FW: Health Care Reforrm’s Non-discrimination Provision Under Attack -- More...

[Guest guest]

F.Y.I., from the ACA….Vern Saboe

From: American

Chiropractic Association [mailto:memberinfo@...]

Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 2:39 PM

Laverne Saboe

Subject: Health Care Reforrm’s Non-discrimination Provision Under Attack

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Health Care Reform:

Non-Discrimination Provision Under Attack

In a new

video update, ACA Vice President of Government Relations

Falardeau and ACA political consultant Rick discuss recent

developments regarding organized medicine’s attack on Sec. 2706, the

important non-discrimination provision in the health care reform

bill. They also discuss developments regarding chiropractic

expansion legislation affecting the U.S. Department of Veterans

Affairs.

June 3, 2010

Welcome Laverne Saboe

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ChiroVoice.org

Patient-Centered

Medical Home: Your Input Is Needed

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is

providing the opportunity for all parties to review and comment on the

proposed changes to the Physician Practice Connections®-Patient-Centered

Medical HomeTM (PPC®-PCMHTM) 2011

standards until Monday,

June 28.

ACA urges its members to take part in this very important

process.

Click

here to access the public comment on the PCMH 2011 update.

The goals of the revised standards are to emphasize

patient-centric, coordinated care and move toward performance

benchmarking within practices. In addition, the standards seek to:

·

encourage better integration across practices through enhanced quality

improvement requirements

·

strengthen program requirements

·

integrate reporting of behaviors affecting substance abuse and mental

health issues

· align

the Program with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services'

proposed Measures of Meaningful Use (for ARRA incentives).

The program has been restructured from nine (in

PPC-PCMH) to six standards. NCQA also proposes additional

advanced requirements: reporting standardized clinical and patient

experience results and establishing formal relationships with

specialists and facilities. As with the current program, NCQA will not

require all items to be met for achieving recognition.

Background

For more information on public comment, contact NCQA

Customer Support at (888) 275-7585.

VA Expansion

Passes House, Support for Senate

Companion Measure Now Critical

Last week, the

U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass HR 1017,

a bill to phase in chiropractic care to all major medical centers run

by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Attention now turns

to the Senate, where a companion bill, S.

1204, the Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act, needs

cosponsors to increase the likelihood of the bill’s success.

Click here

to urge your Senators to cosponsor S. 1204!

The

Postcard Is in the Mail: Does Your Practice Qualify

for the New Small Business Tax Credit?

The Internal Revenue Service has begun mailing postcards to more

than 4 million small businesses and tax-exempt organizations to make

them aware of the benefits of the recently enacted small business

health care tax credit. The credit, which takes effect this year, is

designed to encourage small business employers to offer health

insurance coverage for the first time or maintain coverage they already

have. In general, the credit is available to small business

employers that pay at least half the cost of single coverage for their

employees in 2010. Read

more here.

CMS

Conference Call: Learn More about the ICD-10 Implementation

Beginning Oct. 1, 2013, health care providers will be

required to report ICD-10 diagnosis codes. To begin learning

about ICD-10, ACA encourages providers to participate in the Centers

for Medicare and Medicaid’s National Provider Conference Call on ICD-10

implementation Tuesday, June 15. This free call will cover the

benefits of ICD-10 and the differences between ICD-9 and ICD-10 and

will include resources to assist in the conversion from ICD-9 to

ICD-10. To register for the call, click here.

Understanding

HCPCS Codes

The Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) is

a set of health care procedure codes

based on the American Medical Association's (AMA) Current

Procedural Terminology (CPT).

HCPCS was established in 1978 as a standardized coding

system for describing the specific items and services provided in the

delivery of health care. However, while HCPCS is a standardized coding

system, it can often be confusing to determine which code applies to

which supplies. When selecting the appropriate HCPCS code for

medical equipment and supplies, don’t just rely on the manufacturer to

provide you with the correct code. Doctors often bill with the

manufacturer’s recommendation—only to find it is not accepted by the insurer.

To ensure you are using the appropriate HCPCS code, ACA recommends the

following:

1.

Do your research. Review

a coding manual that keeps up with changes in the HCPCS codes, such as

ACA’s Chiropractic

Coding and Compliance Manual, or another trusted coding

resource to verify if it concurs with the manufacturer’s suggestion.

2.

Contact the insurer.

The insurer may have a specific code it would prefer to be used and/or

reimbursement policies you should be aware of prior to billing for the

equipment, device or supply.

3.

Contact ACA’s Insurance

Relations department. If your research does

not produce a definitive answer, you can e-mail the question for review

to ACA’s Insurance Relations department at insinfo@....

ACA News Wants Your Feedback! Help

Us Improve

Your Monthly

Magazine

ACA wants to continue to improve the quality of ACA News for

you—our readers. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey

of approximately 30 questions, and let us know how we’re doing.

To thank you for taking valuable time to complete this

survey, five randomly chosen respondents will receive a prize: a

$50 Visa gift card. (A drawing for winners will take place on July

1; please complete the survey before that date to be eligible.)

In the

News

Gen.

Halstead Touts Chiropractic Care on Fox News Channel

Ret. Brig. Gen. Becky Halstead, spokesperson for the

Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, honored her fellow veterans on

Memorial Day by participating in two high-profile media interviews to

call attention to the mental and physical strain experienced by members

of the U.S. Armed Forces every day. Her first interview was on Fox & Friends, on

FOX News Channel, where she discussed ways to honor our nation’s

veterans all year round, as well as the benefits of chiropractic care

for service men and women. Watch

the video online.

Detroit

TV Station Cites Tips from ACA

Last weekend, the Detroit ABC affiliate, WXYZ, cited

information from ACA regarding what to do to avoid aches and pains

while gardening.

Watch the segment here.

Programs

& Product Offers

Coming

Soon: Annual Chiropractic Sports Sciences Symposium in Portland

The ACA Sports

Council’s annual Chiropractic Sports Sciences Symposium will be held

July 30–Aug. 1 in Portland, Ore. Offering 16 CEUs and a list of

exciting speakers, the weekend will motivate DCs with topics such as

the latest in laser therapy, sports psychology, new approaches to

rehab, barefoot running and more.

In addition, participants will be able to learn about new products from

one of the many vendors participating in the expo, mingle with speakers

and colleagues at the presidential suite reception and even explore

Portland on a jet boat tour! For more information and to

register, visit www.acasc.org .

Educate

Your Patients about TMD

Do

you have patients who complain that it hurts to chew or yawn? Do

they have pain or soreness in front of the ear, in the jaw, cheek,

the teeth or the temples? These and other symptoms are often

associated with temporomandibular

joint disorder (TMD). ACA's Healthy

Living fact sheet will help educate your patients about

TMD causes, diagnosis and treatment.

Exit

Strategy

Don’t wait

until the last minute to plan for your retirement. Smart doctors of

chiropractic start planning as soon as they open the doors to their

practice. Learn how to prepare yourself, your staff and your patients

for your eventual retirement in the June

ACA News cover

story.

JACA

Archives

Have

you read a story in JACA

Online that you would like to refer to or share with a

colleague? It’s easy to search the JACA archives for what you need –

or just to peruse the wealth of information dedicated to the

advancement of chiropractic health care principles and

practice. Go to http://www.acatoday.org/jaca.

Support ACA's Endorsed Products

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