September 22, 2010
Successful Resolution of the TRICARE Issues: Coverage Restored for Cervical and Lumbar Facet Joint Denervation, and Thoracic Epidurals |
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TRICARE issued covered policies in 2009 with elimination of coverage for lumbar and cervical facet joint denervation and thoracic epidurals. Since then, ASIPP and its board has worked diligently to find a solution for this through our government relations office in Washington and multiple legislators.
In January 2010, several of the board members met with TRICARE officials to discuss the lack of coverage for RF denervation also thoracic epidural. After multiple visits, presentations, calls, and letters, with the help of government officials, ASIPP Government Affairs Council, and many others, TRICARE has finally announced the addition of coverage of RF denervation procedure and also thoracic epidural procedure.
TRICARE Policy Manual is now available online at the TRICARE Manuals web site: http://manuals.tricare.osd.mil/index.cfm and in the search function select TRICARE Policy Manual (August 1, 2002) and enter C-129 (Chapter 4, Section 20.1, C-129, September 2, 2010).
TRICARE |
ASIPP Launches YouTube Site |
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In an ongoing effort to better communicate with members and others, as well as optimize search engine results, ASIPP has launched a YouTube site. The YouTube site can be found at http://www.youtube.com/asipp1998 and is in its early stages of development.
Over time more videos will be added to share information about Educational events, Public Relations activities, and other organizational communications.
This is one of many efforts by ASIPP to utilize social networking in streamlining its message to members and the public and to be more efficient at it. If you have any questions or have videos that may be of interest for the site, please contact Ray Lane at 270-554-9412.
ASIPP YouTube |
National Survey Reveals Increases in Substance Use from 2008 to 2009 |
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The use of illicit drugs among Americans increased between 2008 and 2009 according to a national survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) shows the overall rate of current illicit drug use in the United States rose from 8.0 percent of the population aged 12 and older in 2008 to 8.7 percent in 2009. This rise in overall drug use was driven in large part by increases in marijuana use.
The annual NSDUH survey, released by SAMHSA at the kickoff of the 21st annual National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, also shows that the nonmedical use of prescription drugs rose from 2.5 percent of the population in 2008 to 2.8 percent in 2009. Additionally, the estimated number of past-month ecstasy users rose from 555,000 in 2008 to 760,000 in 2009, and the number of methamphetamine users rose from 314,000 to 502,000 during that period.
Flat or increasing trends of substance use were reported among youth (12 to 17-year-olds). Although the rate of overall illicit drug use among young people in 2009 remained below 2002 levels, youth use was higher in 2009 compared to 2008 (10.0 percent of youth in 2009, versus 9.3 percent in 2008, versus 11.6 percent in 2002). The rate of marijuana use in this age group followed a similar pattern, declining from 8.2 percent of young people in 2002, to 6.7 percent in 2006, remaining level until 2008, and then increasing to 7.3 percent in 2009. Additionally, the level of youth perceiving great risk of harm associated with smoking marijuana once or twice a week dropped from 54.7 percent in 2007 to 49.3 percent in 2009, marking the first time since 2002 that less than half of young people perceived great harm in frequent marijuana use. The rate of current tobacco use or underage drinking among this group remained stable between 2008 and 2009.
The complete survey findings are available on the SAMHSA Web site at: http://oas.samhsa.gov/nsduhLatest.htm.
SAMSHA |
Comprehensive Review and Billing, Coding Review Courses Scheduled for November |
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Register today to attend either the Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop or the Billing, Coding and Practice Management Review Course November 19-21 in Memphis, TN.
The Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop and the Comprehensive Review Course in Coding, Compliance and Practice Management are both designed to meet the unique needs of interventional pain physicians. With our excellent participant/instructor ratio, you will have the opportunity for personal interaction with our highly distinguished faculty of world-renowned teachers and lecturers, creating a thorough and compelling educational experience.
?During the 2½-day Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop, you can improve existing skills and/or learn new techniques. 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 this course and workshop to be beneficial - as it is essential that we continue learning and exploring new procedures and techniques in our specialty. Click HERE to register.
The Comprehensive Review Course in Coding, Compliance and Practice Management is not only an essential element in Interventional Pain Management, but also beneficial to you as a physician and to your practice. Coding, Compliance and Practice Management is an area which is critical to our field yet one in which few have adequate training. In today's environment of ever-changing regulations and litigations, we cannot afford to ignore this important and complex subject. On Saturday evening, November 20th, we offer the opportunity for you to sit for the American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians Competency Examination. By successfully completing the coding, compliance and practice management competency examination, you are demonstrating to your colleagues, patients, insurers, payors, etc. that you understand the complexities of this aspect of our unique specialty. Click HERE to register.
Register by October 26 to receive a reduced registration fee and hotel discount. |
Deadline for IPM Practice Benchmark Survey Extended |
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The deadline has been extended to October 31, 2010 to complete the Interventional Pain Management Practice Benchmark Survey.
This information will be utilized to determine data for interventional pain. There is no other source for this information in the Interventional Pain Management community and we must depend on one another for this key practice information.
Our purpose is to provide the ASIPP membership with timely information that you can use to compare your practice performance with your peers. The higher the level of participation, the more value the survey will have to our membership.
We urge you to complete the attached Interventional Pain Management 2010 Practice Benchmark Survey and send to Gary Janko by October 31, 2010.
Please Send Completed Survey To: ASIPP Practice Benchmark Survey c/o Gary M. Janko Executive Vice President Pain Solutions Management Group 21 Eastman Avenue Bedford, NH 03110
Benchmark IPM Survey |
Feds Gain Power Over Billions in Medicare Fraud |
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Proposed regulations being unveiled Monday seek to crack down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud by subjecting operators of certain medical firms to fingerprinting and stopping payments when credible fraud allegations are made, documents show.
The rules would give federal health officials key powers to identify fraud early and reduce the estimated $55 billion in improper payments made each year in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, said Peter Budetti, director of the new anti-fraud office at the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
"Our initiative will allow us to go beyond what we've always called 'pay and chase' and to actually have the tools and mechanisms to prevent much of the fraud we've seen in recent years," Budetti said in an interview Sunday with USA TODAY.
USA Today |
Doctor-Run Medicare Plan to Exit Kentucky, Indiana |
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Essence Healthcare, a Medicare managed-care organization founded by doctors, will stop providing coverage Jan. 1 in Kentucky and Southern Indiana.
Nearly 9,000 people in the Louisville and Lexington areas are members of Essence, whose health plans focus on wellness and charge only a $10 co-payment for seeing a primary-care doctor.
"I just hate to see them leave," said David Doherty, an Essence member in eastern Jefferson County. He said the company didn't charge a premium above his normal Medicare Part B payment, and his drug costs are much less than in his previous health plan.
Louisville Courier-Journal |
HHS Pumps Up Fraud Prevention Efforts |
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WASHINGTON - The Department of Health and Human Services on Monday proposed new rules to help fight waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. The HHS also launched new resources to assist in busting fraud.
"These important provisions of the Affordable Care Act will not only help us crack down on criminals who are seeking to scam the system, but will also help us to save millions of taxpayer dollars in Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP - three vital programs that more than 100 million Americans count on for their healthcare," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "Using these new fraud prevention measures, CMS will be able to move from a 'pay and chase' approach to one that makes it harder to commit fraud in the first place."
HHS |
What a Big GOP Victory in November Might Mean for Healthcare Reform |
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Assuming the Republicans win big in the Nov. 2 Congressional elections, can the healthcare reform law be repealed, defunded or watered down in some way?
Mood for repeal Republicans need to win 39 seats to recapture the House, and the handicappers say they have good chances of doing so. Some 80-90 seats are in play, most of which are held by Democrats. Meanwhile, Democratic candidates are running in the opposite direction of the reform law they so triumphantly passed in March. Five House Democrats who opposed the healthcare bill have been running television ads touting their "no" votes, and no one who voted for the law has taken out any ads to boast about that, according to Politico.
Becker's ASC Review |
Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents: Class Labeling Change - Risk of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis |
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The FDA is requiring changes in the professional labeling for gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) to minimize the risk of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), a rare, but serious, condition associated with the use of GBCAs in certain patients with kidney dysfunction. NSF has not been reported in patients with normal kidney function. Patients at greatest risk for developing NSF after receiving GBCAs are those with impaired elimination of the drug, including patients with acute kidney injury or chronic, severe kidney disease.
GBCAs are intravenous drugs used in diagnostic imaging procedures to enhance the quality of magnetic resonance imaging or magnetic resona
nce angiography.
FDA |
Practices Hiring Despite Drop in Patient Visits |
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Doctor visits are down. But hiring in physician offices is up. Experts suspect that this seemingly counterintuitive staffing trend is the result of practices adding clinical professionals to stay financially viable in this economic downturn, while preparing for health system reform implementation.
"A lot of physician offices are restructuring and still hiring absolutely critical positions that they cannot go without, but they have eliminated noncritical positions, particularly in administration," said Rocky Barra, oncology practice manager at Monte Verde Partners Group in Oakland, Fla. He handles hiring for oncology practices nationally.
AMA |
Physicians Wanted |
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Visit the ASIPP Web site to find available positions for IPM physicians.
Physicians Wanted |
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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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