President's Message
Christopher J. Cooper, MD, FACC |
Dear Colleague,
Did you know that the American Association of Justice (trial lawyers) raised $6,019,376 for its Political Action Committee (PAC) in the 2010 cycle? Did you know that orthopedic surgeons, radiologists, and anesthesiologists, for instance, contribute more than cardiologists and that cardiologists rank 9th among medical specialty PACs? For that same period, the ACCPAC raised $1,267,597. I hope that the ACCPAC total will increase with your participation.
ACCPAC is responsible for forging relationships with influential Members of Congress. These relationships are key to the success of our Advocacy efforts.
Please take a moment to:
- Look at these slides that will give you more complete information about the ACCPAC.
- Consider a PAC donation by going to https://www.accpacweb.org/ssl/. Your log-in is the first letter of your first name, followed by your entire last name. Your password is your ACC ID#.
- Register for the Ohio-ACC Cardiology Day at the Capitol, on March 19, in Columbus.
Feel free to contact me at christopher.cooper@utoledo.edu.
Sincerely,
Christopher J. Cooper MD, FACC
President, Ohio Chapter of the ACC
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Going to ACC.13?
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| Ohio-ACC Wins ACC Chapter Recognition Award |  The Ohio-ACC received an ACC Chapter Recognition Award at the ACC Leadership Conference in January! The Ohio-ACC was recognized for engagement of Fellows-in-Training. There is a national focus on targeting the next generation of FACCs. We have made it a Chapter priority to engage and cultivate involvement among our Fellows-in-Training. We believe that if our fellows have an outstanding experience with the ACC during their fellowship years that they will take the next step and apply for fellowship in the College after they complete their training. |
Value Based Purchasing
| Are you ready for value-based payment? In 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will begin phasing in payment adjustments for quality and cost of care starting with groups of 100 or more professionals who opt-in. Services provided during 2013 will be used to calculate the 2015 modifier. While participation in value-based payment will be voluntary at first, CMS intends that all physicians' payments will be adjusted in 2017. The value-based purchasing initiatives were outlined in the 2013 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
-Recorded Webinar Provides Background
To learn more about how to position your practice for success in a value-based purchasing environment, download and listen to ACC's webinar, What's New in CMS Value-Based Purchasing, at your convenience. Click here to access the recording (ACC ID required).
-Quality and Resource Use Report Available Online
If you are a member of a medical group with at least 25 providers, your Confidential 2011 Quality and Resource Use Report (QRUR) is available now at the QRUR PORTAL. You'll also find a blinded 2011 QRUR targeted to Cardiology on Cardiosource. The QRUR is a "report card" that provides comparative information so physicians can view the clinical care their patients receive in relation to the average care and costs of other physician's Medicare patients.
To access your practice reports, you will need your Tax Identification Number (TIN), National Provider Identification (NPI), and Provider Transaction Access Number (PTAN) for at least 3 members of your group in order to obtain reports for all members of your group.
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Medicaid 2013 Primary Care and Certain Specialty Physician Rate Increase
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In accordance with the APA, primary care physicians and certain specialty and subspecialty designations are eligible to receive increased Medicaid payment for primary care services provided to Medicaid eligible individuals. The federal government is fully financing the difference between the state Medicaid payment rate and the applicable Medicare rate during calendar years 2013 and 2014.
Eligibility
Physicians who self-attest to practicing primary care in one of the following specialty or subspecialty designations:
- pediatric medicine
- family medicine
- internal medicine
- subspecialists within the specialty designations listed above recognized by the ABMS, SBPS, or the AOA
How to Qualify
To qualify, physicians must (1) claim eligibility and (2) must attest to either:
- being Board Certified with a specialty or subspecialty within one of the specialty designations listed above; or
- in the previous year, that 60% of their Medicaid claims for the E&M codes specified in the CMS regulation.
A physician may qualify under both, but need only to meet one of these requirements.
"Internal Medicine" under ABMS includes Adolescent Medicine; Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology; Cardiovascular Disease; Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology; Critical Care Medicine; Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism; Gastroenterology; Geriatric Medicine; Hematology; Hospice and Palliative Medicine; Infectious Disease; Interventional Cardiology; Medical Oncology; Nephrology; Pulmonary Disease; Rheumatology; Sleep Medicine; Sports Medicine: Transplant Hepatology.
"Internal Medicine" under AOA includes Allergy/Immunology; Cardiology; Endocrinology; Gastroenterology; Hematology; Hematology/Oncology; Infectious Disease; Pulmonary Diseases; Nephrology; Oncology; Rheumatology.
Physicians approved by Ohio's Office of Medical Assistance can expect to see increased payment beginning in April 2013, when OMA anticipated CMS will approve Ohio's State Plan Amendment to implement the primary care rate increase. The payment will be made retrospectively for claims filed on and after January 1, 2013.
Ohio physicians must request the reimbursement by self-attesting they are an eligible provider by applying through the MITS portal on the Ohio Medicaid website: https://www.ohmits.com/prosecure/authtam/login?HOSTNAME=portal.ohmits.com.
Ohio physicians without a MITS account can sign up for one at: https://portal.ohmits.com/public/Providers/tabid/43/Default.aspx.
If additional assistance is needed regarding signing up for a MITS account, please call the Medicaid Provider Call Center at (800) 686-1516, Monday - Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Ohio's Office of Medical Assistance prepared FAQs for Ohio providers, found at the following link: http://jfs.ohio.gov/OHP/releases/PCP-Rate-Increase-FAQ.stm.
To access the FAQs prepared by CMS, please follow the following link: http://www.medicaid.gov/State-Resource-Center/Frequently-Asked-Questions/CMCS-Ask-Questions.html.
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Are you treating patients with congenital heart disease?
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fellows-in-training can attend a pediatric/congenital cardiologist career mentoring session at ACC.13.
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