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WV-ACC Update
Steven McCormick, MD, FACC
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President's Message
| Colleagues,
I receive a lot of email as I am sure you do. One email that I received
struck a chord with me, and I would like to share it with you. I
received the message via the ACC Governors' listserv from my colleague
Thomas A. Haffey, DO, FACC, who is the Colorado ACC Governor. Here it
is:
"One of my early observations as a governor is that
communication with legislators is a process not an event. Repeated
contacts, not one sole visit seem to garner the most impact. It seems to
be that it is not a single meeting but the sixth or seventh or tenth
meeting when the light-bulb goes on and they finally realize who you are
and who you represent. This is an alien concept to most of our
colleagues who are geared to an almost immediate solution to whatever
complex cardiac problem that is presented to us. We need to plant the
seeds to Congress that we are there to help them, not be disappointed in
a perceived lack of activity, and try and develop a personal
relationship with the medical experts in their offices."
to be held September 12-14, at the Fairmont Hotel. We will spend a day
learning about the legislative issues facing us, and then we will bring
our message to Capitol Hill. If you have never done this sort of thing, I
can tell you that it is quite an experience. Take the time to make a
difference. |
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Travel
Awards Available for
ACC Legislative Conference
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FOR FITs: The ACC
has made a select number of travel awards available to cover up to
$1,000 in airfare, hotel and other expenses for Fellows-in-Training. If
you would like to
nominate someone from your training program, please send an email
to kventura@acc.org
by July 10 with their full name, address (including email), and
year of training. Applicants may also
nominate themselves by sending the same information via email as listed
above. Award recipients will be announced by July 23.
FOR CCAs: The ACC will offer ten
$1,000 travel awards to Cardiac Care
Associates (CCAs) planning to attend the 2010 Legislative Conference. If
you are interested, please send an email with your name, address and
contact info to Kelli Bohannon at kbohanno@acc.org. You
will be entered
in a random drawing to receive a travel award. Deadline is July 31. |
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Introducing
a New Designation for CCAs!
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 The
Associate of the American College of Cardiology designation was
approved by the ACC's Board of Trustees in March 2009, to recognize
those CCAs who, through advanced education, training and professional
development, have dedicated themselves to providing the highest-level of
cardiovascular care. Learn more.
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Medicare Proposed Rule for 2011
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The
proposed rule
is out! The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
released its proposed 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule,
which
includes both payment and payment policy proposals for all physician
services. Overall, the rule does not include any egregious policy
proposals on
the scale of those included in the 2010 rule. That being said, while
there were some positives, cardiovascular professionals will continue to
feel the
downstream impacts of policies that were finalized in the 2010 rule. As
in past years, increases and cuts for
cardiovascular services are dependent on the services provided by the
practice. Find out more. |
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