scoanet

Proposal to Restrict Physician Ownership of Hospitals Fails

CongressNow reports that a proposal to restrict physician ownership of hospitals has been removed from a farm bill. The measure had been proposed as a way to offset the costs of the $280 billion subsidy bill. Opponents of the provision charged that the move infringed upon the jurisdictions of several congressional committees and that any proposed cuts in Medicare reimbursement should be used to pay for health care instead of offsetting agricultural spending. Opponents also disapprove of legislation that would also essentially ban the growth of physician-owned hospitals.

Legislation Filed in US Senate to Prevent Physician Cuts

American Medical News reports that legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate to continue a 0.5 percent Medicare pay increase through the latter half of 2008 and institute a 1.8 percent update for 2009. According to information from Congressional Daily, the chair of the Senate finance committee stated that there is support for bypassing committee review and sending a bill to fix Medicare directly to the Senate floor. Currently, physicians are slated to receive a 10.6 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursement starting July 1 and an additional cut of about 5 percent in 2009.

MedPAC report offers support for Medicare pay increase.

A report to Congress issued by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) states that the agency is concerned that repeated annual reductions in physician payment rates could threaten beneficiaries’ access to physician services. MedPAC has previously called for a 1.1 percent increase in physician Medicare reimbursement to replace the scheduled 10.6 percent cut. The report also states that the current payment system "undervalues primary care services and introduces other distorted incentives that encourage overuse of some services and underuse of others."
Read more...

Survey: Group practices begin limiting access in light of looming Medicare cuts.

A survey of more than 1,000 group practice professionals conducted by the Medical Group Management Association finds that many group practices across the United States have already taken measures in response to an uncertain Medicare reimbursement environment. In anticipation of a 10.6 percent reduction in Medicare payments scheduled to go into effect on July 1, nearly 24 percent or respondents stated that they had either begun limiting or not accepting new Medicare patients. Furthermore, 46 percent of respondents said they would have to stop accepting and/or limit the number of Medicare beneficiaries their practices treat if the cut proceeds as planned.

Read more...

Report compares state tort environments.

A report released by the not-for-profit Pacific Research Institute ranks the best and worst state tort systems in the United States. "U.S. Tort Liability Index: 2008 Report" valuated the tort laws of each state, in addition to taking into consideration tort costs and litigation risks. North Dakota was found to be tops in terms of low tort costs, but the report suggests that lack of strong tort reform laws could make that state a target for trial lawyers in the future. Conversely, Florida ranked the worst in terms of tort cost and litigation risk, but was determined to have some of the best tort laws in the United State due to recent reforms. States considered to have the best overall tort rules were Colorado, Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Indiana, Florida, and Michigan. States considered to have the worst were Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Vermont, and Rhode Island.

Ingenix and UnitedHealth Under Investigation

According to Modern Healthcare, "New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced an “industrywide” investigation into an alleged scheme in which insurers and health information firm Ingenix manipulated reimbursement rates. Cuomo said he has issued 16 subpoenas to insurers and plans to file a lawsuit against Ingenix, its parent, UnitedHealth Group, and three UnitedHealth subsidiaries."

Call for Abstracts - 2008 SCOA Annual Meeting

The SCOA is now accepting abstracts for the 2008 SCOA Annual Meeting taking place August 7-10 at The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort on Kiawah Island, SC.  Attached to this posting is the Call for Abstracts for the upcoming event.

All of the information and forms you need to submit an abstract are attached.  Abstract submissions are due by March 15th.  The decisions of the Program Committee will be announced by April 15th.  Please remember those abstracts accepted for presentation will be provided 10 minutes during the General Session of the Annual Meeting.

The following are some basic instructions for submitting an abstract:

Abstract Submission Form – attached is the form that can be used to return your abstract to the SCOA office.  Please note that we can accept word documents emailed to our office as long as all the information requested on the Form is provided in your word document.  Download CallforAbstracts.doc

AAOS Financial Disclosure Form – please complete and return the attached Financial Disclosure Form.  This is a requirement of our CME accreditation and must be collected from all presenters. Download 2008_aaos_financial_disclosure.doc

AAOS FDA Disclosure Form – similar to the Financial Disclosure Form above, this is a mandatory requirement of our CME accreditation for all presenters. Download 2008_aaos_fda_disclosure.doc

All three of these forms may be returned to the SCOA office via email, fax, or regular mail using the contact information below. 

Thank you very much for your participation in the 2008 SCOA Annual Meeting.  We look forward to a fantastic event.

SCOA, 17503 Mallard Court, Lutz, FL 33559 - Tel: 866-949-3121 - Fax: 813-949-8994 - Email

Development of the South Carolina Association of Orthopaedic Executives

The South Carolina Orthopaedic Association is committed to assisting a group of enthusiastic leaders who are pursuing the development of the South Carolina Association of Orthopaedic Executives (SCAOE).  The leaders represent seven orthopaedic practices distributed throughout the state.  Their vision is to create a state-level organization of the American Association of Orthopaedic Executives (formerly known as the BONES Society).  The SCOA sees the development of this association as a major strategic initiative for the organization that will greatly enhance our communications and expertise.

The leadership of the SCAOE is planning two organizational meetings in 2008.  These meetings will lay the foundation for what will become an effective association.  The meetings will take place in conjunction with the AAOE Annual Conference in April in Charlotte and the SCOA Annual Conference in August in Kiawah Island.

We need your help in collecting contact information for all of the orthopaedic practice administrators and/or executives in South Carolina.  This will assist in the development of the association and notifications of upcoming meetings.  Please consider completing the form below and return it to the SCOA office. 

Thank you very much for your assistance and we look forward to the future growth of this association.

Please click here to download the remittance form;  Download development_of_sc_association_of_orthopaedic_executives.doc . 

SCOA Winter 2007 Newsletter Released

The SCOA is pleased to announce the release of the Winter 2007 Newsletter.  The issue was released to members via the SCOA website and email earlier today. 

To visit the SCOA Website please visit: http://www.scoanet.org/.

To view the SCOA Newsletter directly, please visit: SCOA Newsletter

SCMA Files Prompt Pay Legislation

The SCMA has filed Prompt Pay legislation in the South Carolina Senate.  Senate Bill 974 was filed on February 10th and would provide physicians protection from many of the unfair business tactics of health insurers in South Carolina.  This language is similar to that passed in many other states and contains many provisions included in the legal settlements with the health insurers.

Please look for additional alerts on this legislation in the coming months.