not adjust the award limit for inflation. The cap would be reviewed every two years by the board that approves fee adjustments to the state's Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund.

Click here to view open access article

Subscribers can read more on this subject at amnews.com

Return Board Nomination Forms – Run for Office

ASIPP is counting on members to help determine the board elections which will be held at the upcoming Annual Meeting. Let your voice be heard – send in your nomination form today! If you have misplaced your form or need additional information, e-mail ASIPP by clicking on the link below.

Now Accepting Submissions for The Pain Physician Journal

The Pain Physician Journal, recently included and indexed on MEDLINE, is accepting manuscript submittals for publication consideration. Pain Physician is a peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary journal written by and directed to an audience of interventional pain physicians, clinicians and basic scientists with an interest in interventional pain management and pain medicine.

Pain Physician is the official publication of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP). Pain Physician requires that all manuscripts be prepared in accordance with the uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals, with the exception of reference citations and format. For specific information on manuscript submittals click on: http://www.painphysicianjournal.com/infoforauth1.php

‘Highly Accessed’ Articles

More than 7,900 people have accessed the article “A randomized, controlled trial of spinal endoscopic adhesiolysis in chronic refractory low back and lower extremity pain,” earning it a “highly accessed” flag on BioMed Central’s online journal, Anesthesiology. The article, authored by Laxmaiah Manchikanti, Mark V. Boswell, Jose J. Rivera, Vidyasagar Pampati, Kim S. Damron, Carla D. McManus, Doris E. Brandon and Sue R. Wilson, has been on the web site since Aug. 1, 2006. The “highly accessed” graphic appears on the journal’s table of contents and search results to identify those articles that have been especially highly accessed, relative to their age, and the journal in which they were published. See it at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcanesthesiol/

Also “highly accessed” on BioMed Central’s Musculoskeletal Disorders online journal site is the May 2004 article “Prevalence of facet joint pain in chronic spinal pain of cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions” by Laxmaiah Manchikanti, Mark V. Boswell, Vijay Singh, Vidyasagar Pampati, Kim S. Damron and Carla D. Beyer.  Musculoskeletal Disorders has been accessed by more than 19,000 people. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2474/5/15

You can also access the article, “Risk of whole body radiation exposure and protective measures in fluoroscopically guided interventional techniques: a prospective evaluation.” The article, written by Laxmaiah Manchikanti, Kim A. Cash, Tammy L. Moss, Jose Rivera, and Vidyasagar Pampati, was published in 2003, has been viewed by more than 9,500 people, and is available to open access on the BioMed Central Web site. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2253/3/2

State Society News

If your state society has any news you would like to share, please e-mail your news items to mmartin@asipp.org