Physician-Owned Distributorships: Legitimate Ancillary Service or “Kickback Trap”?

Christopher Kontogianis, MD

Christopher Kontogianis, MD The number of physician-owned distributorships (PODs) have increased rapidly in the last decade. Under this model, physicians are owners or investors in a business that purchases medical devices in bulk and sells them to the hospitals and surgery centers in which the physician owners/investors practice.

One-on-One with Ben Carson, MD

Presidential guest speaker, Benjamin S. Carson, MD, addressed a packed ballroom and a crowded overflow room during the 2015 AAOS Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. (See "Ben Carson: Freedom Is the Abiding American Value," AAOS Now Daily Edition, Friday, March 27, 2015.) But afterward, he sat with AAOS Now editorial board member Stuart J. Fischer, MD, for a more intimate conversation. Dr. Fischer: Dr. Carson, thank you for coming to our annual meeting.

Rural Orthopaedics: Not for the Faint of Heart

K. William Kumler, MD, MBA; Craig Mahoney, MD; Michael Suk, MD, JD, MPH

Although hospital closures have been relatively uncommon in the United States, the rate of rural hospital closures has increased dramatically in the wake of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—from 3 in 2010 to 16 in 2014. Of the nearly 50 rural hospitals that closed between 2010 and 2014, all but 8 had fewer than 50 beds. In many rural settings, patients lose their “golden hour”—that period when medical treatment after a traumatic injury may be lifesaving—simply getting to the closest facility.

CMS Proposed Rule Addresses Meaningful Use

Catherine Boudreaux, MPP, and Elizabeth Fassbender In a move welcomed by many healthcare providers, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last month released a proposed rule that would ease some of the reporting burdens and give more flexibility to hospitals, office-based physicians, and other eligible professionals attempting to meet federal targets for meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR) for 2015 through 2017.

Key Provisions of HR 2

Repeals the SGR and ends the annual threat to seniors’ care, while instituting a 0.5 percent payment update each year for 5 years. Reverses the global payments policy announced in the 2015 PFS Final Rule. CMS wanted to convert all 10- and 90-day global payments to 0-day payments for surgical services; HR 2 prohibits this action. Streamlines Medicare’s existing quality programs into one value-based performance program.

Congress Supports Peer-Reviewed Orthopaedic Research Program

In March, Reps. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) presented a bipartisan letter to the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense requesting inclusion of $30 million for the Peer-Reviewed Orthopaedic Research Program (PRORP) in the Defense Appropriations legislation for fiscal year (FY) 2016.

Finally! Congress Repeals SGR Formula

Elizabeth Fassbender

After more than 10 years and 17 short-term patches, the Senate last month passed the Medicare and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act (HR 2), permanently repealing the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. The measure passed by an overwhelming margin (92 to 8), just hours before a 21 percent cut in physician reimbursements was scheduled to go into effect.