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Orange County Chiropractic District
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Memorandum to ACA Members, Board of Governors, House of
Delegates and Other Interested Parties 1. BLUE CCHIP 2. SACA OFFICERS VISIT NATIONAL BOARD 3. ACA LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES IN 2002: HOW DID WE DO? 4. DR WILLS AT PALMER CHIROPRACTIC COLLEGE 5. HIGHLIGHTS OF NCLC 6. ACA'S OFFICIAL CHIROPRACTIC CODING SOLUTIONS 2002 1. BLUE CCHIP Since the initiation of Blue CCHIP in December 2001, the clinical integration program, a joint effort with the ACA and the National BC/BS Association, 25 out of 50 states have contacted the ACA with state-level concerns and progress points. Several states, such as Rhode Island, Montana, Nebraska, and Missouri, already have an established and positive relationship with their local BCBS Plan and are sharing information that will help other states in this integration process. Staff members in PDR spent the first week and a half after the holidays fielding calls from liaisons and state associations requesting advice and negotiating strategy assistance. Some of the topics and concerns were: coordinating initial meetings with the local BCBS Plan, strategizing upcoming meetings, inconsistent and poor reimbursement practices within the plan, FEHB questions, conversion factors, and inequity in RUVs. The ACA is continuing to work with the National BCBS Association, local BCBS Plans, chiropractic liaisons, state associations, and state delegates on a daily basis to obtain equal reimbursement and fair treatment for all doctors of chiropractic. If you have any questions or concerns about Blue CCHIP, please contact the ACA's Office of PDR. Like anything else, there is no guarantee that these discussions will resolve the problems facing doctors in individual states, but it's an important beginning. And ACA reserves the right to continue its suit against National Blue Cross/Shield if we aren't satisfied with the results. 2. SACA OFFICERS VISIT NATIONAL BOARD SACA National Officers will be meeting with the leaders of NBCE on February 1, 2002, to visit the facility and, more important, to learn of the National Board's plans and to discuss the concerns that students may have regarding its examination procedures and policy. SACA leaders are canvassing their student members about the issues to be raised. The National Board is showing a willingness to reach out to the student population in a way that we have not seen before to allow issues to be addressed, even the most sensitive ones. Both the ACA and the National board are financially supporting the student leaders. You may not always like the answers you get, but at least you are getting an opportunity to ask them, which is a step in the right direction. 3. ACA LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES IN 2002: HOW DID WE DO? Veterans Administration - In late December, the U.S. Senate passed legislation mandating the establishment of a permanent chiropractic benefit within the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) health care system. The legislation (H.R. 3447), was passed by the Senate late in the evening of December 20 during one of the last actions of the 107th Congress before its adjournment for the year. Because the U.S. House had previously passed the legislation on December 10, the bill has now been cleared for White House consideration. We learned on Friday, that the bill was presented to the President on January 11th. He has 10 days ,excluding Sundays, to sign it. All indications are that the President will sign the bill into law. I have seen one press release from a group of veterans' organizations praising the provisions in the bill and specifically mentioning the chiropractic provision. Stay tuned. Student loans - As earlier reported, the Senate Health Education Loans and Pensions (HELP) Committee moved to include doctors of chiropractic in the NHSC program for a three-year period. This provision guarantees that doctors of chiropractic will receive loan reimbursement under the NHSC program. After the committee approved the legislation, it was cleared for consideration by the full Senate. The full Senate would have likely voted on the legislation in September, but because of the terrorist attacks on September 11, no further action has been taken on this issue. The House and Senate will likely continue action on this important legislation this year. The ACA and ACC will continue to work with key members of the Senate to ensure that the chiropractic provision remains in the bill when the NHSC legislation is considered on the floor of the Senate. The ACA and ACC will also work for the inclusion of a chiropractic provision in the House version of the legislation. DoD appropriations - The ACA continues to work to expedite the integration of chiropractic care in the DoD health care system. To accomplish this, the ACA and ACC worked to increase the level of appropriations funds for the program. While Congress did not appropriate additional money, the House included language in the report that accompanied its version of the DoD appropriations bill that supports ACA's position. It states, "The Committee supports the provision of chiropractic care at designated military treatment facilities, and expects expansion of the service as appropriate." The ACA will continue to work on this issue this year. Medicare - The ACA continues its effort to expand patients' access to chiropractic care and end the long discrimination against doctors of chiropractic in the Medicare program. To address this issue, Congressman Wes Watkins, on behalf of the ACA, introduced "Chiropractic Patients' Freedom of Choice Act" H.R. 902 in the 107th Congress. This legislation would provide reimbursement to DCs for all Medicare services within their states' scope of practice. H.R. 902 has received strong bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. It already has 53 cosponsors. As earlier reported, an issue has developed regarding the single conversion factor that is used to determine reimbursement rates for health care providers in the Medicare program. On November 1, 2001, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) published in the Federal Register the FY 2002 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Due to new economic data from a slowing economy, the conversion factor used to calculate Medicare payments will decrease in FY 2002 by 5.4 percent. To remedy this problem, the ACA has been working with a large coalition of health care groups, including the AMA. This coalition is working to convince members of the Senate and House of Representatives to delay the implementation of the 2002 fee schedule until permanent changes can be made in the update formula and to develop a more appropriate long-term solution. In November, legislation was introduced into the House (H.R. 3351) and the Senate (S. 1707), designed to put a hold on the current flawed formula used to figure out the single conversion factor. Both bills contain a provision that disregards the formula for 2002 and sets the adjustment factor at the 2001 level, minus 0.9%. Each bill also states that the original provision passed in 1997 will be used again after the period of one year. Currently, H.R. 3351 has 287 cosponsors, while S. 1707 has 65 cosponsors. Another bill, designed to address the issue by freezing the conversion factor at 2001 levels for the first six months of 2001, has also been introduced. This bill, HR 3511, has 3 cosponsors. The ACA is working to get cosponsors and working for the ultimate passage of both bills. The ACA will continue to monitor the situation and alert the chiropractic profession when grassroots action is necessary. The ACA Legislative Commission met this past week to review our legislative initiatives for the past year and to recommend to the BOG its legislative agenda for 2002. Look to my report next week for a summary of the Board's recommendations. 4. DR WILLS AT PALMER CHIROPRACTIC COLLEGE At the invitation of Dr. Guy Riekeman, President of Palmer College of Chiropractic, Dr. Daryl Wills, ACA President, traveled to Davenport to address the college's students regarding the lawsuit filed by ACA against HHS and against the Blues. More than 900 students were in attendance and the presentation was well received. We understand that the students made contributions to the suit that may be matched by Dr. Riekeman. Dr. Wills also had a chance to speak with the SACA Officers from Palmer including Lisa Olszewski, who also serves as the National Chair. Additionally, Dr. Wills had a chance to talk with Dr. Riekeman and tour the campus. 5. HIGHLIGHTS OF NCLC You already know that NCLC is an annual event that focuses the political resources of the association during a three-day period to pressure members of Congress to support the chiropractic agenda. But NCLC is more than just legislation and this meeting is no exception. Over the next couple of reports, I will be focusing on specific events during NCLC week. Today, I want to highlight one program that will occur on Wednesday afternoon of NCLC. From 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm on Wednesday afternoon, March 6, we will be presenting a "practice promotion" seminar designed to give doctors ideas on ways to successfully promote their care to the public, the media, and community groups. Immediately following this program will be a special presentation on the implementation of the Veterans and DOD legislation. Dr. Scott Bautch, immediate past president of ACA's Council on Occupational Health, has offered to conduct the entire seminar for us at no cost to the ACA. Dr. Bautch is chairman of the Board of Allied Health of Wisconsin, one of the largest chiropractic organizations of its kind providing the highest standards of care, a broad selection of specialized services, and consistent clinical and administrative practices at offices throughout Wisconsin. Dr. Bautch and his associates have done a terrific job promoting chiropractic through media and community relations, and would provide tips and examples of simple, low-cost ways to get the chiropractic message out in local areas. For more information on NCLC or to register, visit our Web site at http://www.acatoday.com/about_aca/meetings.html or call ACA at 800-986-4636. 6. ACA'S OFFICIAL CHIROPRACTIC CODING SOLUTIONS 2002 ACA's Official Chiropractic Coding Solutions 2002 has been revised and expanded this year to include critical coverage of CCI edit relief, an expanded diagnosis section, an expanded HCPCS section, updated Medicare ABN, a free CD-Rom, and much more! It's also the only book on the market covering Federal Workers' Compensation. NEW: Purchase the booklet and sign up for quarterly breaking news updates on coding, HIPAA, Medicare, and more. It's the most accurate and timely news you need to run your practice. For the book, four updates, and the CD-Rom, the price is only $49.95 for ACA Members, $79.95 for Non-members. Order Item CPT2002N. (Price for Book and CD-Rom only: ACA Members - $39.95, Non-Members - $65.95. Order Item CPT2002). For more information, go to http://www.acatoday.com/products/pm_products.html. To order, call 800-368-3083 or go to http://www.lighthousemarket.net/acastore/product.asp?dept%5Fid=2&pf%5Fid=136 |
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