Today’s Top Story
House expected to vote on SGR repeal today.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote today on a bill to permanently repeal the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. If enacted in its current form, the legislative package would replace the SGR with an increase of 0.5 percent in Medicare physician reimbursement from July 2015 to December 2015, followed by annual 0.5 percent increases through 2019. It would also consolidate various Medicare reporting programs into a new merit-based incentive payment system, stimulate physician participation in alternative payment models, and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for an additional 2 years. However, MedPage Today reports that there is less enthusiasm for the bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate, where some conservative leaders have complained that the cost of the repeal is not fully offset and some progressive leaders have argued for a 4-year renewal of CHIP. Read more…
Read more in AAOS Now Daily Edition…
A report from the U.S. Congressional Budget Office projects that enacting the SGR repeal legislation in its current form would increase direct federal spending by about $145 billion and revenues by about $4 billion from 2015 to 2025, resulting in a $141 billion increase in federal budget deficits over 10 years. Read more…
Read the complete CBO report (PDF)…
Visit the AAOS legislative action center…
Other News
Study: Microfracture may be less expensive than other procedures for repairing chondral defects of the knee.
Research presented in Scientific Poster P412, on display in Academy Hall G at the AAOS Annual Meeting, suggests that microfracture may be less expensive and more commonly performed than other surgical methods of repairing chondral defects of the knee. The researchers reviewed data from a national private insurance database to identify patients who underwent microfracture (n = 38,444); osteochondral autograft transfer (OATs; n = 1,130); osteochondral allograft (OC allograft) (n = 1,071); or autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) (n = 546). After analyzing the total charges for each category and determining the per-patient average charges (PPAC), the investigators found that microfracture patients had a PPAC of $3,990, while OATs, OC allograft, and ACI patients had higher PPACs of $6,110, $6,671, and $10,195, respectively. Read more…
Read the abstract…
Study: TEA may improve pain, motion, and function in young patients.
Data presented yesterday in Scientific Presentation 286 suggest that total elbow arthroplasty (TEA) may consistently improve pain, motion, and function in patients younger than age 50, especially in those with inflammatory conditions. The research team reviewed data on 122 patients age 50 years or younger who underwent primary TEA (135 elbows) at a single institution between 1982 and 2003. They found that postoperatively, all patients showed significant improvement in pain and motion, and had a median implant survival time of 21 years. The research team noted that patients who had a preoperative diagnosis isolated posttraumatic arthritis had a higher failure rate than those diagnosed with inflammatory arthritides. Read more…
Read the abstract…
Can’t attend the AAOS Annual Meeting? Online webcasts bring symposia to you.
AAOS Annual Meeting symposia explore some of the hottest topics in orthopaedics, presented by some of the top experts in their field. Register now to view 11 symposia webcasts from the AAOS Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. The symposia will be streamed live from the Annual Meeting, with on-demand viewing available the day after the symposium and running through June 30, 2015. The webcasts are free to AAOS members. Register online…
New AAOS PSA campaign targets “distracted walking.”
At the Annual Meeting Opening Ceremony, AAOS unveiled its newest collection of public service announcements (PSAs). Whereas many Academy PSA campaigns have in recent years focused on the dangers of distracted driving, the new radio and television campaign expands to inform about the dangers of “distracted walking.” Two print PSAs—one focused on motorcycle safety and developed with the Orthopaedic Trauma Association and the other focused on the dangers of diving head first into unknown waters, developed in conjunctions with the Cervical Spine Research Society and the American Spinal Injury Associaiton—were also introduced during the meeting. Read more…
AAOS offers a variety of public service materials for free to Academy members. Learn more and order free PSA materials…
Call for volunteers: ACEP Multi-Stakeholder Quality Measures Technical Expert Panel.
AAOS seeks to nominate members to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Multi-Stakeholder Quality Measures Technical Expert Panel (TEP). The goal of the TEP is to develop quality measures for emergency care with a focus on clinical effectiveness and appropriateness. Clinical effectiveness measures will focus on early identification and interventions for patients with sepsis in the emergency department (ED). Appropriateness measures will focus on topics of overuse including but not limited to imaging for atraumatic back pain, imaging of the abdomen and pelvis for renal colic, and indwelling urinary catheters for patients in the ED. Applicants for this position must be active fellows, candidate members, candidate members osteopathic, candidate member applicants for fellowship, or candidate member applicants for fellowship osteopathic with experience in measure development and quality improvement initiatives. In addition, all applicants must provide the following: an online AAOS CAP application, a current curriculum vitae, a 100-word biosketch, a conflict of interest (COI) form, and a letter of interest highlighting his or her expertise in the subject area and a statement that he or she is able to participate in full capacity. All supporting materials must be submitted by April 3, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. CT to Kyle Shah at: shah@aaos.org
Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)
