We Are All In This Together
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Dear Colleagues:
- emergency chiropractic services
- physical therapy, prescribed by medical professional
- occupational therapy, prescribed by medical professional
The additions to the list are backed up by a
federal document that lists chiropractors, physical therapists and occupational therapists
in their Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce coming from US Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Furthermore, all three professions are defined within the federal Social Security Act (Section 1861 for Chiropractors, Section 1835 for Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists,) as able to bill for Medicare Services.
While the recent
CMS decision memo
made it clear that Medicare would cover acupuncture for chronic lower back pain, Licensed Acupuncturists are considered ancillary personnel and must have some form of supervision from either a physician, a nurse practitioner or a physician's assistant. There has still been no clarification as to what that supervision entails.
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ASNY Committees and BOD believe a strong case could be made to have acupuncture services added to this list, especially given what acupuncturists treat, according to the
NYS Office of Professions consumer guidance
, which states:
Many conditions may respond to acupuncture, including those related to the following:
- neurological system
- musculo-skeletal system
- respiratory system
- gynecologic and reproductive system
- digestive system
- genito-urinary system
Acupuncture may also help with:
- acute and chronic pain
- maintaining emotional balance
- stress reduction and detoxification
We can point to the fact that our treatments actually could support lung function and help treat those in pain that may otherwise crowd overwhelmed medical emergency departments.
Because this type of campaign takes resources of money and volunteer efforts to lobby and create a complementary grassroots campaign, we have created
the short 2-question survey above
for you to participate in.
Sincerely,
ASNY Board of Directors
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ASA met with CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) today for a 30 minute listening meeting (they listened to us) in regards to the decision memo for acupuncture for chronic low back pain. We highlighted that points in need of clarification included:
- Supervision guidance - noting that LAc's are almost universally unsupervised at this stage of the profession
- Guidance on code usage, including both diagnosis and procedure
- Allowance for use of E&M codes if possible
- Guidance on charting, billing, and reimbursement schemes
ASA queried as to whether there was already thought or would thought be given to expanding the diagnoses covered, since the low back is not unique in its physiology or pathophysiology. (i.e. would other musculoskeletal pain conditions be considered?)
While, again, this was primarily a chance for ASA to introduce the association and give them questions and we did not get answers to these questions, we felt like this was an excellent first step towards establishing lines of communication with CMS. They did clarify as well that their understanding is that there is no back-door into Medicare for any licensure group, and that such an addition does indeed require an act of Congress and making changes to the Social Security Act (SSA). It was helpful to hear that CMS understands this also to be the case, and that looking for other workarounds is not a good use of energy.
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ASNY SURVEY OF NY LACs
for NATIONAL ADVOCACY SUPPORT
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ASNY works for its members and is also a member of the American Society of Acupuncturists. We want to hear from all of you regarding your support for changing the Social Security Act to define Licensed Acupuncturists. For those who may not know, this is not just about being able to be involved with Medicare without supervision in our practices by a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. CMS also funds residency programs and student loan forgiveness, which has been polled to be of high priority to our members. With all of that in mind,
please take the short three question survey below
.
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As of the time of this release, ASNY is being inundated with information from people regarding relief and stimulus package follow through. What we now know is that the federal
Paycheck Protection Program
and the
Economic Injury Disaster Loan
are no longer able to receive applications as the SBA issued a notice in lapse of appropriations as of yesterday. Prior to that, those who qualified for the EIDL found the regulations shifted to a loan that amounted to $1000 per employee, up to $10,000 rather than the original thought of $10K for small businesses regardless of the number of employees.We are monitoring the situation and will continue to issue updates.
Below is a
list of resources
for New York City small businesses that was sent out by the Small Business Administration in their region. ASNY will continue to look for updates for all regions in New York State as they become available.
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COVID-19 PANDEMIC-RELATED PRIVATE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR NEW YORK CITY SMALL BUSINESSES
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Over the last few days, Governor Cuomo has issued Executive Orders that will affect Acupuncturists and their patients. We now know that the NY PAUSE is in effect until May 15, 2020 and that all persons over the age of 2 must wear a mask in public places where social distancing measures cannot be taken, or risk being fined.
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ASNY COMMITTEES IN ACTION
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ASNY relies on its committees to come up with solutions to expand our reach in health policy, enhance our member and public communications and create benefits for our members. We recognize that we are in a unique position to tap the talent of so many practitioners who arrived in this profession as a second career and hope that you guys can step in at a time of great public need. If you find yourself being affected by this crisis and want to help, please let us know.
ASNY is updating its systems to help streamline committee and volunteer activity. All events will be scheduled through a volunteer portal and can be checked there. If you have not already done so, please click on the button below to create an account at YourVolunteers.com:
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COMMUNICATIONS
Chair: Viktor Krystufek
Monthly meetings:
`1st Monday of Every Month
9:00PM EST
Subcommittees: Newsletter, Public Education, Social Media
To participate, contact
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FUNDRAISING
Chair: Michel Solounias
Meetings Coordinated
With Other Committees;
Announced Accordingly
To participate, contact
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MEMBERSHIP
Chair: Peter Caron
Monthly meetings
4th Monday of Every Month
1:00PM EST
REGIONAL Meetings
being established
To participate, contact
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ADVOCACY
Chair: Timur Lokshin
Monthly Meetings:
2st Thursday of Every Month
1:00PM EST
Subcommittees: Insurance, Federal,Opioids
To participate, contact
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GOVERNANCE
Vice Chair: Timur Lokshin
Monthly Meetings:
3nd Thursday of Every Month
1:00PM EST
To participate, contact
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