AAOS Now, January 2012
-
Super Committee Fails to Reach Deficit Reduction Agreement
On Nov. 21, 2011, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, otherwise known as the “Super Committee,” acknowledged that it had failed to reach a deficit reduction agreement. The bipartisan committee was created under the Budget Control Act of 2011, which ended the debt ceiling crisis by specifying $900 billion in spending cuts over the next 10 years. To further reduce the deficit, the committee was tasked with finding an additional $1.
-
Healthcare Reform: Threat or Opportunity?
Government regulations are a growth industry,” noted Patricia Brewster, MHA, FACMPE, CEO/Partner at IntraHealth Group in Atlanta, Ga. “The Federal Register has grown 26 percent since 2001—from 64,438 pages to 81,405 pages.” And that’s just one indicator of the impact that healthcare reform is having on orthopaedic practices. Ms.
-
Second Look—Clinical News and Views
CMS extends revalidation deadline The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the deadline for physicians to complete a revalidation process required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) by an additional 2 years, through March 2015. PPACA requires all physicians and other health professionals to undergo enhanced screening procedures before enrolling or re-enrolling in Medicare.
-
Affordable Care Act a “Disaster,” Says Karl Rove
It’s not too late, Karl Rove told the packed crowd of surgeons attending the 2011 annual meeting of the North American Spine Society. The former adviser to President George W. Bush methodically recited numbers to declare the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) “a disaster”—unworkable, unaffordable, and unfair to physicians and patients. Karl Rove at the NASS annual meeting. Courtesy of NASS Mr.
-
2011 State Legislative Update
State policymakers considered a broad range of issues in 2011 that affect orthopaedic surgeons. State-level priorities for the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) are determined through the Board of Councilors (BOC) Committee on State Legislative and Regulatory Issues. The committee also administers $300,000 per year in Health Policy Action Fund grants to support state orthopaedic society advocacy endeavors.
-
Osteoporosis: The Orthopaedic Health Policy Perspective
Adedapo Ajayi, BS; Mallory Powell, BA; William T. Obremskey MD, MPH; Alex Jahangir, MD; and Manish K. Sethi, MD As the United States attempts to address its immense debt, healthcare savings are a focal point in the national dialogue. One clear and easy cost-savings mechanism is the management and prevention of osteoporosis. The disease is an important medical issue, and a major policy front for orthopaedics.
-
CMS Issues Proposed Rule
As this issue of AAOS Now went to press, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule implenting Section 6002 (Sunshine Act provisions) of the Afordable Care Act. It requires manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologicals, and medical supplies covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program to report payments or other transfers of value (amounting to $10 or more) made to physicians and teaching hospitals.