Dear Colleagues, Please read the message below from the ACC regarding Health Reform in the Obama Administration: Obama Budget Proposal Commits to Health Reform Feb. 27, 2009 In releasing his $3.55 trillion fiscal year 2010 budget proposal, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his commitment to comprehensive health care reform. The budget proposal sets aside a reserve fund of $630 billion over ten years that will be dedicated to financing health reform. The reserve fund would come from tax reforms and Medicare and Medicaid reforms, some of which are outlined below. The proposal also assumes nearly $330 billion to account for expected Medicare physician payments over ten years. The budget overview includes a commitment to health information technology, prevention and wellness and comparative effectiveness research. It is important to remember that the budget proposal is not legislation; it serves as a blueprint for Congress as it works to develop a FY2010 budget. The Administration's full budget plan will not be complete until later this spring. Other provisions of interest to cardiology include: Physician payment reform. The Administration believes that the current physician payment system needs to be reformed to give physicians incentives to improve quality and efficiency. As part of health care reform, the Administration would support comprehensive, but fiscally responsible, reforms to the payment formula. Hospital readmissions. To reduce preventable readmissions, hospitals will receive bundled payments that cover not just the hospitalization, but care from certain post-acute providers during the 30 days after hospitalization, and hospitals with high rates of readmission will be paid less if patients are readmitted to the hospital within the same 30-day period. This combination is expected to save roughly $26 billion over 10 years. Physician-owned specialty hospitals. The budget will address financial conflicts of interest in physician-owned specialty hospitals, although the savings from this are considered negligible. Imaging reforms. The proposal assumes a savings of $260 million to ensure that Medicare makes appropriate payments for imaging services through the use of radiology benefit managers. The ACC has strong positions on the provisions outlined above: The ACC is highly supportive of efforts to reform the payment system to provide incentives for quality and is also working to reduce readmission rates through better care coordination. However, the ACC supports physician-owned specialty hospitals and prefers other methods of addressing imaging utilization than the use of radiology benefit managers. Overall, the ACC strongly supports President Obama's commitment to reforming the nation's health care system, and looks forward to working with the Administration and Congress to implement policies that improve quality and preserve the doctor-patient relationship. As Congress prepares the budget and further considers health care reform, the ACC needs members to convey these important messages to your representatives. Contact your lawmakers through ACC's CardioAdvocacy Network. For more information on the President's proposed budget, visit the Quality First website. Registration is now Open for the IL-ACC Practice Management Symposium: Electronic Health Records: The Winners and Losers. Back to Top Registration is now open for the Illinois chapter's Practice Management Symposium. Attendees will be presented with information from experts and experiences from other cardiovascular professionals that will help ease the transition and implementation of electronic health records (EHR). The economic stimulus package contains $20 billion to assist in the development of robust health IT infrastructure, including $17.2 billion in incentives through Medicare and Medicaid, as well as new grant programs, to assist providers in adopting Health IT. The symposium faculty will provide up-to-date presentations that will improve and increase learners’ competence with EHR systems through expert knowledge and guidelines to evaluate, prepare and improve EHR adoption. Topics will include the use of EHR and quality reporting, understanding guidelines from the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT), workflow and staffing issues and solutions, government initiatives and funding, case studies dissecting different cardiology practice EHR adoption issues and successes, a look at Cardiology in 2010 and more! See more information on the program, invited speakers and register for this outstanding opportunity to learn about EHR. Come to the IL-ACC Annual Fellows-In-Training and Chapter Reception on March 25, 2009! Back to Top The Illinois chapter of the American College of Cardiology and co-sponsors cordially invite you to this year's Annual Fellows-In Training (FIT) Poster and Chapter Reception on March 25, 2009 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Chicago from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. FIT 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; the winner will receive the “2009 Illinois Chapter of the American College of Cardiology Poster of the Year” Award and a $100 gift certificate.  Come and see current medical research presented by some of the best and brightest! All attendees will enjoy an evening with colleagues, Fellows-In-Training, friends and more. We look forward to seeing you there! Please RSVP to Jacquie Jaskowiak by March 23, 2009. If you are interested in presenting a poster, contact Jacquie Jaskowiak by March 23, 2009. Don’t Wait…Renew Your Dues Today! Back to Top This newsletter is a valuable benefit for Illinois Chapter members. To continue receiving this newsletter and other notifications from the IL-ACC; please renew your membership dues for 2009 today. I also encourage your renewal so you can maintain your valuable ACC and IL-ACC Chapter benefits. These benefits include: member rates for ACC's upcoming Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL, educational programs and products, uninterrupted receipt of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, access to Cardiosource CV news, national and local advocacy efforts, professional development, and many chapter activities designed to directly benefit you.  This is a critical time for cardiology and your identification as an FACC denotes the highest achievement in cardiovascular medicine.  Your association with the ACC and these outstanding benefits all rest on your annual dues payment. To pay your 2009 ACC dues, please go to www.acc.org/dues for the secure online dues payment page. To pay your dues over the phone, please contact the ACC Resource Center toll-free at  (800) 253-4636, ext. 5603 or directly at (202) 375-6000. To contact the Resource Center via email, please send a message to resource@acc.org. Please Join Us for a CCA meeting Back to Top Tuesday, March 10, 2009 6:30 p.m. The Reel Club, Oak Brook There will be a short presentation on hypertension by Dr. Jong-Yoon Yi, Heartland Cardiovascular Center, followed by a business meeting. It is the intent of the IL-ACC Chapter to find a new CCA Liaison, as Julie Benson will resign her current position at the end of her term. If you are interested in hearing more about this please contact Julie Benson, or bring your nominations to the meeting. Please RSVP to Julie if you plan on attending. Hope to see you there!   This meeting will be sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals. IL-ACC Board of Councilors Nominations Back to Top The Illinois chapter is now accepting nominations to the Illinois ACC Board of Councilors for the Chicago and North Suburban Districts. To be eligible, you must be a member in good standing with the Illinois chapter and a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (F.A.C.C.) who is currently practicing.  Councilors are elected by F.A.C.C. members in each District for a two-year term and Councilors can be elected to a second two-year term. The Councilor represents the Chapter at the local level and assists district members with everyday problems and concerns. For more information on roles and responsibilities, view the IL-ACC Councilor Agreement. If you're interested in leading the IL-ACC and giving back to your chapter, please sign and send the IL-ACC Councilor Agreement, along with your contact information and curriculum vitae, to Andy Shelp at the Illinois ACC office at andys@ilacc.org or fax to 847-391-9711 by March 20, 2009. Thank for your consideration.  More information will follow in the coming weeks. Best regards, Diane Wallis, M.D., FACC Governor, Illinois Chapter of the ACC