March 10, 2010
Senate Inches Closer to Delay Doc Pay Cut until September 30 |
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The Senate has cleared the way to vote on delaying a 21.2% physician pay cut vote in Medicare reimbursement until September 30.
In a procedural action, the Senate voted Tuesday to move on a $150 billion package of legislation, including tax extenders and unemployment aid that the White House said is critically important to the country's economic recovery. The final vote may take place today.
Media Healthleaders |
Make Plans Today to Attend the Most Exciting ASIPP Annual Meeting Ever! |
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Mark your calendars now to attend ASIPP's 12th annual meeting will be held June 26-30,2010 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City.
We are offering three separate sessions focused on the Future of Interventional Pain Management: Evidence-Based Medicine, Comparative Effectiveness, and Practice Management. We are building on the information presented last year, while encompassing the changes in the legislation and political environment. We have several prominent speakers in the line-up, such as, Dr. Roger Chou; Dr. Gabor Racz; Medical Economist CEO, J.D. Kleinke; Founder and President of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review; Deputy Assistant Administrator, and many others.
In addition to the information-packed presentations on EBM and Comparative Effectiveness, we will also offer a practice management series of presentations, which will cover the essential coding and compliance lectures. This series is ideal for physicians and is invaluable for their staff. You could easily consider sending your staff to this meeting as an investment. They will walk away armed with the information they need to better understand the billing and coding issues they face on a daily basis.
Since last year s gala celebration was such a success, we decided to reprise this event with a celebration in the theme of An Evening in the Windy City. The evening will start with a cocktail mixer and move right into dinner, a brief business meeting, awards, and then entertainment from comedian and hypnotist, Flip Orley. After this, we will crank-up the fun and begin an evening of socializing, dancing and celebrating. On Monday, June 28, we will prepare for our Capitol Hill visits. Tuesday morning, June 29th, we will once again go as a group to Capitol Hill and make our voices heard. This is your opportunity to speak with your representatives and senators about the legislative issues that affect you and your practice.
For more information, click HERE for the brochure.
Mark your calendar today! |
Documentation for Dummies and Cadaver Course offered in April |
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Make your plans to attend the Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop (Basic, Intermediate, and Comprehensive Interventional Pain Management Examination Preparation Course) or the Documentation for Dummies Review Course April 23-25, 2010 - Memphis, TN Both meetings will be held at the historic Peabody hotel in Memphis and the MERI Center. Special room rate expires March 30, 2010.
The Documentation for Dummies session is not only an essential element in Interventional Pain Management, but also beneficial to you as a physician and to your practice. Coding, compliance, and practice management are areas which are critical to our field yet ones in which few have adequate training. In todays environment of ever-changing regulations and litigations, we cannot afford to ignore these important and complex subjects.
The intensive review course and comprehensive cadaver workshop is planned as a CME activity to prepare physicians seeking board certification by ABIPP, and/or as an in-depth review of interventional techniques. During this 2½-day event you can improve existing skills, learn new skills, prepare for the interventional techniques certification examination, or prepare for the board examination.
Click HERE to register for the Cadaver review course.
Click HERE to register for the Cadaver review course.
Register Online Today! |
Submit your Abstract for Consideration Today |
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The Online Abstract Submission (see step-by-step procedures below) for the 12th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) is now open. The meeting will be held June 26- June 30, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, VA.
This year we are offering an early bird deadline of March 31, 2010. This early deadline will ensure that your abstract gets first preference and an opportunity to grab one of our limited spots for presentation.
A final abstract submission deadline will be April 30, 2010. Those selected will be notified and will receive free registration to the annual meeting.
Selected abstracts will be presented along with posters at the annual meeting on Saturday June 26 or Sunday June 27.
Submit your abstract today! |
Commentary: Health Cares Obstacle: No Will to Cut |
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For anyone who cares about medical costs which is to say anyone who cares about the take-home pay of American families or about the budget deficit President Obamas health reform plan is a terribly mixed bag.
It does so much less than the ideal plan would do. It would not come close to eliminating Medicares long-term budget deficit. It would reduce that deficit only if a future Congress did not tinker with the various taxes and spending cuts scheduled to be phased in over the next decade.
New York Times |
Slowly, States are Lessening Limits on Marijuana |
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LOS ANGELES James Gray once saw himself as a drug warrior, a former federal prosecutor and county judge who sent people to prison for dealing pot and other drug offenses. Gradually, though, he became convinced that the ban on marijuana was making it more accessible to young people, not less.
"I ask kids all the time, and they'll tell you it is easier to get marijuana than a six-pack of beer because that is controlled by the government," he said, noting that drug dealers don't ask for IDs or honor minimum age requirements.
USA Today |
Business Buys Ads vs. Health Overhaul |
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Some of the largest U.S. business groups announced a multimillion-dollar television advertising campaign aimed at defeating the Democrats' pending health-care legislation, as both backers and opponents of the initiative sought to target wavering lawmakers in what is expected to be the final phase of the legislative process.
The business coalition, Employers for a Healthy Economy, said it would run between $4 million and $10 million of ads targeting the districts of several dozen Democratic lawmakers, carrying the message that the bill would cause job losses. The ads are being funded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade associations that represent a broad swath of industry, from health insurers and manufacturers to construction, retail and distribution companies.
Wall Street Journal |
Roberts: Scene at State of Union 'Very Troubling' |
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U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday the scene at President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address was "very troubling" and that the annual speech to Congress has "degenerated into a political pep rally."
Responding to a University of Alabama law student's question about the Senate's method of confirming justices, Roberts said senators improperly try to make political points by asking questions they know nominees can't answer because of judicial ethics rules.
"I think the process is broken down," he said.
Associated Press |
Court Rules State Can Use Doc Licensing Fees to Help Bridge Budget Gap |
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California doctors lost the first round in their court fight to speed up the state's processing of medical licenses for some 7,100 new physicians whose clearance is delayed because of state worker furloughs ordered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the doctors say they may appeal.
The California Medical Association in October sued the governor saying that the furloughs of three days per month were illegally imposed on the Medical Board of California's 263 workers, whose salaries come exclusively from physician licensing fees paid every two years, not from the state general fund.
Media Health Leaders |
Sebelius Sends Letter to Insurance Company CEOs, Calls on Executives to Publicly Justify Premium Hikes |
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In a letter to the CEOs of UnitedHealth Group Inc., WellPoint Inc., Aetna Inc., Health Care Service Corporation and CIGNA HealthCare Inc., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called on the executives to publicly justify proposed health insurance premium increases. Sebelius letter comes after a meeting last week with these executives at the White House.
Last Thursday, I asked CEOs to post online the actuarial justification for premium hikes so consumers can see why their premiums are skyrocketing. Now, its time for these insurance company CEOs to do their part to make the system more transparent for the American people. If insurance companies are going to raise rates, the least they can do is tell us why.
Department of Health and Human Services |
CMS to Undergo Major Restructuring |
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Washington -- A former top health official in Virginia has been tapped to oversee a newly formed Medicare department as part of a major restructuring at the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Acting CMS Administrator Charlene Frizzera announced the changes Feb. 16 via an e-mail sent to agency staff.
Marilyn Tavenner, who had served as Virginia's secretary of health and human resources since 2006, is joining CMS as the principal deputy administrator under Frizzera and will head up the newly minted Center for Medicare. Jonathan Blum, director of the CMS Center for Medicare Management and the Center for Drug and Health Plan Choice, also will be a part of the Center for Medicare's leadership team.
American Medical Association |
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Copyright © 2008
American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians ®
81 Lakeview Drive, Paducah, KY 42001
Phone 270.554.9412, Fax 270.554.5394
E-mail asipp@asipp.org
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