FOS

HHS Takes New Steps to Accelerate Adoption of Electronic Prescribing

Medicare is starting a new program to encourage physicians to adopt e-prescribing systems.  Incentive payments will be available beginning in 2009 for physicians who meet the requirements of the program.  The initiative is part of the Administration’s broader efforts to accelerate the adoption of health IT and the establishment of a health care system based on value.

Beginning in 2009, and during the next four years, Medicare will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals who are successful electronic prescribers.  Eligible professionals will receive a 2 percent incentive payment in 2009 and 2010; a 1 percent incentive payment in 2011 and 2012; and a one half percent incentive payment in 2013.

Beginning in 2012, eligible professionals who are not successful electronic prescribers will receive a reduction in payment. Eligible professionals may be exempted from the reduction in payment, on a case-by-case basis, if it is determined that compliance with requirement for being a successful prescriber would result in significant hardship.

To read more, see the attached fact sheet.

Download 072108_eprescribing_fact_sheet.doc .

BSOF Annual Meeting – Only Tens Day Away!

It is not too late to register for the BSOF Annual Meeting taking place September 26-28 at the Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort. 

With 120 attendees and 40 companies already registered, this year’s meeting promises to be another overwhelming success.  You won’t want to miss the wonderful presentations we have lined up including:

• Secrets of the Best-Run Practices – What Makes Some Practices Stand Out  From the Crowd, By Judy Capko, Founder and Author, Capko and Company
• The Legal Battle for Ancillary Services by Howard R. Rubin, J.D., Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, LLP
• Office of Inspector General Opinion on On-Call Compensation  Implications for Orthopaedic Surgeons by Michael Suk, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., University of Florida, Shands Jacksonville
• Taking Advantage of the HMO Settlements to Improve Physician Reimbursement by Tim Schmidt, President, Managed Care Advisory Group
• Medicare Hot Topics – Current Issues and Proposals for 2009, Leslie Witkin, President, Physicians First, Inc.

We also have a series of presentations from members of the BSOF sharing their best practices and tips for improving your efficiency, operations, and revenue!

This is another can’t miss annual meeting from the BSOF.  We look forward to seeing you in Orlando.

Please click here to Download 2008_MTG_Member_Registration_Application.doc

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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Read the report...

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)...