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American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians News  | November 16, 2016
IN THIS ISSUE
  1. Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review: "Now What Do We Do?" Trumpcare?
  2. ASIPP Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) for Interventional Pain Management is Progressing
  3. Save the Date! Regenerative Medicine Course Scheduled for March 3-5 in Memphis: Limited Enrollment  
  4. Save the Date! Lumbar Endoscopic Spinal Decompression Course set for March 3-5, Memphis: Enrollment Lmited to 20  
  5. On Republicans' Path to Health-Law Repeal, Questions Emerge  
  6. Health Care Issues Loom in Politics, Payments and Quality 
  7. 2017 Coding for IPM Webinar set for Dec. 16 
  8. How Trump may cover Americans with pre-existing conditions 
  9. ABIPP Certification Made Simple: June Dates Set
  10. Start Planning NOW! ASIPP to Begin Accepting Abstracts for 2017 Annual Meeting
  11. Medicare Identifies Which Prescription Drugs Were Costliest in 2015 
  12. It's Time to Disrupt the $3 Trillion Healthcare Industry
  13. One Employer Fights Against Prescription-Drug Abuse
  14. KY Gov. Bevin Signs Emergency Order Banning Synthetic Drug
  15. State Society News 
policyHealth Care Policy and Marketplace Review: "Now What Do We Do?" Trumpcare?
  
Following is a an article by Robert Laszewski who will be our keynote speaker at our annual 
meeting.
  
Of course, "Now what do we do," is the famous line from Robert Redford's character in The Candidate, stunned by his victory and confused about what to do next.

But it doesn't really apply here.

A few thoughts as all of this sinks in:
  • Some will tell you the Republicans are unprepared for repeal and replace. Wrong. There is a plan. Don't let anyone tell you there is not. The plan was written by Paul Ryan as part of his "Better Way" document released in June of this year. It is not in legislative form, but it is as detailed as the plan Bill Clinton or Barack Obama had the morning after they were elected. I fully expect Speaker Ryan to take the point on putting the legislative details on the table, which will generally follow this outline.
  • As I pointed out in my blog post earlier this morning, Obamacare will effectively be repealed. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. The Trump voters voted for him expecting that he and the Republicans would do it and there is no turning back. This will be the first if not one of the first agenda items. Speaker Ryan, at his press conference this morning, reaffirmed that.
  • The repeal part will be the easiest part--not a literal repeal but a defunding of the money used for the exchange subsidies, the Medicaid expansion, and that run the exchanges. 
  

Health Policy and marketplace
qcdrASIPP Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) for Interventional Pain Management is Progressing
 
So far over 110 practitioners have expressed interest to join this historic registry to meet criteria of Merit-Based Incentive Payment System to avoid penalties and reap bonuses and also provide an outcome registry to show how interventional pain management is effective.
 
As we have seen over the past several months, Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) has taken many turns. We have written a comment letter with 4,534 signatures and also went to Washington. We made great strides.
While MIPS requirements have been substantially relaxed in reference to penalties, we need to focus on making bonuses and also putting ourselves into exceptional categories which may yield bonuses of over 20% in the beginning.
To achieve this, the major tool is to publish measures excessively than required and follow through Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) registry.

The advantage of QCDR registry will be not only that we will use many of the existing measures, but also we have to incorporate multiple interventional pain management specific measures to show the outcomes. Thus, this registry will not only meet the criteria for MIPS, but will also provide us with outcome measures across the nation.
Consequently, the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) is developing a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) alongside our technology and analytics partner ArborMetrix. Our goal is for ASIPP to be a QCDR for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for 2017 and beyond, as the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) transitions to MIPS.

Why is ASIPP developing a QCDR?
As ASIPP has communicated over the past several months, the existing measures and reporting options available through CMS are not adequate for our specialty. They do not reflect the procedures and nuances of interventional pain management. The QCDR we are developing will provide ASIPP members the ability to meet CMS quality reporting requirements through MIPS while utilizing measures specific to the specialty.
Why do I need to participate in a QCDR?
Participating in a QCDR is one way to meet requirements mandated to you by CMS under MIPS. In 2017, if you are a solo practitioner, in a group practice, or work as a consultant, and you bill Medicare Part B, you are required to report through MIPS. Doing so will allow you not only to avoid negative payment adjustments but also potentially to receive gains in 2019 for reporting in 2017.

What are the benefits of participating in the ASIPP QCDR?
  • You will be able to report on the specialty-specific measures ASIPP is developing. These measures will be more relevant, clinically appropriate, outcomes oriented, and meaningful to interventional pain physicians than general measures defined through MIPS. They will also help drive meaningful quality improvement in the specialty.
  • You will meet CMS requirements for reporting in 2017 to avoid penalties of up to 4% of your Medicare reimbursements and the specialty-specific measures will give you a better chance to optimize incentives (even leading to exceptional performer) and avoid penalties under MIPS.
  • You will be better prepared for CMS quality reporting in future years when penalties and incentives get even larger. By 2022, the impact on your CMS payments will range from a penalty of 9% to incentives of upwards of 9% (may be as high as 21 - 30%), depending on your reporting performance.
How do I enroll in the ASIPP QCDR?
The first step is to let us know you are interested by replying to this email. Once we have garnered enough interest, we will be in contact with details of the enrollment process. Participating in the ASIPP QCDR will be $500 per year for physician for ASIPP members, $750 for non-members. For physician assistants and nurse practitioners the cost is 20% less (i.e., $400 for members or $600 for non-members).
 
What is the timeline for participation?
ASIPP must enroll at least 200 physicians in our QCDR by November 30, 2016 to meet this initial milestone.
 
Where can I find additional information about QCDR participation?
The CMS website has information on QCDR. We will be making more ASIPP-specific information available soon.
 
  
  
regen   
memphis
  
path
On Republicans' Path to Health-Law Repeal, Questions Emerge
  
WASHINGTON-Ascendant Republicans who have put a repeal of the Affordable Care Act at the top of their to-do list face a set of early, key decisions that will test the party's consensus on the issue.

Among them: How much of the 2010 health law to strike early on, how soon and how closely to work with Democrats in shaping a replacement, and how much leeway to give consumers who might be caught without coverage in between a repeal and a new law. Lawmakers who weren't necessarily expecting Donald Trump to win the presidency now see they can move ahead more boldly on the health law than they anticipated.
  
  
Access to this article may be limited.
preexistHow Trump may cover Americans with pre-existing conditions
  
President-elect Donald Trump promises that Americans with pre-existing conditions will have access to health insurance, even after he dismantles Obamacare.

But the system wouldn't work the way it did under Obamacare, which revolutionized coverage by prohibiting insurers from turning away the sick or charging them higher premiums based on their medical conditions. And that's left some health care experts questioning whether Trump's plan will succeed.

Insurers have long been reluctant to cover sick Americans in the individual market since theirhealth care costs can vastly exceed the premiums they pay. Obamacare aimed to address this problem by attracting healthier people to help offset those expenses. To do so, it introduced the individual mandate, which requires everyone to have coverage or pay a penalty. It provided subsidies to 85% of enrollees to make policies more affordable.
  
  

  
ABIPP

Will administer in June

The American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians (ABIPP) has developed certification programs that recognize accepted levels of knowledge and expertise in the interventional pain management profession, with the goal of improved patient care. Hundreds of qualified physicians have made the commitment to become ABIPP certified. ABIPP is recognized in 11 states. Ten states have no statutes governing specialty boards. Approval is pending in remaining states.
  
ABIPP is a Specialty Board providing certifications in the following areas:
Board Certification in Interventional Pain Management
Either with ABMS pain medicine board certification or ABMS primary certification only
 
Competency Certification in:
  • Interventional Pain Management
  • Regenerative Medicine
  • Controlled Substance Management
  • Coding, Compliance, and Practice Management
  • Fluoroscopic Interpretation and Radiological Safety
  • Endoscopic Spinal Decompression

More information: www.abipp.org

abstract   
Start Planning NOW!
ASIPPĀ® Abstracts Submission for 2017 Annual Meeting OPEN
  
Registration will be open for Abstract Submissions is now available.
  
The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians will hold its 19th Annual Meeting April 20-22 in Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace.
  
This year, we will be making significant changes to the Abstract and Poster Sessions. Submissions will be in two categories: Resident/Fellow and Physician.  Selected posters will be on display forall meeting participants during all breaks and meal times.
  
The Abstract Committee will select the top 25 for publication in Pain Physician and of those 10 will be selected for Abstract presentation and judging during the Annual Meeting. The top 3 will receive cash prizes.

loomHealth Care Issues Loom in Politics, Payments and Quality
  
The health care industry was unprepared for the presidential victory of Donald J. Trump, and executives at insurance companies and hospital systems are now uncertain what their business is going to look like in the years ahead. A Trump administration, coupled with a Republican Congress, is likely to lead to a reversal of many of the policies put into place by President Obama, and could mean a repeal of his signature health care law.
Repeal, replace or something in between?

After spending years and hundreds of millions of dollars to adapt to the Affordable Care Act, making fundamental changes to their business model, health insurers are bracing themselves for as striking an upheaval as they faced when the law was passed in 2010. The companies invested heavily in meeting the requirements of the federal law that dictated how they sold insurance, particularly to people who buy their own. Some 10 million people bought coverage last year through the state marketplaces and are in the process of picking a plan for 2017.
  
  
  
                           
webinarMark your calendar. More information about this ASIPP webinar will be coming soon. To make sure you get updated information email Ray at rlane@asipp.org.
  
  
costliestMedicare Identifies Which Prescription Drugs Were Costliest in 2015
  
Medicare released new data identifying prescription medicines that had sharp price increases and those that accounted for its largest total spending in 2015.

Medicare spending on Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.'s diabetes drug Glumetza more than quadrupled to $153 million in 2015 from 2014, driven by a total price increase of 381%, according to the data, released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Glumetza prescription unit volume within Medicare declined 7% over the same period.
The price of Pfizer Inc.'s pain reliever Lyrica jumped 19% from 2014 to 2015, the sharpest increase among the 10 largest drugs by total Medicare spending last year, according to the data.
Spending on the drug rose 26% to $1.8 billion.
  

Access to this aticle may be limited.

disruptIt's Time to Disrupt the $3 Trillion Healthcare Industry
  
Numerous major players-from Silicon Valley innovators, to health care professionals, to government leaders-are looking to use technology to transform healthcare.

Silicon Valley is focused on harnessing technology through the power of entrepreneurship to disrupt an industry that's one-sixth of the U.S. economy. According to Dow Jones VentureWire, "venture-capital funding in U.S. healthcare companies rose to a record $16.10 billion last year, a 34% jump from 2014."

Health plans that cover tens of millions of Americans are using technology such as data analytics to help improve members' health by identifying moments of influence in a person's life. In a recent survey, 82% of healthcare decision-makers said they're "experiencing clinical benefits (improved patient care)" through data analytics.
  
  
fightOne Employer Fights Against Prescription-Drug Abuse
  
A handful of companies are trying strong medicine to limit employees' use of prescription painkillers like OxyContin.
Engine-maker Cummins Inc. is one of the few large employers aggressively responding to opioid misuse in their ranks.

After managers found evidence of drug activity in one of its plants in 2013, the Columbus, Ind., company now requires personnel to take drug tests for prescription painkillers and encourages employees to seek alternatives to their use.
According to federal data, nearly two million Americans are abusing prescription opioids, with sales of those prescriptions nearly quadrupling from 1999 to 2010.
  
  

Access to this article may be limited.

bevinKY Gov. Bevin Signs Emergency Order Banning Synthetic Drug
 
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has signed an emergency regulation outlawing a synthetic drug similar to opioid-based prescription painkillers.

The regulation would make the drug U-47700 a Schedule I controlled substance, putting it in the same category as heroin and acetylfentanyl. Bevin, a Republican, said state officials are beginning to see signs of the drug in recent overdose investigations.

The regulation Bevin signed will allow other drugs and synthetics outlawed by the federal government to be automatically added to Kentucky's list of Schedule I substances.

Bevin says drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental deaths in Kentucky, more than car crashes. More than 1,200 people died from overdose deaths in Kentucky last year, a 16 percent increase from 2014.
 
AP
 

Hyatt 
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State Society News

OHSIPP Meeting
August 25-27, 2017
The Ohio Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (OHSIPP) has set the dates for it
S 2017 meeting. Dates are Friday Aug 25 thru Sunday Aug 27, 2017.
The meeting will be held in Cincinnati at the Westin Hotel, 21 E 5th St , at Fountain Square .
 
Contact Michelle Byers for more information MichelleHByers@gmail.com
 
Please send your State Society meetings and news to: Holly Long at hlong@asipp.org

 

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