Newsletter: March 2009
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| President’s Letter HAPTA News PTA Caucus Update Public Relations Committee Update Legislative Committee Update Legislative Action Alert Reimbursement Chair Meeting Summary Volunteer! |
This year, a record 8,400 PT’s and PTA’s came to the meeting, held in Las Vegas from February 8 through the 13th. It was astounding to walk through the corridors of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, past student PT’s and PTA’s, new grads, and seasoned therapists. It was inspiring to witness the scope of knowledge and skills represented by attendees and presenters alike. Platform presentations and poster presentations showcased the research efforts of hundreds of therapists who have added to the evidence for what we do. It was possible to “rub shoulders” with some of the truly amazing therapists of our time: Shirley Sahrmann, Joe Godges, Nicole Stout, Bill Boissonnault, to name a few. Leaders of national and state came together to discuss the future of our profession, current legislation, membership involvement. Next year’s meeting is in San Diego—close for us to get to! APTA members get great discounts on the already reasonable costs.
We also witnessed the launching of our new branding initiative: “Move Forward: Physical Therapy Brings Motion to Life”. Remember: we’re the experts in restoring and improving motion in people’s lives. I hope that on a daily basis each of you is describing to your patients your training, your clinical reasoning, and the specific ways in which you are helping them improve their quality of motion as well as their quality of life. All too often, we take for granted what we do, assuming that everyone knows what physical therapy is, how broad our scope of practice is, how much education we have. Please check out the information regarding our new branding initiative at www.apta.org, and please educated your patients!
Speaking of truly amazing therapists, Shirley Sahrmann is returning to Hawaii on May 16 and 17 to teach more on movement impairment syndromes. You can find information on her course, and sign up for it here. If you were fortunate enough to attend her first class here in 2008, you know that she’s a dynamic, knowledgeable, and entertaining speaker. We are truly fortunate to host her.
Another event to mark on your calendar: Connie Hauser, our liaison from APTA’s Board of Directors, comes to us in April for our Reimbursement Seminar. This half day presentation will help you get up to date on how to achieve better reimbursement. If you’re a member of HAPTA, you’ll receive an email regarding the details; if not, check our website.
Want to get involved but don’t have a lot of time? You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the ways you can help your profession without running for office! Please contact me for more info: annfrost.pt@gmail.com. It is very satisfying to help out, whether it be testifying at the legislature on behalf of our profession, assisting with sign-up for a course, or participating in a committee.
Ann Frost, President
Aloha HAPTA members!
Despite the fact that Hawaii does not currently require CEUs to practice or renew our licenses, it is important that we all stay up-to-date on our skills and new research / treatments, and commit to being life-long learners. As an extra incentive to participate in CEU activities next year we would like to introduce the 2009 CEU Challenge!
How it works:
- Any PT or PTA HAPTA member who completes 20 hours of approved continuing education will be eligible for a drawing for a full tuition voucher for a HAPTA sponsored course of his/her choice (1 winner), or a 50% off tuition voucher for a HAPTA sponsored course of his/her choice (2 winners).
- It is the responsibility of each eligible PT/PTA to complete the enclosed application form, and include the requested documentation. Acceptable forms of CEUs include: formal courses (both lecture and lab/practical), online or home courses, college courses towards a DPT; other CEUs may be accepted at the discretion of the HAPTA Board of Directors. All CEU courses will be evaluated by the BOD and must meet the standards put forth in the APTA Guidelines for Evaluating Continuing Education Programs and Standards of Quality for Continuing Education Offerings (these documents can be found on the APTA website).
- Application deadline is January 30, 2010. The winners will be randomly selected from all eligible entries on or before February 28, 2010, and will be notified by mail.
If you have any questions about the 2009 CEU Challenge please contact Bianca Hoang, Continuing Education Committee Chair, at bhoangpt@gmail.com.
Mahalo,
Ed Ho, PTA, Hawaii PTA Caucus Representative
Public Relations Committee Update
We are looking for people to help with the PR Committee! Do you have suggestions for how HAPTA could support your community? Please contact me at lisa.c.curtis@gmail.com.
Lucy Lessard, PT, Legislative Committee Chair
On January 6th, Congressmen Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Mike Ross (D-AR), and Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Senator John Ensign (R-NV) and eleven other Senators introduced “The Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act (H.R. 43/S. 46).” This legislation will repeal the cap on therapy services for Medicare beneficiaries once and for all. If Congress does not take action by December 31, 2009, the therapy cap will again be imposed on Medicare-covered physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech language pathology services. We need to take action NOW to ensure the cap does not go back into place.
The following Senators have signed on The Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act (S. 46).
| Daniel Akaka (D-HI) | Tim Johnson (D-SD) | |
| Robert Casey (D-PA) | Patrick Leahy (D-VT) | |
| Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) | Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) | |
| Susan Collins (R-ME) | Arlen Spector (R-PA) | |
| Richard Durbin (D-IL) | Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) | |
| Lindsey Graham (R-SC) | Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) | |
| Tom Harkin (D-IA) |
- If one of the names listed above is your Senator, please contact them to say "thank you" for their support of this important legislation.
- To contact your members of Congress, visit the Legislative Action Center on APTA’s website.
- When using APTA’s Legislative Action Center to send your message, please remember to PERSONALIZE any correspondence to your members of Congress by writing a brief paragraph about the importance of physical therapy in your community. Personalizing your message is the most effective way to make an impact on your member of Congress.
- Reach out to your patients and encourage them to contact Congress as well. APTA’s website can provide information for patients interested in contacting their members through the Patient Action Center.
Reimbursement Chair Meeting Summary
- Recovery Audit Contractors: 4 companies have been awarded contracts as Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) – they will be requesting medical records for review to identify and recoup Medicare overpayments from providers. Hawaii is not among the first states to be affected. For more info on the RACs visit: www.apta.org/medicare under the “Denials, Audits, and Appeals” subsection. If you have additional questions, please contact Payment and Policy Advocacy at 800-999-2782 X8511.
- Update to a Medicare Learning Network Educational Product: CMS Form 1500 Web-Based Training Course: The CMS Form 1500 Web-based Training (WBT) course has been updated (July 2008) and is available http://www.cms.hhs.gov/mlngeninfo/ , scroll down to “Related Links Inside CMS” and select “Web-based training Modules”, scroll down to “Office Management Information” to select this training.
- Transmittal on ABNs: CMS issued a Transmittal on ABNs on September 5 on the Revised Form CMS-R-131 Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage http://www.cms.hhs.gov/transmittals/downloads/R1587CP.pdf
- Update on HIPAA: New documents discuss when a health care provider may share a patient’s health information with the patient’s family, friends, or others involved in the patient’s care and answer common questions about frequently misunderstood HIPAA concepts by health care providers and patients alike. The provider guide is available at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/provider_ffg.pdf. The consumer guide is available at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/consumer_ffg.pdf.
- ICD-10-CM/PCS: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted a powerpoint slide that provideS an overview of ICD-10 and how it differs from ICD-9-CM. It is available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ICD10. Pushing Back When Insurers Deny Coverage for Treatment http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122230334120773621.html.
- Medicare continues Bonus payments for Quality Reporting: The program, started in 2007, permits eligible professionals billing Medicare on a CMS-1500 claim form or electronic equivalent to report on specific measures to receive a 1.5% bonus payment on all allowable charges. Providers will only receive the bonus payment if they report on a minimum of three quality measures approved for PTs in 2008. In addition they must report on each of the measures 80% of the time.
