scoanet

Medicare Advantage plans to get extra $8.5 billion in FY 2008, despite payment reductions.

A new report from The Commonwealth Fund shows that private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will be paid an average of 12.4 percent more per enrollee in 2008 than providers in traditional Medicare fee-for-service programs. Extra payments to MA plans will amount to $986 over fee-for-service costs for each of about 8.7 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, for a total of more than $8.5 billion in 2008. In 2004, MA plans received an average of $795 in extra payments, or a total of $3.9 billion. The extra payments were mandated by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 as an incentive to expand the role of private plans in Medicare and reduce growth in Medicare spending.
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SC BONE PAC Gearing Up for November Elections

The leadership of the SC BONE PAC is pressing forward with an ambitious plan to elevate the stature of our profession in the state political process.  Your organization will play a very active role in the upcoming elections.  We need your assistance to complete our mission and meet our lofty goals. 

There are two easy ways to assist our efforts.

1) Make sure you are a member of Bone PAC.  Click the link below to download the Bone PAC registration form.

Download bone_pac_registration_form.pdf 

2) Make sure you have pledged to participate in the Fortress 500 program.  (The program is a pledge to send a $500 check when requested made payable to a candidate chosen by the Bone PAC leadership. ) Click below for the Bone Pac Fortress 500 pledge form.

Download bone_pac_fortress_500_program_registration_form.pdf 

Your participation is greatly appreciated.  Together we can make a difference.

AAOS joins amicus brief on expert witness qualifications in Arizona.

The Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has voted unanimously to join an amicus curiae brief in a case involving Arizona legislation on the qualifications required for medical expert witnesses. The case, Seisinger v. Sieble, is an appeal supported by the Mutual Insurance Company of Arizona (MICA) of a recent decision of the Arizona Court of Appeals. In June 2008, the appeals court held unconstitutional a state statute requiring that medical experts who testify in medical liability cases meet certain minimum qualifications, including licensure and certification. If the decision is allowed to stand, it could have a significant impact not only in Arizona, but in other states as well. The AAOS is joining the Arizona State Medical Association, the Arizona Orthopaedic Society, the Arizona Hospital Association, and several other national and state medical and specialty societies in this action.
Read the appeals decision (PDF)...