CMS Bundled Payment Final Rule, Meaningful Use Updates, OQI Meeting 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 On November 16, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a rule finalizing 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 (a delay from January 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. Click here to read more. Meaningful Use Updates The Republican Doctor’s Caucus delivered a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Friday, November 20th, asking that three critical changes to current health care law be included in the appropriations package. The letter—which called for the delay of Stage 3 of meaningful use, more hardship exemptions for stage 2 of meaningful use, and a delay of the comprehensive care for joint replacement (CJR) program—was signed by all 18 members of the caucus, which includes nurses, doctors and other health care providers. The letter can be found here: http://doctorscaucus.roe.house.gov/uploadedfiles/mu-cjr.pdf. Click here to read more. AAOS Comments on MACRA The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced a Request for Information (RFI) for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Specifically, the RFI solicits input on the implementation of select provisions of MACRA including aspects of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), developing and promoting alternative payment models (APMs), and encouraging creating physician-focused payment models (PFPMs). Click here to read more. Preparing for 2015 EHR Reporting Participation The EHR reporting period for payment adjustment year 2015 is any continuous 90-day period. Providers can attest to meaningful use for EHR reporting period in 2015 beginning January 4, 2016. All Medicare providers must attest by February 29, 2016. In addition, all providers must use CEHRT certified to the 2014 Edition and submit Clinical Quality Measures. Click here to read more. Follow Our New Twitter Account @AAOSAdvocacy Orthopaedic Quality Institute Held in DC On November 19-20, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) hosted its fifth annual Orthopaedic Quality Institute (OQI) in Washington, DC. Chaired by Kevin Bozic, MD, MBA, and Thomas Barber, MD, the 2015 OQI theme was “Patient Reported Outcomes in Orthopaedics.” Goals of the 2015 meeting included identifying and understanding the value of disease-specific, domain-specific, and generic Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in orthopaedics; discussing the role of patient reported outcomes (PROs) in clinical practice; identifying the barriers to and facilitators of collection of PROs by orthopaedic surgeons; understanding the current and future use of PROs in accountability programs; and charting a course for AAOS involvement in facilitating PROM collection and use by AAOS members. Click here to read more. AMA House of Delegates Interim Meeting 2015 AAOS delegate members met in Atlanta, Georgia in November for the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD) Interim meeting. The HOD is the legislative and policy-making body of the AMA and is composed of elected representatives and others. Numerous advocacy-focused resolutions were considered during the meeting. Most notable was the resolution on Equity in Graduate Medical Education (GME) Funding, which was co-sponsored by AAOS, along with American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society and several state societies. The resolution was discussed by the House and was recommended for adoption. The resolution resolved that the AMA strongly advocate that there be no decreases in the current funding of MD and DO graduate medical education while there is a concurrent increase in funding of graduate medical education in other professions. In addition, the resolution resolved that the AMA advocate there be at least proportional increases in the current funding of MD and DO graduate medical education similar to increases in funding of GME in other professions. Click here to read more. Thanks for Giving With Thanksgiving just around the corner we wanted to take a moment before the hustle and bustle of the holiday season to say thank you for giving. With your support, AAOS has grown to over a three million dollar PAC. Currently, we are poised to have our best cycle yet, and that’s because of your generosity. Click here to view the 2015 Capitol Club Donors Click here to view the 2015 Resident and Residency Program Stats Click here for the full Orthopaedic PAC 2015 Donor List 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!