Ohio-ACC
Spring Summit:
April 21, 2010
The Ritz-Carlton
Cleveland, OH
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Dr. David R. Holmes, Jr. Guest LecturerJoin us for the 3rd Annual CCA Cardiovascular Update & 47th Annual Carl J. Wiggers Memorial Lecture: What Interventional Cardiology Has Taught Us about Physiology and Pathophysiology.
Get complete information and register today.
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Contact Us
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www.ohioacc.org
ohioacc@gmail.com
614.859.2223
800.983.OHIO
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Ohio-ACC News February 8, 2010
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 President's Message
Robert E. Hobbs, MD, FACC
Take Action
The ACC continues its efforts to fight the cardiology payment
cuts included in the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
Please take a few minutes to call or
write your representative urging them to cosponsor legislation (H.R.
4371) introduced by Rep. Gonzalez (D-TX), which would help correct some
of the biggest threats to heart patient access included in the final
rule. ACTION REQUESTEDPlease contact your congressional representative today using the ACC's online advocacy tool - GO HERE.
It will take you about one minute to do. Based on your zipcode, it will send a message asking your representative to
sign on to this important
legislation. ACC staff is working on generating similar legislation
in the Senate. For more on ACC's legal, legislative
and regulatory efforts related to Medicare payment reform,
as well as patient and practice resources, go to www.campaignforpatientaccess.org.
The Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a devastating blow to patient access with its
2010 Medicare fee schedule. This legislation will go a long way towards
mitigating the impacts of this rule. Please act now to save your profession and your patients' access to care!
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Ohio House Committee Approves Tort Reform Rollback Despite Objections - Contact your Legislator
Reprinted from the OSMA "This Week"
Ohio's
medical liability reforms took a step backward on Feb. 4, in the House
Civil & Commercial Law Committee with the passage of H.B. 361 on a
9-3 vote.
H.B.
361 amends Ohio law governing the introduction of medical evidence in
personal injury trials. This bill will undo the effect of a major
provision in the most recent tort reform initiative (S.B. 80) enacted
in 2004, which ensures Ohio juries have all necessary information to make a fair and reasonable determination of actual damages in a tort action.
The
OSMA led the opponents as the only medical organization testifying in
opposition to this harmful bill. Tim Maglione, senior director of
government relations at the OSMA, testified and answered the
Committee's questions for nearly an hour and countered many of the
flawed arguments presented by H.B. 361's lead supporting organization,
the Ohio Association for Justice (formerly known as The Ohio Academy of
Trial Lawyers).
Impact of H.B. 361
The OSMA testified that the legislature should preserve the holding in Robinson v. Bates
(2006) and S.B. 80, which clarified the rules regarding the types of
evidence a jury can consider. H.B. 361 would reverse the effect of this
important piece of tort reform by prohibiting a jury from considering
amounts written-off or waived by medical providers at trial or in tort
cases.
H.B.
361 would gut the accuracy of evidence presented to a jury. It would
deny both plaintiffs and defendants the benefits of a fair and
reasonable presentation of evidence of actual reimbursements vs. billed
charges.
By
limiting evidence of medical damages in personal injury and wrongful
death cases to only the amount of the billed charges in a medical bill,
HB 361 would
provide plaintiff lawyers with the ability to confuse juries in their
determination of actual damages. The result will be inflated economic
damage awards forcing medical liability premiums to rise for the
benefit of a few victims and their personal injury trial attorneys.
The bill now moves to the House floor for a full vote of the Ohio House of Representatives. Please contact your legislators today by clicking here and tell them to oppose HB 361.
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Did You Submit Your 2009 PQRI Data?
Feb. 21 is the last day to submit
data for the 2009 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) using measures
groups. Data submissions must be for patient visits within the 2009 calendar
year. Participants who successfully participate in the program will earn a 2
percent incentive payment on all Medicare Part B professional services for 2009.
The ACC has partnered with CECity to offer PQRIwizard,
an online subscription-based program, to assist you with your participation. For
more information, or to register for the PQRIwizard, go to:
http://acc.pqriwizard.com. |
New Year, New Coding Changes
 As of Jan. 1, substantial changes occurred in the coding for
three commonly used services - myocardial perfusion/SPECT imaging, coronary CT
angiography (CTA) and cardiac MRI. CMS's continued pressure to bundle together imaging
services reported with multiple codes has now hit myocardial perfusion imaging.
In 2010, myocardial perfusion imaging / SPECT studies, including wall motion
and ejection fraction, will be reported with a single code (78452). The codes for coronary CTA have also changed for
2010. Although coronary CTA in the past was reported using eight different
Category III codes, in 2010, these codes have been replaced with four Category
I codes. The reporting structure for cardiac MRI codes changed slightly in
2010. As a result of the reporting change, four codes were deleted and a new
add-on code created.
With these changes in effect, practices need to work with
their health plans to accurately implement and crosswalk the 2009 codes to the
new 2010 codes so processing goes smoothly. Practices should also negotiate
with health plans to avoid tying future private payer rates to Medicare rates,
as Medicare rates for certain services will decrease over coming years. Given
the complicated nature of these coding changes, the ACC has created resources
for practices to help them with the transition, along with the other changes to
the cardiovascular practice environment. Visit http://www.acc.org/practicemanagement
for specific information and check out the upcoming January/February issue of Cardiology
magazine. For issues with implementation of new coverage policies, please
contact Henry McCants at hmccants@acc.org. |
ICD Registry™ V2.0: Register Now for the Free Webcast on February 11
The ACC's NCDR in partnership with the Heart Rhythm Society
is holding a "National ICD Registry Webcast Overview of V2.0"on Feb. 11 at 2 PM
(ET). The Webcast is designed to introduce the new version of the ICD Registry
taking effect in April 1. Topics include:
Purpose of the expansion of the ICD Registry
The role of the ICD for primary and secondary prevention
Changes to the ICD Registry in Version 2.0
Register now for this free webcast (sponsored by
Boston Scientific, Inc.). |
Problems with the Nuclear Cardiology Codes?
Effective
January 1, 2010, the billing for myocardial perfusion imaging (SPECT
and planar) has changed. Practices must use CPT® codes (78451-78454) to
report these procedures. Is your practice using the new codes and
having problems with getting paid or receiving correct reimbursement
for your nuclear cardiology studies? If you are having difficulties or
questions, please let us know at the ACC Payer Hassle Factor Form.
New Nuclear
Cardiology codes: What you should know
1.
Is there language in the contract that governs the fee schedule? Is
this language linked to a specific year?
2.
Does the contract incorporate CMS changes automatically?
3. Is reimbursement tied to Work
RVUs only, or are practice expenses and practice liability insurance also included?
4.
Does the contract require advance notice for fee schedule changes?
For more tips for reviewing your provider contracts, please visit
the MPI Coding: Assessing the Current Situation Page.
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