IL ACC Governor

 

 

 

The ACC submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding aspects of the 2014 physician fee schedule final rule. Critiques were made of changes CMS made to work and practice expense submissions for several services. The comments recommend restoration of work values for transcatheter aortic valve replacement, patent ductus arteriosus closure, and certain intravascular stent services, as well as practice expense values for selective catheter placement, intravascular stents, and extracranial duplex ultrasound studies. Any changes to these inputs will be reflected in the 2015 final rule this November. Comments were also provided supporting ongoing proposals to pay for non-face-to-face chronic care management services and opposing further efforts to cap practice expense for services provided in the nonfacility setting at facility rates. More information on these proposals is expected in the proposed rule this July.

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) will no longer test and certify electronic health record (EHR) systems. CCHIT is a key player in the industry, having tested and certified nearly 50 percent of EHR systems on the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT's Certified Health IT Product list. There are currently five other accredited testing labs and three other authorized certification bodies doing the same work as CCHIT.

The budget bill signed by President Obama on Dec. 27, 2013, averted a 24-percent cut to Medicare physician fees for three months. The bill increases payment for Medicare physician services by 0.5 percent from 2013. The ACC has updated its calculations for commonly provided services to assist members.

Overall national health expenditures grew at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in 2012, marking the fourth consecutive year of low growth, according to a report released by the CMS Office of the Actuary. Health spending as a share of gross domestic product fell slightly from 17.3 percent in 2011 to 17.2 percent in 2012. The report found that the continued low growth in 2012 was driven by slower growth in prescription drug, nursing home, private health insurance, and Medicare expenditures. The report also found that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) contributed to the slow growth for the Medicare program in 2012, but had a limited impact on overall spending as reforms were still being implemented in 2012. Read the full report.

Under the new NCT requirement, providers must report a clinical trial number as of Jan. 1 on claims for items and services provided in clinical trials that are qualified for coverage as specified in the "Medicare National Coverage Determination (NCD) Manual," Section 310.1. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, however, has acknowledged that compliance with the new NCT requirement could be problematic for some, and will now allow eligible providers to report a generic 8-digit code to comply with the requirement through Dec. 31, 2014. For those participating in trials or coverage-mandated registries like the STS/ACC TVT Registry and the ACC's ICD Registry relevant clinical trial numbers can be found at clinicaltrials.gov. CED ICD procedures in the ICD Registry will use newly obtained clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT01999140. CED TAVR procedures in the STS/ACC TVT Registry will use clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCD01737528.

CMS has released the final rule extending the exception to the physician self-referral (Stark) law that allows physician practices to receive donations related to electronic health records (EHRs). In addition, the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) has also released the related safe harbor to the antikickback statute. Both rules, which were published in late December 2013, extend the exception and safe harbor through 2021 to correspond with the end of the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. Read more about the changes.

With the launch of Health Exchanges in the New Year, it is important for practices to verify patient insurance coverage at their first visit or as soon as possible. In states with their own health exchanges, office staff should contact the state directly using the state website on healthcare.gov. In states where the Federal government is running the marketplace, office staff should call the plan's customer service line. A list of all plans and customer service numbers is available here. Please consult CMS's fact sheet for navigating the QHP databank. You can also contact the Marketplace call center for all queries at 1-800-318-2596. The ACC encourages practices to remind uninsured patients that they can apply for coverage and may be eligible for subsidies through the Marketplace until March 31, 2014. Also, advise them to save their receipts and other paperwork for their insurers 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee has voted unanimously against approving rivaroxaban (XARELTO�) for patients with acute coronary syndromes due to a lack of sufficient evidence. The same committee voted against the drug's expanded use in 2012. While the FDA is not required to adhere to the advisory panel's recommendation, it often does. For more on this, visit CardioSource.org.

In response to new and significant changes to the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements, the ACC's Education Quality Review Board (EQRB) released a special report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology outlining the changes and EQRB efforts to help ACC members both understand and meet the new requirements. The new MOC requirements, which became effective on Jan. 1, apply to all certified physicians and require specific proactive steps on the part of physicians between now and the end of March, as well as over the next two years. For more MOC resources, visit these:

* Understanding Maintenance of Certification Requirements 
* MOC Tracker 
* ACC's MOC Educational Activities 
* ACCF's Maintenance of Certification Modules 
* A Three-Pronged Strategy to New MOC Requirements (Cardiology, Fall 2013)

Join your colleagues in Chicago from May 9 - 10, 2014 for an opportunity to experience the best pearls from ACC.14.   The Best of ACC.14: Take Home Messages for the Clinician will feature educational highlights from the ACC's 63rd Annual Scientific Session (ACC.14), offering a personal and interactive setting to learn about the latest advances in cardiovascular diseases.

 

Grab your opportunity to meet with a world-class faulty of cardiovascular experts in an intimate setting, where together you will examine the latest practice-changing and state-of-the-art topics in cardiovascular medicine. Additionally, discuss what may be coming in the near future that will affect your practice and patients during this innovative, one-and-a-half day course. Don't miss:

• A comprehensive year-in-review
• Case-based scenarios
• Late-breaking clinical trial results presented at ACC.14
• New techniques and devices presented at ACC.14
• Summaries from the highest scored oral abstracts presented at ACC.14
• Key takeaways from recently released clinical guidelines

Plus, earn MOC credit with the optional Maintenance of Certification Session.  Space is limited!!! Learn more and register today!  

July 10-12, 2014

Prentice Women's Hospital Conference Center

Chicago, IL

 

This program will especially focus on atrial fibrillation, valvular heart disease, hypertension, heart failure, prevention and acute coronary syndromes. Significant new statements from 2013-2014 addressing these areas, especially the cardiovascular disease prevention guidelines, will represent the platform for most of the discussions.

 

Program Directors:  Clyde W. Yancy, MD, MSc, FACC,  Patrick M. McCarthy, MD, FACC, and Charles J. Davidson, MD, FACC

 

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