Please see the attached flyer promoting a YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING on November 17th and 18th to be held at the SCCSAC offices in Wallingford.

 

Through funding from United Way and the Napier Foundation, Rushford  and SCCSAC can offer this 8 hour class for $20 to cover the cost of the manual, handout and 3-year certification.

 

This course is well worth your time, please register at your earliest convenience since space will be limited.

 

Download Flyer

The first-ever professional continuing education accredited medical course on gun violence will take place Saturday, December 6 at the Conference Center at Waltham Woods in Waltham, MA.  Professional societies, including The American Medical Association, have called for the development of continuing education courses on gun violence.

 

This one-day course is approved by the American College of Emergency Physicians for a maximum of 9 hours of ACEP Category 1 credit, is designated for 9 credits by 3 other accrediting bodies  and is appropriate for risk management study.   The faculty will discuss the impact of gun violence on individuals and communities, recognition, treatment and follow-up of at-risk patients, resources and plans for referrals and collaborations with other stakeholder groups.

 

Download Brochure/Registration

 

Vaccine Admin Codes

Recently, there has been an issue with Cigna denying more than 3 vaccine admin codes on one visit . 

 

In following up on this issue, the CTAAP has learned that CMS has implemented a coding edit for Medicare limiting the number of reported units for CPT code 90460 (vaccine administration to patients 18 years and younger with physician or other qualified healthcare professional counseling) to 3.  While private payers often utilize the Medicare edit system they do have the capability to override these edits. Cigna followed this edit, and the result is denials of the 4th or 5th vaccine admin. Code 90461 has no limit. 

 

In contacting Cigna we were told that they are working on altering their claims edits. Presently we are waiting for how Cigna will process claims previously sent in that were denied. We have requested that 6 admin codes be paid in one claim.

 

We believe that it will take a bit of time (maybe a month), but that this will be corrected. In the meantime, you can keep billing the 4 or5, and when they are denied, you will be able to resubmit the claims or Cigna will automatically reprocess the claims. 

 

99050 Code 

This code was being denied as a bundled services rule based on CMS guidelines. Cigna has agreed to change the policy, and should have reprocessed all of these denials to date. You should have already received a payment. If not, please let us know. 

 

We will be speaking to the Cigna folks again next Friday, and should have more information for you then

 

Upcoming Meetings

September 2014

The 2014-2015 influenza season is fast approaching. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy "Recommendations for Prevention and Control of Influenza in Children, 2014-2015" offers updated recommendations for routine use of seasonal influenza vaccine and antiviral medications for the prevention and treatment of influenza in children. Important details are highlighted in the AAP News article.

 

The AAP recommends annual seasonal influenza immunization for all people 6 months and older, including all children and adolescents. Optimal protection is achieved through annual immunization. Although the vaccine strains for this season are unchanged from last season, getting a dose of flu vaccine this season is critical for maintaining protection in all populations, as antibody titers may wane to 50% of their original levels 6 to 12 months after vaccination. Both trivalent and quadrivalent vaccines are available, and immunization is indicated with either of these (no preference). Live-attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) should be considered for healthy children 2 through 8 years of age who have no contraindications or precautions. If LAIV is not readily available, then inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) should be used; vaccination should not be delayed to obtain LAIV.

 

During the 2013-2014 influenza season, vaccination coverage among children 6 months to 17 years increased to 58.9%, a 2.3 percentage point increase compared to the 2012-2013 season. There were still 108 reported pediatric deaths from influenza last season; close to half the deaths were in healthy children. Of these deaths, about 90% had not been immunized so more efforts are needed to ensure children and their caregivers are vaccinated as soon as influenza vaccine becomes available. See Information on Vaccine Supply.

 

For more detailed influenza information, see the AAP Red Book Online Influenza Resource page or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention FluView.All What's the Latest with the Flu messages will be archived.

 

 

Jillian Wood
Executive Director

Tracey McDougall
Webinar Coordinator

Yvette Moretti
Marketing & Communications Manager

Kathryn Senk
Office Manager

Judith Blei
Government Relations

104 Hungerford Street
Hartford CT 06106

In This Issue

Take advantage of a great new opportunity to post your continuing medical education classes on CTAAP's website.  Please complete the Statewide Pediatric CME Form and send it to yvette.ctaap@gmail.com