June 16, 2010
CMS Extends Hold on Physician Claims Through Thursday |
|
CMS has extended a hold on processing physician claims through this coming Thursday, anticipating the Senate would cancel a 21.3 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements by that time, according to an e-mail from CMS.
Previously, CMS instructed Medicare contractors to hold claims for services from June 1 through June 14. While the House has passed a 19-month fee-fix, the Senate has not yet done so. CMS said the extension would "minimize the need for claims reprocessing if Congressional action changes the negative update. It also should minimize the provider and beneficiary burdens and costs associated with reprocessing claims."
Becker's Hospital Review |
Don't Delay: Just 1 week until 12th Annual ASIPP Meeting |
|
Time is running out to register to attend ASIPP's 12th Annual Meeting, June 26-30, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, VA.
The meeting features three separate sessions focused on the Future of Interventional Pain Management: Evidence-Based Medicine, Comparative Effectiveness, and Practice Management; as well as several prominent speakers including Dr. Roger Chou; Dr. Gabor Racz; Medical Economist CEO, J.D. Kleinke; Founder and President of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review; Deputy Assistant Administrator, and many others.
The meeting also offers a practice management series of presentations, which will cover the essential coding and compliance lectures. This series is ideal for physicians and is invaluable for their staff.
Get out your dancing shoes for Sunday's gala celebration themed An Evening in the Windy City. The evening will start with a cocktail mixer and move right into dinner, a brief business meeting, awards, and then entertainment from comedian and hypnotist, Flip Orley. After this, we will crank-up the fun and begin an evening of socializing, dancing and celebrating.
Then on Monday, politics comes to the forefront with the cosponsored ASIPP and NANS legislative session.As an added incentive, those who participate in the Capitol Hill sessions will receive a $100 discount on the meeting fee and will be reimbursed for the two-night hotel stay (Monday and Tuesday) required for the Capitol Hill visits. As always special rates are offered to fellows and medical students.
Register Today! |
NANS and ASIPP Join Forces for Legislative Session |
|
New this year, the North American Neuromodulation Society and the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians are joining forces to bring to you the 12th Annual Legislative Session.
ASIPP's 12th Annual Meeting turns its focus to Capitol Hill beginning Monday, June 28, and culminating with visits from and to legislators Tuesday and Wednesday, June 29 and 30.
On Monday, June 28, make plans to attend the legislative prep sessions that will arm you with the knowledge and know-how to take our key issues to your legislative leaders. Tuesday morning beginning with breakfast on the Hill followed by visits from several Senators and Representatives.
As an added incentive, those who participate in the Capitol Hill sessions will receive a $100 discount on the meeting fee and will be reimbursed for the two-night hotel stay (Monday and Tuesday) required for the Capitol Hill visits. An additional $50 discount will be given if you register before June 5. As always special rates are offered to fellows and medical students.
All NANS members may register at ASIPP membership rates for the 12th annual meeting and Legislative Session.
For Capitol Hill security purposes, if you plan to attend the Legislative sessions, please inform our office and provide your name and address. This pertains to those who are just coming to the congressional speeches as well as those who will have scheduled meetings with their state's government officials. Call or e-mail Cindy Rogers: 270-554-9412 ext 208 or crogers@asipp.org
You won't want to miss this historical event. With NANS and ASIPP as cosponsors, this year promises to be the best and most productive meeting to date. Register today to secure your place in this event!
Register Today. |
Free Webinar: IPM Legislative Session: Current Issues and the Impact To You |
|
Arm yourself with knowledge to make a bigger impact on the Hill next week. Register today to attend a free legislative prep webinar tomorrow from 6 to 730 pm CST.
This complimentary webinar is intended to present ASIPP members, interventional pain management healthcare providers, and attendees of ASIPP's 12th Annual meeting an in-depth review of current issues that are facing the specialty of interventional pain and those issues that will be presented to Congressional Representatives during the Annual Meeting Capitol Hill visits.
Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD: ASIPP Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board will
- Discuss the three major political issues facing IPM
- Clarify what these issues mean to your practice
- Give IPM professionals materials for distribution in advocacy efforts by individuals or as a delegate with ASIPP
Click HERE for more information and to register.
Registration is open up until the event begins tomorrow. |
Please Participate in IPM Practice Benchmark Survey |
|
We are pleased to announce our second Interventional Pain Management Practice Benchmark Survey.
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 at the earliest possible date, but certainly by the submission deadline of September 10, 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
IPM Practice Management Survey |
Join Us in Chicago in August: 3 Courses, One Location |
|
It's time to make plans to attend ASIPP's Comprehensive Pain Medicine and Interventional Pain Management 2010 Board Review Course to be held in the Windy City August 9-14. Meetings will be held at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel.
Comprehensive Pain Medicine and Interventional Pain Management 2010 Board Review Course August 9-13, 2010 - Chicago, IL Register | Brochure
Comprehensive Review in: Controlled Substance Management August 9-10, 2010 - Chicago, IL Coding, Compliance, and Practice Management August 12-13, 2010 - Chicago, IL Register | Brochure
Register today |
Doctors Chafe as Medicare Cuts Loom |
|
Congress has failed to end the threat of a 21% payment cut for doctors who participate in Medicare. The Senate could vote as soon as today to end debate on a bill to delay the cuts, but lawmakers are considering postponing them just through the year's end. A House bill that passed last month would delay the cuts through the end of 2011. Repeated short-term fixes of the problem in recent years have left doctors frustrated and some are refusing to take new Medicare patients.
Since the latest "doc fix" expired May 31, doctors have been holding off on submitting claims until Congress approves another patch, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Wall Street Journal |
GAO Gives Medicare Five Ways to Prevent Fraud, Waste |
|
WASHINGTON - The Government Accountability Office has identified five key areas for preventing Medicare fraud, waste, and abuse. In a June 15 report, GAO said its recommendations would also help the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reduce improper payments.
"CMS has made progress in some of these areas, and recent legislation may provide the agency with enhanced authority," the report states. "However, CMS faces continuing challenges."
Healthcare Finance News |
Regulation Issued on "Grandfathered" Health Plans under the Affordable Care Act |
|
WASHINGTON - The government has issued a new regulation that allows individuals and businesses more control over their own health plans.
The new "grandfather" regulation, issued by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury, provides stability and flexibility to insurers and businesses that offer health insurance coverage as the nation transitions to a more competitive marketplace in 2014, when businesses and consumers will have more affordable choices through exchanges.
Healthcare Finance News |
Physician Deadline for Medicare PECOS Enrollment Moved up to July |
|
Washington -- Physician practices that are having problems with Medicare's enrollment system say their headaches are sure to increase if the Obama administration sticks with its new July deadline for most physicians to be signed up with PECOS, the Provider, Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System.
The new enrollment compliance date for doctors who order or refer most types of covered Medicare services and items is six months sooner than expected. Physicians have been operating under the assumption that they had until Jan. 3, 2011. The previous April 5 deadline had been postponed in mid-February, at the behest of the American Medical Association and other doctor organizations.
American Medical Association |
New Nationwide Study Shows a Dramatic Rise in the Proportion of Older Americans Admitted for Substance Abuse Treatment from 1992 to 2008 |
|
A new study reveals that between 1992 and 2008 the proportion of substance abuse treatment admissions involving older Americans (aged 50 and older) nearly doubled -- from 6.6 percent of all admissions in 1992 to 12.2 percent in 2008. The study, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), also shows a sharp rise during this period in the proportion of older Americans admissions related to illicit drug abuse -- even though alcohol abuse is still the leading cause for admissions involving this age group.
Among its more notable findings the SAMHSA study reveals that from 1992 to 2008 the proportion of admissions among this age group due primarily to:
- · Heroin abuse more than doubled -- from 7.2 percent to 16.0 percent.
- · Cocaine abuse quadrupled -- from 2.9 percent to 11.4 percent.
- · Prescription drug abuse rose from 0.7 percent to 3.5 percent.
- · Marijuana abuse increased from 0.6 percent to 2.9 percent.
SAMHSA |
Recorded ASIPP Webinars Available |
|
If you missed a previous ASIPP Webinar, you can still view it online or order the CD at http://asipp.peachnewmedia.com/store/provider/provider09.php?. If you had previously registered for the webinar and missed it there will be no additional charge and you can view it at your convenience. The pdf document of the powerpoint presentation is also available. If you need help to access the recorded version you can click HERE to contact our customer support team or call us at 1-866-702-3278.
If you did not register previously, you may order the recorded webinar and view it online at your convenience or order the CD. The pdf document of the presentation will be available, as will the CME and/or CEU credit certification.
Each new webinar will be archived for future reference or purchase. Current webinar topics available are:
- Staying Ahead Of Government Enforcement Efforts. Speaker: Vicki Mykowiak, JD
- Evidence-Based Interventional Techniques: An Algorithmic Approach To Keeping It Simple, Safe, and Successful. Speaker: Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD, ASIPP CEO and Chairman of the Board
- Coding: Be Prepared for 2010. Speaker: Joanne Mehmert CPC, CCC-PM, ACS-PM
Order Webinar |
New Jersey ASCs Respond to Negative Press Coverage of Infection Control at ASCs |
|
During the week of June 7, a number of media outlets around the country featured coverage critical of the ASC industry, emphasizing elevated infection rates at these facilities. However, most of the coverage featured isolated incidents at a small number of facilities, and generalizations should not be spread to ASCs as a whole, says the New Jersey Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers.
The coverage stemmed primarily from an article published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study cited by JAMA was conducted early in 2009 and focused on a small sampling of ASCs. According to the NJAASC, many of the issues raised by this limited study already have been addressed and corrected, either by individual centers or by new, improved regulations. All Medicare-certified ASCs are required to follow specific infection-control guidelines and are surveyed on their adherence to these guidelines.
Becker's ASC Review |
FDA Releases Risk Summaries for Newer Drugs |
|
(Reuters) - U.S. health officials have started releasing summaries of safety reviews for recently approved medicines as part of their efforts to inform doctors and consumers about potential side effects.
The information comes in part from post-approval reports of health problems from consumers, doctors and companies, Food and Drug Administration officials said as they unveiled the program on Tuesday. Agency reviewers also look at medical literature and ongoing studies.
The FDA and companies track potential problems after a drug reaches the market as some side effects do not emerge in the smaller groups of people who take part in pre-approval testing.
Reuters |
|
All contents
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
|
