Federal Watch

October 19th, 2012

AGS is tracking developments of interest to geriatrics health professionals in order to provide weekly updates for our readers via our List Serv, americangeriatrics.org, our Facebook page, and our Twitter feed. This week, we update you on bipartisan sentiment heard around Capitol Hill regarding the year-end “doc fix” deal. In addition, we remind you of the upcoming CMS National Provider Call to prepare physicians for ICD-10 Implementation, as well as PCORI’s new funding announcements related to comparative clinical effectiveness research. We also ask for your assistance to increase support for the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act, which you can do via the AGS Health in Aging Advocacy Center. Finally, we encourage you to take action by contacting your legislators, and urging them to fully address and put an end to the flawed SGR formula.

Staffers on Capitol Hill are Confident about Year-End Doc Fix Deal
Both Republicans and Democrats alike remarked that a deal to prevent drastic cuts to physician payments under the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula would be achieved by year’s end, according to Politico Pro. Congress has made the “doc fix” for the past 10 years and will do so again this year, Josh Trent, health policy adviser to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK.), recently stated. The Sustainable Growth Rate, which Congress passed in 1997, was designed to curtail Medicare spending by cutting physician payments if the program's costs exceeded a set amount. As AGS members are aware, Congress has delayed the cuts since 2002, and has been on a continuous search for a more efficient “fix.” If legislators don't find another fix this year, physician payments would be cut by approximately 27 percent. It would cost roughly $316 billion over the next 10 years to fix the problem for the long term.

REMINDERS:

October 25^th – CMS to Host National Provider Call to Prepare Physicians for ICD-10 Implementation
HHS has announced the final rule that delays the ICD-10 compliance date from October 1, 2013 to October 1, 2014, and now is the time to prepare. During this ICD-10 National Provider Call, Dr. Ginger Boyle, a practicing family physician who has developed a coding education program for her hospital and its family practice residency program, shares her success and some practical advice about Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System’s transition to ICD-10. CMS subject matter experts also present the latest information and updates from their areas, followed by a question and answer session.

• When: Thursday, October 25, 2012
• Time: 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM Eastern Time
• Target Audience:
  Medical coders, physicians, physician office staff, nurses and other non-physician practitioners, provider billing staff, health records staff, vendors, educators, system maintainers, laboratories, and all Medicare FFS providers
• Registration/More Information:
  To register for a National Provider Call, please visit the CMS Upcoming National Provider Calls webpage. For more information, please visit the CMS ICD-10 website.

PCORI Announces New Funding Opportunities
The Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) launched its second cycle of funding requests to support $96 million in comparative clinical effectiveness research that will assist patients and those who care for them with making better-informed health care decisions. ThesePCORI Funding Announcements (PFAs) correspond to four of the five areas of focus outlined in itsNational Priorities for Research and Research Agenda: (1) Assessment of Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment Options, (2) Improving Healthcare Systems, (3) Communication and Dissemination, and (4) Addressing Disparities. PCORI will host three workshops in Washington, D.C. this fall to obtain input from patients, caregivers and other stakeholders on PCORI's draft process for generating and selecting specific research topics. Each workshop will be accompanied by a public, interactive webcast. Learn more on the following workshops:

• Transforming Patient-Centered Research: Building Partnerships and Promising Models
  October 27-28
  This workshop will focus on the patient's role and perspective in PCORI's work, and provide an opportunity for patients, caregivers, researchers and other stakeholders to start working together as a community to discuss potential ideas for future research.

• What Should PCORI Study? A Call for Topics from Patients and Stakeholders
  December 4
  This workshop will solicit recommendations for specific research topics and test PCORI's draft process for determining which could be the basis of future funding announcements.

• PCORI Research Prioritization Methods Workshop
  December 5
  Research methodologists, patients and other stakeholders will further test the process for selecting research questions and address a number of methodological issues that will help PCORI ensure that it addresses the needs of patients and caregivers.

How You Can Help
AGS is seeking your assistance to increase support for the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA), legislation sponsored by Sen. Wyden (D-OR) in the Senate (S.3407) and Rep. Engel (D-NY-17) in the House (HR 6155). Through our Health in Aging Advocacy Center, you have the ability to easily contact your members of Congress and ask that they support and co-sponsor this important legislation. By doing so, you are helping to ensure a promising future for hospice and palliative care. For a summary of the bill, please visit here or read our endorsement letter.

AGS also encourages you to contact your members of Congress and urge them to call for both the repeal of the SGR and comprehensive Medicare payment and delivery reform. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Susie Sherman, Senior Coordinator of Public Affairs & Advocacy, ssherman@americangeriatrics.org.

Modified On: October 19th, 2012