Volume 6, Issue 4 │January 28, 2022
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#AskAOA: No Surprises Act Update
On Dec. 27, 2020, the No Surprises Act was signed into law. The No Surprises Act is aimed at addressing situations in which patients receive surprise medical bills when they inadvertently or unknowingly receive care from an out-of-network provider. The law went into effect on January 1, 2022. Get the information ODs need to know regarding the No Surprises Act in a recorded webinar, hosted by Jeff Michaels, O.D., from Jan. 24, 2022.
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LAST CHANCE!
2022 IOA/AOA Membership Dues Renewal Contest Ends 1/31
Pay your dues in full before 1/31/2022 and you will be entered to win 15 hours of free IOA CE! We will be giving this prize away to two lucky winners. The free CE can be used for either the 2022 or 2024 renewal cycle, but must be used before the end of the 2022 calendar year. IOA/AOA membership dues can be paid online by logging into your profile. |
PRF Reporting Phase 2: Tips
The PRF Reporting Portal opened for Period 2 on Jan. 1 and will remain open through March 31 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Providers who received one or more General and/or Targeted PRF payments exceeding $10,000, in the aggregate, July 1-Dec. 31, 2020, must report on use of funds in Period 2. The deadline to use funds for Payment Received Period 2 was Dec. 31, 2021.
Here are reminders about reporting:
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Report illegal and unsafe contact lens sales to the FDA & FTC
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2022 Medicare Fee Schedules
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Labor Law Poster - 2022 Updates |
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Password Reminders: Your password is not autosaved and you may need to reset your password.
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Period 1 Reports: Your Period 1 report is available. Instead of clicking Report 2, you'll see a tab for archived reports. Once you click the Period 1 report, you can see your old data. Note: there is no button for Period 2 reporting once you access your old report, so you will need to log in again.
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Program Issues: During Period 1 reporting, several tables did not save if you clicked save and left the portal to come back later. Those issues are resolved.
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Transferred Data: Most of your Period 1 reporting data is already saved and should expedite the process. Most time will be spent on reporting use of funds. The funding and other metrics like "unreimbursed expenses" or the personnel metrics only have to be updated for Q3/Q4 2021. The previous 4 quarters were autosaved and uploaded from your Period 1 reporting.
The #AskAOA PRF reporting webinar has useful information for reporting here. Questions? Contact askaoa@aoa.org.
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Register: “Preparing for the End of the Student Loan Payment Holiday” Workshop
After multiple extensions, the Student Loan Payment & Interest Holiday is coming to an end on May 1, 2022. This means many IOA members may be required to resume payment and may begin accruing interest on federally held student loans for the first time in almost 2 years.
Have your questions answered during an AOAExcel workshop aimed to assist IOA/AOA members in preparing for the end of this payment holiday with topics including:
- How to lower your monthly payments
- How to get your loans out of default
- Navigating student loan servicer changes
- How to re-start your auto-payments
- What to look for in a refinancing lender
- Avoiding student loan debt scams
- How to receive a 0.25% rate discount as an AOA member
What: “Preparing for the End of the Student Loan Payment Holiday” Workshop
When: 7 p.m. CT, Tuesday, Feb. 15
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Make Sure You're Ready When License Renewal Opens! Complete Your CE ASAP!
Don't forget! Illinois licenses renew on March 31, 2022 and ODs are required to complete 30 hours of CE before their license renewal. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IDFPR has allowed optometrists to complete all 30 hours online provided by IL-licensed CE providers. As a licensed CE provider, all IOA courses will count for Illinois credit.
Renewal Requirements:
- ODs must earn 30 hours of CE from April 1, 2020-March 31, 2022.
- Tested hours were waived for the 2020-2022 licensing cycle.
- 1 hour of sexual harassment CE must be taken by all licensed optometrists in order to renew a license.
- 3 hours of safe opioid prescribing CE must be taken by all optometrists who hold a Controlled Substance license in order to renew the license.
- First-time renewal applicants are exempt from CE requirements at the time of their first renewal. However, if the licensee holds a controlled substance license, they must comply with the 3-hour opioid CE requirement, even if this is the first renewal.
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Mid-State Society Meeting
This week, members of the Mid-State Optometric Society held a meeting with CE at Cooper's Hawk in Springfield, IL.
Pictured left: ODs listen as Mark Roark, OD presents a lecture.
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COVID-19 Infection, ICU Numbers Continue to Decline
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Illinois is seeing its fewest numbers of COVID-19 patients in the ICU since Christmas. Daily new infections this week were at their lowest in five weeks. "I don't think people should let their guard down, said Dr. Sajal Tanna, an infectious diseases physician at Northwestern Medicine. "I do think we're going to see those numbers come back down to a more reasonable number over the next week or two." Monday, January 24 also marked the two-year anniversary of the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Illinois. Over the last two years, Illinois has reported 2,837,861 cases of the virus and 30,155 deaths, as of Monday. |
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Check out the newest IOA classifieds here!
Region: Suburbs: Upscale 6 location private practice located in the north suburbs (AccuVISION) looking for a personable P/T or F/T OD for any day of the week ( Read more) |
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IL Dentists Looking to Expand Teledentistry During Worker Shortage
WTTW reports that Illinois dentists are facing staffing shortages and an increased demand for dental appointments. They are now "asking state officials to consider teledentistry and other services to help fill the demand." Teledentistry would allow dental assistants to perform limited procedures with an appropriate level of training.
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Are you experiencing a worker shortage in your practice?
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Mid-Term Elections Update
Jonathan Swaim announced his campaign for retiring U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush's seat in Congress.
Jesse Reising announced his campaign for the 13th Congressional District. He will challenge U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis.
Tina Wallace, a real estate professional, will challenge State Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-Chicago) in the Democratic primary.
Fernando "Sergio" Mojica, principal at Roberto Clemente Community Academy, is running for House Majority Leader Greg Harris' seat. Four other candidates have already announced their campaigns to replace the retiring representative.
Wayne Rosenthal, a former state representative, is running in the new 108th House district.
Mary Beth Canty is running for the currently open 54th House District.
Former state Rep. Mary Edly-Allen is running for state Sen. Melinda Bush's seat after she announced her retirement. Sen Bush has endorsed Edly-Allen.
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Reminder: Executive Order on Vaccine/Testing Mandate
As a reminder, the Executive Order mandating that all health care workers must either be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly (at minimum) testing for COVID-19 went into effect on September 19, 2021. Employers must either maintain proof of vaccination status or proof of weekly negative COVID-19 tests in their personnel files.
Click here for a Q&A issued by the Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity
Click here for information about a COVID-19 saliva testing program through ArcticDX
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Public Health Officials Announce 123,812 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease Over the Past Week
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 123,812 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including an increase of 843 deaths since January 21, 2022.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 2,897,174 cases, including 30,688 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since January 21, 2022, laboratories have reported 1,310,730 specimens for a total of 50,798,837. As of last night, 4,533 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 800 patients were in the ICU and 460 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from January 21 – 27, 2022 is 9.4%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from January 21 – 27, 2022 is 12.0%.
A total of 20,423,100 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 36,787 doses. Since January 21, 2022, 257,512 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Of Illinois’ total population, more than 75% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, 66% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated, and more than 46% boosted according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov.
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ACTION NEEDED: Voice Your Concerns on Impending Medicare Cuts
Successive rounds of statutory cuts further jeopardize Medicare physicians’ pay in the months ahead without immediate Congressional action, prompting advocates’ call for a permanent fix.
On April 1, the first of two 1% reductions to Medicare physicians’ reimbursements are scheduled to occur—the second taking effect on July 1—due to sequestration cuts that Congress postponed with days to spare before taking effect on Jan. 1, 2022. That eleventh-hour stay, an AOA-backed measure, also delayed a 4% statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) cut and created a short-term, offsetting pay increase that mostly blunted the effect of a 3.75% cut outlined by the Medicare physician fee schedule (PFS).
While the “Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act” averted a fiscal cliff created by the trio of federal spending controls taking effect at the height of a resurgent COVID-19 strain and record jobs turnover, the law effectively punted most of the cuts later into 2022 and 2023. Aside from the immediate 2% sequester cuts, the 4% PAYGO and 3% PFS cuts still loom on the horizon for 2023 with the possibility of inflating further.
Congress needs to know that these impending cuts are unacceptable and any efforts to find a workable solution must fully value the care provided by doctors of optometry. Advocates’ immediate action is necessary—here’s how you can get involved:
Write your lawmakers via the AOA Action Center. Contact your lawmakers directly with the aid of a pre-populated message expressing these important concerns. Or text “PAYMENT” to 855.465.5124 to access the Action Center on your mobile device.
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CDC Data Show 11.3% Of US Population Has Diabetes, 38% Has Prediabetes
Medscape (1/26, Tucker, Subscription Publication) reports updated CDC data indicate that “more than one in ten Americans have diabetes and over a third have prediabetes.” The National Diabetes Statistics Report issued this week found “a total of 37.3 million people in the Unites States have diabetes, or about 11.3% of the population. Of those, 28.7 million are diagnosed (including 28.5 million adults), while 8.5 million, or 23% of those with diabetes, are undiagnosed.” A further “96 million adults have prediabetes, comprising 38.0% of the adult US population, of whom only 19% are aware of their prediabetes status.”
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THANK YOU TO OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS! |
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