Decebmer 8, 2010
Senate To Take Up 1-Year Medicare Physician Pay Patch |
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Washington -- Key senators have reached agreement on a measure to block a Medicare physician pay cut through 2011. In another closely watched physician issue, lawmakers exempted doctors from the so-called red flags rule on security of financial data.
A bipartisan group of four Senate leaders is set to propose a one-year delay to the 25% Medicare physician pay cut scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, 2011. The proposal would freeze physician payment rates for one year.
The agreement was reached Dec. 6 by the staff of Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D, Mont.), Sen. Charles Grassley (R, Iowa), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, Ky.), according to a Senate aide.
The delay in Medicare cuts was expected to cost $19.2 billion. This would be paid for by expanding Internal Revenue Service recoveries under the national health reform law.
AMA |
AMA meeting: Association spotlights need for Medicare payment reform |
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San Diego -- Now that the lame-duck Congress is back in session, the American Medical Association has intensified efforts to prevent a 25% reduction in Medicare physician pay.
The week before Congress convened, the AMA made Medicare pay a focal point of the Association's Interim Meeting Nov. 6-9. In his opening-session speech to the meeting of the House of Delegates, AMA President Cecil B. Wilson, MD, said the AMA would work with congressional leaders to stabilize Medicare pay for physicians at least through 2011. Delegates were urged to contact lawmakers and remind them of the impact the cut would have on seniors.
The AMA placed a full-page ad on Nov. 8 in USA Today, urging Congress to act. The same day, Dr. Wilson held a news conference and discussed the catastrophic effect the pay reduction would have on those who rely on Medicare. He also gave details of an AMA survey of 1,000 adults showing that 94% believe the looming cut poses a serious problem for seniors.
AMA |
Reserve Your Spot Today for 2011 Review Course and Cadaver Workshops |
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Registration is now open for the February and April Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop in Interventional Pain Management. Both courses feature Basic, Intermediate, and Comprehensive Interventional Pain Management Examination section levels. The courses will be held on February 18-20 and April 8-10 in Memphis, Tenn. In order to maintain an optimal participant/instructor ratio, space in both courses is limited so please register early to assure a spot in the course and in the level of your choice.
During the 2½-day Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop, you can improve existing skills and/or learn new techniques. You will have the opportunity for personal interaction with our distinguished faculty comprised of excellent teachers and lecturers. It is always our goal is to create a thorough and compelling educational experience for you.
Whether you have been practicing interventional pain management for many years or are new to the field with basic skills, we are confident you will find these courses and workshops to be beneficial to you in your practice. With the ever changing dynamics in healthcare and in the specialty of interventional pain management, it-is essential that we continue learning and exploring new procedures and techniques in our specialty.
Both courses will take place at the Marriott Memphis, 2625 Thousand Oaks Boulevard (901-362-6200) on Friday. Ask for the ASIPP reduced room rate of $129 when making your accommodations. On Saturday and Sunday we will transport you the Medical Education and Research Institute (MERI) for a hands-on learning experience.
Click HERE for February Registration
Click HERE for April Registration
Register for 2011 Course Today |
IOM Takes First Step in Defining Essential Health Benefits |
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Washington -- Preliminary work has begun on one of the most significant decisions in implementing the national health reform law: choosing the minimum benefits that health plans must offer to be sold in the reform law's 2014 health insurance coverage requirement.
The Institute of Medicine, an independent advisory group, announced in early November that it began a study to recommend how to determine and update these "essential benefits," as they are known in the health reform law. The essential benefits package also will determine which types of health care and services, if any, will be in higher demand.
AMA |
Health Roundup: HHS Sells Healthcare Reform to Reporters |
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Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and several of her staff met with national health reporters on Tuesday to discuss recent trends in healthcare coverage - and why the Democrats' law was necessary to stem the tide of rising prices. Sebelius said she hoped to start having "periodic" meetings with the media to put her department's work in context.
"I think the trends have been pretty alarming," she said - employer-sponsored coverage, for example, "we could say was on a slow death spiral before (the Affordable Care Act)."
The meeting comes as President Obama and prominent Democrats in Congress argue that their unpopular healthcare reform law was good policy but was poorly explained to the public. In particular, HHS officials pushed back against allegations that the new law was driving premiums up; they reminded reporters that actuaries inside and outside the government have linked the improved coverage required so far (insurers can no longer drop coverage for sick children, for example) to increases of at most 1 percent to 2 percent next year.
The Hill |
Physician Survey Shows 13 Percent Would Close Practices Under Medicare Cut |
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LEAWOOD, KS - Nearly 13 percent of family physicians say they face the prospect of closing their practices entirely if Medicare slashes their payment next year by the proposed 25 percent, according to a recent survey.
The survey was conducted by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and asked family physicians about the impact of the proposed cut required by law to take effect Jan. 1. The results showed that nearly 13 percent of respondents would consider no longer seeing any patients, more than six out of ten (62 percent) said they may be forced to stop accepting new Medicare patients, and more than seven in 10 (73 percent) said they would have to limit the number of Medicare appointments.
The results paint a bleak picture for elderly and disabled Americans who depend on Medicare for their health care coverage and for military families who depend on TRICARE, according to Roland Goertz, MD, president of the AAFP
Healthcare Finance News |
HHS Spells Out Final Medical-Loss Ratio Rules |
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Washington -- The Health and Human Services Dept. issued final regulations on Nov. 22 on what health insurers must do to meet medical-loss ratio requirements as part of the new health system reform law.
Starting in January 2011, if health plans don't spend enough of their premium dollars on medical care and quality improvement, they must provide a rebate to customers in 2012.
Insurers will need to report publicly how they spend premium dollars beginning next year, according to the new rules. The regulations also specify that insurance companies in the individual and small-group markets need to spend at least 80% of the premium dollars they collect on medical care and quality improvement activities; those in the large-group market must spend at least 85%.
AMA |
2010 Interventional Pain Management Practice Survey Now Online |
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Please remember to take part in our 2010 Interventional Pain Management Practice. We have established an online version here to make participation easier and more convenient for you here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PFSCP8R.
As the Interventional Pain Management community is small and select, we must depend on one another for this key practice information. Our purpose is to provide the ASIPP membership with timely information, thereby helping physicians compare practice performance with their peers. The higher the level of participation, the more value the survey will have to our membership.
This survey has been previously distributed at review course meetings and through the ASIPP eNews. The deadline for participation has been extended several times. Unfortunately, we did not receive adequate response to create a reliable profile of our members' practice activity.
If you have already completed the survey and submitted the results, they have been recorded and will be included in our 2010 Practice Benchmark Report. You do not have to re-submit. Please contact the ASIPP Staff at asipp@asipp.org if you have any questions about the survey.
Take online survey now! |
Rethink Social Media Policies in Light of NLRB Complaint, Lawyers Say |
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If an employee posts something really negative about you or your practice on Facebook, your first thought might be to change the employee's job status on the social networking site to unemployed.
But after a recent complaint was filed by the National Labor Relations Board against a company that did just that, lawyers are advising their clients -- including physician practices -- not to be so quick to sign that pink slip, particularly if the social media post is about improving workplace conditions. Attorneys are advising practices to re-examine their social media policies as a result of the complaint -- or write a policy to make sure they are protected.
AMA |
Physicians Wanted |
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Visit the ASIPP Web site to find available positions for IPM physicians.
Physicians Wanted |
State Society News |
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New Jersey Interventional Pain Society Hosts Biannual Meeting Jan 31
The New Jersey Pain Society is hosting a biannual meeting Thursday January 13,2011. The meeting is set for 6:30 to 10:30 pm at Pines Manor in Edison, NJ.
Speakers will include:
- Scott Woska, MD- Speak about Tunnel Syndrome
- Dr. Christopher Winfree - Nerve stimulator implants for peripheral nerve injuries
- Mark Mannigan- to speak about Out of Network and Pip
- Laurie Clark- Legislative update
- Dr. Magaziner - Protocol Committee
Several local and state politicians have also been invited to attend.
Pines Manor is located at 2085 Route 27, Edison, NJ 08817 Please fax your RSVP to 732-297-5770 |
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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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