Bundled Payment Webinar, ACA Repeal Bill, Physician-Owned Hospitals, and More
For questions or concerns on these or other advocacy issues, contact the Office of Government Relations at dc@aaos.org CMS Finalizes Mandatory Bundled Payment Model – AAOS Webinar Tonight! Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR): Understanding the CMS Mandatory Bundling Webinar December 8, 2015 Director: Craig Robert Mahoney, MD Faculty: Alexandra Page, MD and Brian McCardel, MD Webinar times: 8:15 to 9:45 pm ET; 7:15 to 8:45 pm CT; 6:15 to 7:45 pm MT; 5:15 to 6:45 pm PT The Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model (CJR) has been finalized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and is set to begin on April 1, 2016 in 67 randomly selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Your faculty discusses the impact this payment model will have on you and your practice, and covers the Academy’s advocacy efforts to continue to define this payment model. Register online here! On November 16, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the plan announced in July to bundle payment and quality measures for hip and knee replacements at hospitals in 67 – down from 75 – randomly selected geographic areas (find what areas are included here). Nearly all hospitals in those geographic areas are required to participate starting April 1, 2015. Included in the model are all lower extremity joint arthroplasty procedures within DRGs 469 and 470. These include elective hip and knee arthroplasty procedures (total or partial) caused by osteoarthritis or similar conditions, but also include ankle arthroplasty, as well as arthroplasty for fracture repair such as hip hemiarthroplasty or total hip arthroplasty for hip fracture. Read a previous Advocacy Now article on the final rule here and register for tonight’s webinar below. In addition to the comments submitted to CMS on the proposed rule (read the full comments online here), AAOS recently submitted additional comments on the ICD code list for hip fractures. Click here to read more. The Academy is leading the discussion on distracted walking Join the conversation The Academy’s “Digital Deadwalkers” PSA campaign–television and radio advertisements that humorously but effectively highlight what can happen when people talk, text, listen to music, or focus on anything or anyone other than getting where they need to go—began airing in 2015, and will continue through the end of 2016. To enhance and invigorate the conversation, the Academy recently commissioned and released a new study finding that more than three quarters (78 percent) of U.S. adults believe that distracted walking is a “serious” issue; however, 74 percent of Americans say it’s “other people” who are usually or always walking while distracted. Only 29 percent say the same about themselves. Read the full press release and study findings. The New York Times, The Today Show, WHYY (National Public Radio in Philadelphia), Huffington Post and other national media all have covered the study. The Academy is further promoting this discussion on social media and invites you to join in the conversation by retweeting and sharing our content. Simply visit our social media pages and start sharing using hashtags #DigitalDeadwalker and #DistractedWalking. Connect to the Academy’s Facebook and Twitter page. Click here to view or download the infographic. Senate Passes Reconciliation Bill to Repeal ACA Provisions On Thursday, December 3, the Senate voted 52-47 to pass legislation that would repeal major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Because Republicans moved the measure through budget reconciliation – an expedited process that allows them to bypass the usual 60 votes required to avoid a filibuster – only 51 votes were required for passage. Additionally, although the bill was previously passed by the House, the addition of Senate amendments mean that the House will need to pass the bill again before the legislation is sent to the White House. President Barack Obama has already pledged to veto the legislation. The bill approved by the Senate would repeal the ACA’s medical device and Cadillac taxes, Medicaid expansion, as well as the subsidies that help consumers buy insurance. It would also change the fines for the individual and employer mandates to $0 and defund Planned Parenthood for one year. Click here to read more. AAOS Congressional Reception Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN) with AAOS fellow Dr. Tom Fleeter The AAOS Office of Government Relations hosted a reception on December 1, 2015 for local AAOS members, related health care groups, members of Congress, and their staff. In attendance were fellow orthopaedic surgeons Chairman Tom Price, MD (R-GA) and Senator John Barrasso, MD (R-WY). Other members of Congress who stopped by in support included Andy Barr (R-KY), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Ami Bera, MD (D-CA), Mark Takano (D-CA), and Bill Flores (R-TX). Preparing for 2015 EHR Reporting Participation To help eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs) successfully participate in the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs in 2015, CMS has posted new resources on the CMS EHR Incentive Programs website. • Eligible Professionals and Eligible Hospitals/CAHs: What You Need to Know for 2015 • Overview of the EHR Incentive Programs in 2015-2017 • What’s Changed for the EHR Incentive Programs in 2015-2017 • Eligible Professionals and Eligible Hospitals/CAHs Attestation Worksheets • Alternate Exclusions and Specifications Fact Sheet • Eligible Professionals and Eligible Hospitals/CAHs Objectives and Measures Tables • Eligible Professionals and Eligible Hospitals/CAHs Specification Sheets Click here to read more. Groups Urge Congress to Support Physician Owned Hospitals When passed, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) included a provision that banned any new physician-owned hospitals from being built as well as banning the expansion of existing hospitals. The American Hospital Association (AHA) continues to push back against recent legislation introduced that would lift the moratoria on expansion for these specialty hospitals. They argue that these hospitals “cherry pick” patients or limit themselves to the most lucrative types of procedures and operations. A recent independent study published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) disputes these claims. In fact, lead author Daniel Blumenthal, MD, a clinical fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital said, “By and large, physician-owned hospitals have virtually identical proportions of Medicaid patients and racial minorities and perform very similar to other hospitals in terms of quality of care.” The authors also conclude that physician owned hospitals are not providing lower-value care or threatening the financial viability of surrounding hospitals. Click here to read more. Comments on Tobacco Treatment Measures The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requested comments on recently posted specifications and additional information on draft electronic versions of three Tobacco Treatment Measures (TOB-1, TOB-2, and TOB-3). These specifications are a reengineering of the existing chart-abstracted measures to enable data collection using electronic health record (EHR) systems. AAOS submitted comments, noting that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that tobacco-related diseases result in more than 435,000 deaths among adults in the United States each year, and is recognized as one of the major causes of preventable disease. While it’s commonly known that smoking is linked to heart and respiratory diseases as well as to several types of cancer, AAOS commented that many people are unaware smoking has serious negative effects on the musculoskeletal system, leading to poor outcomes in post-operative orthopaedic patients. Such outcomes include increases in wound and fracture healing times and post-operative infections. In addition, smokers are at higher risk of developing osteoporosis; tobacco use is also associated with an increase in the incidence of low back pain and rheumatoid arthritis. Click here to read more. Residency Program Challenge – Get Your Program to 100% Resident involvement is crucial in strengthening the stature and influence of the AAOS and the Orthopaedic PAC in our nation’s capital. Over 210 residents across 44 residency programs have supported our PAC, a 159% increase from just last year. Congratulations to the six following residency programs that have reached the Gold 100% participation level this year: Cooper University, Colombia, University of Hawaii, University of Kentucky, University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jefferson. Last year Columbia, Geisinger, the Universities of Connecticut, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Vermont Orthopaedic Residency Programs hit 100% participation. There is still time to for your program to achieve 100% participation in Orthopaedic PAC and have your residency program featured in the PAC Annual Report, the Advocacy Booth at the AAOS Annual Meeting and recognized at the NOLC. Renew your support today AAOS Orthopaedic PAC Online Contribution Center AAOS welcomed Stacie Monroe to the Office of Government Relations (OGR) team on October 19. Stacie joins the OGR with a strong background in fundraising and expertise within the medical community. For the past nine years Stacie was with the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) as their Political Advocacy Director. Please drop Stacie an email with any PAC requests or questions at monroe@aaos.org or by phone 202.548.4150. The Orthopaedic PAC website features an online contribution center, which can accept contributions via credit card by visiting the site and using your AAOS login credentials. Credit card contributions can also be conveniently scheduled for a monthly, quarterly or yearly recurring donation. Consider joining the Orthopaedic PAC with a monthly contribution of $25 or make a $1,000 contribution manageable through $250 quarterly contributions to qualify for the new “Capitol Club”. Visit www.aaos.org/pac and select Donate to the Orthopaedic PAC for more information or to contribute today. Don’t remember when you last contributed? Log in to the contribution center today to view your complete donation history!
