IL-ACC Newsletter
February 2010
Save the Date: IL-ACC FIT Poster Reception
Illinois ACC Chapter’s Annual Fellows-In-Training Poster Reception:
Meeting the Leaders of Tomorrow
March 10, 2010
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Intercontinental Hotel Chicago
505 North Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL
RSVP for this Event
The Illinois chapter of the American College of Cardiology and co-sponsors cordially invite you to this year's Annual Fellows-In-Training Poster Reception on March 10, 2010 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Chicago from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
All Fellows are welcome! Poster presenters will have the opportunity to show their work to Illinois ACC chapter members and hone their presentation skills prior to the ACC national convention. This year’s reception will feature a poster competition and the winner will receive the “2010 Illinois Chapter of the American College of Cardiology Poster of the Year” Award and a $100 gift certificate.
All attendees will enjoy networking with established F.A.C.C. cardiologists and other Fellows-In-Training from outside their respective program. This is an opportunity to see current research, network with future employers, and enjoy an evening with colleagues and friends. We look forward to seeing you there!
Please RSVP to Scott Franzmeier by March 8, 2010.
If you wish to present a poster, please contact Scott Franzmeier at scottf@ilacc.org or by phone at (651) 290-7493.
Join Us at the 2010 ACC Scientific Symposium in Atlanta
Chapter Members: The Annual ACC Symposium is rapidly approaching. Please join us in Atlanta for this year’s ACC.10 and i2 Summit. Event information and registration details.
IL-ACC Practice Management Symposium: May 14
First, Do No Harm: Optimizing Patient Care in a Changing Health Care Environment
May 14, 2010
University Club of Chicago
76 E Monroe St
Chicago, IL 60603
Mark your calendars now to join cardiovascular professionals from across Illinois at the IL-ACC Practice Managment Symposium on May 14, 2010.
Advocacy Action: Two Important Issues Require Your Action
- Legislation is needed to replace the broken sustainable growth rate formula:
Now is the time for Congress to hear from cardiovascular specialists that a permanent replacement of the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula is necessary. As of March 1 the temporary patch for the SGR will expire, and Medicare payments to all medical providers will be cut an additional 21.5 percent. Although the House of Representatives in November 2009 passed a bill to eliminate the SGR cuts (H.R. 3961), the Senate has been unsuccessful in passing similar legislation (S. 1776).
Tell your members of Congress to pass legislation to permanently replace the broken SGR formula. Contact your member of the House, your Senators or call them at (800) 210-7193.
- Ask your representative to cosponsor HR4371 and stop the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule that will kill cardiology:
The ACC continues its efforts to fight the cardiology payment cuts from the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Ask your representative to cosponsor H.R. 4371, introduced by Rep. Gonzalez (D-TX) to stop the fee schedule cuts. Click here to see if your member of the House has cosponsored the Gonzalez legislation. Please ask your Senators to help fight the fee schedule cuts by leading legislation similar to the Gonzalez legislation in the House.
Be a part of the House of Medicine's call to Congress, urging them to provide a permanent solution to the ongoing physician payment dilemma. Contact your members of Congress today!
Thank you for your efforts and all that you do for ACC Advocacy.
Local Coverage Determination (LCD) Update: Cardiac Catheterization and Coronary Angiography, determination number CV006 opens for review on 2/19/10.
An LCD is the policy that the Illinois Medicare carrier uses to determine reimbursement for procedures. This is your opportunity to review and provide feedback on the draft policies.
Please review and comment on Draft LCD CV006 or see the Draft LCD. Your input is important to LCD development. To comment electronically on the policies listed above, please send an email containing concise comments to ilacc@ilacc.org.
Recovery Audit Contractor Letters, Copy Requested
As you all know Illinois's Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) was granted to CGI Technology and Solutions. Their identified focuses are located on their web site, racb.cgi.com in the “Issues” tab. There are currently four areas of focus that relate to cardiology:
- Perc Cardiovasc Proc W Drug-Eluting Or Non Drug Eluting Stent w MCC or 4+ Vessels/Stents
- Coronary Bypass W PTCA/Cardiac Cath w MCC
- Carotid Artery Stent & Extracranial Procedures w CC or MCC
- Cardiac Defib Implant W Cardiac Cath W/O AMI/HF/Shock W MCC
Although the initial focus in Illinois seems to be hospital focused many other states are beginning to see practices targeted. If you or your practice has received a letter from CGI regarding an audit and/or notifying you of a Medicare overpayment and requesting a refund, please fax or scan and e-mail a copy of this letter to the IL-ACC office at ilacc@ilacc.org or fax: 630-789-9093. Please send this to the attention of Andy Shelp, IL-ACC Chapter Executive.
See a sample GCI Demand Letter that you might have received.
Brief Background: The RAC Program’s mission is to reduce Medicare improper payments through the efficient detection and collection of overpayments, the identification of underpayments and the implementation of actions that will prevent future improper payments. The Department of Health and Human Services conducted a 3 year demonstration program, from March 2005 to March of 2008, using RACs to detect improper payments and to asses the cost effectiveness of the program. After the demonstration period, Congress mandated the RAC program to be implemented nation wide. For more information on the RAC program please visit www.cms.hhs.gov/RAC/.
CMS Cancels Change Request 6375 (Place of Service [POS] and Date of Service [DOS] Instructions for the Interpretation [Professional Component] and Technical Component of Diagnostic Tests
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has rescinded Change Request (CR) 6375, Transmittal 1873 sent via RO-6657, dated December 11, 2009, and will replace it with another CR in the future, pending further policy clarification on date of service and place of service reporting for the interpretation of diagnostic tests. The revised CR will address the full spectrum of clinical scenarios. The accompanying MLN Matters article, MM6375, is also rescinded. Another MLN Matters article will be issued when the new CR is released.
From CMS Provider Resources: “A Message of Interest to Physicians and Non-Physician Practitioners Regarding National Provider Identifier (NPI) and Enrollment Files”
CMS has made available a file that contains the National Provider Identifier (NPI) and the names (last name, first name) of all physicians and non-physician practitioners who are of a type/specialty that is eligible to order and refer in the Medicare program and who have current enrollment records in Medicare (i.e., they have enrollment records in PECOS that contain an NPI). This file is downloadable from the Medicare provider/supplier enrollment website (click on “Ordering/Referring Report” on the left-hand side).
This .pdf file contains approximately 800,000 records. A new file will be made available periodically that will replace the posted file; at any given time, only one file (the most recent) will be available. The file can be viewed online. In addition, it can be downloaded by users with technical expertise and further sorted or manipulated. It can also be used to search for a particular physician or non-physician practitioner by NPI or by name. Please note the following: (1) Records are in alphabetical order based on the surname of the physician or non-physician practitioner. (2) Name suffixes (e.g., Jr.), if they exist, are not displayed. (3) There are no “duplicates” in the file. Many physicians or non-physician practitioners share the same first and last name; their corresponding NPIs are the assurance of uniqueness. (4) Deceased physicians and non-physician practitioners are not included in the file. (5) If a user is unsure of a physician or non-physician practitioner’s NPI, he or she can look it up in the NPI Registry.
Keep in mind that the record in the NPI Registry is not the Medicare PECOS enrollment record.
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