Trade Association News Update December 1, 2012
Organization Name
Press Releases
AMA Statement on CBO Estimated Cost for Delaying SGR Cut
A statement by Jeremy Lazarus, President of the AMA, discussed the
CBO estimate that preventing the nearly 27 percent cut for
physician reimbursement would cost $ 7 billion. Lazarus emphasizes
this is a broken system that needs to be fixed, as the SGR was
created to lower overall Medicare spending, not to create
dangerous cuts to physicians.
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American Medical Association
New AMA Study Finds Anticompetitive Market Conditions are
Common across Managed Care Plans
The AMA released a new study indicating that the three most
popular managed care plans have highly anticompetitive markets. In
70 percent of the metropolitan areas studied there was a significant
absence of health insurer competition, and in 67 percent of areas
studied one HMO controlled over half the local market. The result is
a monopoly power which can lead to high premiums and watereddown benefits.
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American College of Surgeons
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
American Neurological Association
American Academy of Neurology
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
CMS Delays Place of Service Until April 2013
American College of Radiology
CMS has released Transmittal 2563 which revises their place of
service (POS) policy for implementation on April 1, 2013. CMS
rescinded their March 29, 2012 and September 28, 2012 POS
notices. POS involves billing arrangements based on the provider
and the services received.
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American Academy of Family Physicians
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
American Society of Anesthesiologists
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
American Congress of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists
Ob-Gyns Want the Pill Available OTC
The ACOG advocates that oral contraceptives (OCs) should be sold
over the counter without a physician’s prescription. Widely available
OCs should lower the rate of unintended pregnancy, which costs
taxpayers $1.1 billion annually. Providing OCs without a prescription
would eliminate cost and access barriers to those who want it, but
have not been able to get it in the past. Though there is the risk of
blood clots, there is the consensus that OCs are safe and women
support them being available over the counter.
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Use of Electronic Health Records Lags in Pediatrics
American Academy of Pediatrics
A study by the AAP found few pediatricians have transitioned to
pediatric-supportive electronic health records (EHRs), specifically in
small practices and urban or inner-city areas. Most pediatricians
indicated cost and loss of productivity as the biggest obstacles to
implementing EHRs. EHRs need to be more tailored to suit the
needs of pediatricians by including immunization tracking and
growth charts/percentile calculation.
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American Osteopathic Association
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
American Academy of Dermatology
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
CMS eases supervision for 22 outpatient therapeutic services
CMS released a decision reducing the supervision of 22 outpatient
therapeutic services from direct to general. This will be in effect on
January 1, 2013 and is an increase from the 15 services originally
determined by the agency, but fewer than the 28 suggested by the
Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment. Some of the new
services include wound care and therapeutic injections.
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American Hospital Association
OIG criticizes HHS oversight of Medicare EHR incentive payments
HHS recommends that CMS strengthen oversight Medicare
incentives for EHR payments. The Office of Inspector General at HHS
contends that pre-payment review of HER document should occur
to verify the accuracy of the reported information. CMS disagreed
saying this would be a burden on practitioners and would delay
incentive payments, and in addition CMS is conducting audits on
hospitals that have received these meaningful use payments.
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American Association of Physician Assistants
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
American Association of Respiratory Care
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
American College of Cardiology
High Costs Pose Barrier to Preventive Screening for Young Athletes
Electrocardiograph (ECG) screening has the potential to save the
lives of competitive high school and college athletes as it can detect
underlying heart problems. However screening all the competitive
athletes would cost approximately $69 billion over 20 years and
would save 4,813 lives. This means each life saved would cost $10
million, making widespread screening too expensive. Instead
physicians should carefully monitor their young athlete patients and
take into account any family history of cardiac issues.
American College of Rheumatology
American Gastroenterological Association
American Geriatrics Society
American Podiatric Medical Association
American Society of Clinical Oncology
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
American Thoracic Society
American Psychiatric Association
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and
Immunology
American College of Emergency Physicians
America’s Health Insurance Plans
National Federation of Independent Business
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons
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No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
AGA Members Tell Lawmakers — Stop the Cuts
As the deadline for sequestration is looming, major budget cuts will
negatively affect researchers and health care professionals. If no
changes are made medical reimbursement will be cut by 29 percent
and research funding will be cut by 8 percent. The AGA is holding a
virtual advocacy campaign on Tuesday, December 4 to urge
Congress to stop the cuts.
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No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
AHIP Statement on ACA Implementation
The CEO of AHIP, Karen Ignagni, released a statement on the
proposed rules released by HHS in regards to the ACA. She said the
main focus should be stressing affordability of medical care for both
consumers and employers otherwise the implementation of the
new state health exchanges will be futile. AHIP is also looking to
work with Congress to repeal the ACA’s $100 billion tax on health
insurance that will add to the cost of coverage.
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No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
AAOS to Lobby Lame Duck on Key Orthopedic Issues
On November 29, 2012, the AAOS held a fly-in for its members to
lobby Congress and draw attention to orthopedic issues subject to
fiscal cliff negotiations. AAOS wants to prevent the Medicare
reimbursement cuts. They also are advocating for the preservation
IAOS except to the Stark Law which allows physicians to have
advanced imaging equipment and provide physical therapy in their
offices.
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American Association of Clinical
Endocrinologists
PhRMA
Biotechnology Industry Organization
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.
No recent legislative or regulatory news releases.