Health Policy Update Mark T. Edney, MD, FACS Peninsula Urology Associates, Salisbury, MD November 3, 2011 AUA Legislative Affairs Committee Young Urologist Committee Liaison to AUA Health Policy Council President, Maryland Urologists for Patient Access to Care Overview
Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) In-Office Ancillary Exception (IOAE) PROSTATE Act, Urotrauma Bill Other Legislation of Interest to Urology UROPAC Debt Ceiling Bill Budget Control Act of 2011 Passed Aug 2, 2011, became public law 112-25 Establishes Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction Committee Members House Members
Senate Members Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT) Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry (D-MA) Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) Pat Toomey (R-PA) Rob Portman (R-OH)
Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Fred Upton (R-MI-6) Ways & Means Committee Chair Dave Camp (R-MI-4) Jeb Hensarling (R-TX-5) Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-SC-6) Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen (D-MD-8) Ways & Means Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member Xavier Becerra (D-CA-31) Super Committee Process Committee report due to Congress by November 23, 2011
Congress must either accept or reject the recommendations without changes by December 23, 2011 If successful, the debt ceiling can again be raised What is on the Table? EVERYTHING including but not limited to: Graduate Medical Education cuts Payment reductions (PC), and prior authorization for imaging services Direct cuts to physician reimbursement Loss of EHR incentive payments for meaningful use Super Committee Process If Congress fails to enact, debt ceiling would be automatically raised by $1.2 trillion and across-the-board cuts would be triggered (sequestration)- effective CY13
Half of the savings would come from defense spending Social Security and Medicaid are exempt Medicare is not Benefits and beneficiary cost sharing remains unchanged, 2 percent cut to providers Deep cuts possible for CDC, NIH, HIV treatment and disease prevention programs Independent Payment Advisory Board 15 member appointed panel (<50% physician, non-practicing) Broad authority to cut provider payments (hospitals and hospices exempt for 5 years) Essentially no Congressional oversight H.R. 452/S.668 main repeal bills David Roe MD (R-TN)- 209 cosponsors, currently in E+C subcommittee on health
President Obama is calling for a strengthening of IPAB Senate shows no sign of willingness to repeal Sustainable Growth Rate 29.6% Cut Looming on Dec. 31 If this is not addressed by the Committee, there will be little time to stop the cuts. LATE BREAKING: CMS PFS CY12 final rule published 11/1- 27% cut MedPAC Recommendation to fix the SGR Cut specialists 5.9 percent per year for three years, freezing payments for the remaining seven years. Primary care frozen for 10 years without reduction. Collect data on service volume and work time to establish more accurate work and practice expense values Supplanting the extensive prior work of the RUC Use data to identify over-priced physician services and reduce their relative value units (RVUs)
In-Office Ancillary Exception Urology has been and will continue to be under intense scrutiny from CMS and attack from organized radiology, radiation oncology and hospitals In-Office Ancillary Exception MedPAC Recommendations at April Meeting Encourage the RUC to accelerate bundling of discrete services often provided during one encounter Reduce payment rates for the professional component of multiple imaging studies provided during the same session Reduce the professional component for imaging and other diagnostic tests ordered and performed by the same practitioner Prior authorization for physician outliers
In-Office Ancillary Exception STATE ALERT Maryland 2011- became 1st state to prohibit non-radiologists from owning and operating CT and MRI American College of Radiology considers Maryland PatientReferral Law model legislation Heretofore unsuccessful attempts at passing same language in Pennsylvania, Washington, and Oregon Be vigilant in your state PROSTATE Act Prostate Research, Outreach, Screening, Testing, Access, and Treatment Effectiveness Act of 2011 S. 1190/H.R. 2159 Establishes an Interagency Task Force, led by the VA and includes the DoD and HHS that will: Aligns federal agencies prostate cancer research, healthcare delivery
programs, educational & outreach efforts, and messages Makes recommendations for future funding Expands prostate cancer programs in research, telehealth, minority outreach, and education and awareness. Budget Neutral Urotrauma H.R. 1612 Commission (sunset) led by DoD and includes VA and HHS Will develop and recommend a long-range plan for utilization of national resources to effectively deal with battlefield urotrauma Prevention, initial and subsequent/chronic management, public/private coordinated efforts May get included in National Defense Authorization Act
Other Legislation of Interest to Urology H.R. 5 (Gingrey, R-GA-11)/S. 218 (Ensign, R-NV) the HEALTH Act comprehensive liability reform H.R. 816 (Gingrey, R-GA-11) nothing in the ACA (guideline or standard) can create a new cause of action Other Legislation of Interest to Urology H.R. 674 (Herger, R-CA-2)/S. 164 (Brown, R-MA) repeals the required withholding of 3% of government payments to contractors starting Jan 1, 2012 Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation ACT (2005), section 511 3% withholding on government payment for contracted services (Federal, State and any state political subdivision making payments >$100M annually) as down-payment on federal tax liability Passed House 10/27/2011 405-16
Senate expected take it up this week Other Legislation of Interest to Urology H.R. 969 (Price, R-GA-6) - Prohibits the HHS Secretary or any state from requiring any health care provider to participate in any health plan as a condition of licensure of the provider in any state STATE ALERT This issue being considered in a few states 2011 model legislation prohibiting participation-based licensure in Kansas, Virginia Other Legislation of Interest to Urology H.R. 1700 (Price, R-GA-6) - establishes a Medicare payment option for patients and physicians or practitioners to freely contract, without penalty, for Medicare fee-for-service
Other State Issues Insurance Exchanges- MD, DC, MA Assignment of Benefits Wins: MD, DE Loss: WV Scope of Practice- NJ, MD, WV, CT MA Healthcare Act 2006- Dr. Hopkins VT single payer system What is UROPAC? UROPAC is the only political action committee dedicated exclusively to advancing the public policy interests of urology.
Voluntary, nonpartisan political action committee that organizes urologists, residents and students who share an interest in electing and retaining pro-urology candidates in Congress. UROPAC is co-sponsored by the American Association of Clinical Urologists (AACU) and the American Urological Association (AUA). UROPAC Income 1992-Present 600000 500000 400000 300000 200000 100000
0 9 19 2 9 19 4 9 19 6
9 19 8 0 20 0 0 20 2
0 20 4 0 20 6 0 20 8 1
20 0 UROPAC- 10th Largest Specialty Physician PAC Specialty Physician PACS 2010 Election Cycle - Receipts Specialty Association American Association for Justice $ American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons $ American Society of Anesthesiologists $
American Medical Association $ American College of Radiologists $ American College of Emergency Physicians $ American College of Ophthalmology $ College of American Pathologists $ American College of Surgeons $ American College of Cardiology $ UROPAC $ American College of Obstetrics &
Gynecology $ American Osteopathic Information Association $ American Academy of Dermatology $ American Academy of Family Physicians $ Receipts for 2009-2010 Cycle Percent of Eligible Members Donating
34,715,804.00 3,791,270.00 27.7% 3,145,915.00 2,345,490.00 2,345,140.00 16.5% --13% 2,245,822.00 1,880,000.00 1,621,634.00
1,345,374.00 1,257,476.00 1,027,662.00 29% 20% 21% 4.2% 10% 18% 934,000.00 4.0% 914,323.00
741,000.00 4.3% 12.0% 714,385.00 3.35% Physicians in Congress- 111th Congress (16) Family Medicine Vic Snyder (D- AR 2) John Flemming (R- LA 4) Paul Broun (R- GA 10) Donna Christensen (D-VI) Psychiatry
Jim McDermott (D- WA 7) OB/GYN Tom Coburn (R-OK) Michael Burgess (R TX 26) Ron Paul (R- TX 14) Phil Roe (R- TN 1) Phil Gingrey (R- GA 11) Allergist Steve Kagan (D- WI 8) GI Bill Cassidy (R- LA 6) CT Surgery Charles Boustany (R- LA 7) Radiation Onc Parker Griffith (R- AL 5)
Orthopedics John Barrasso (R- WY) Tom Price (R- GA 6) Physicians in Congress- 112th Congress (20) Family Medicine John Flemming (R- LA 4) Paul Broun (R- GA 10) Donna Christensen (D-VI) Psychiatry Jim McDermott (D- WA 7) OB/GYN Tom Coburn (R-OK) Michael Burgess (R TX 26) Ron Paul (R- TX 14) Phil Roe (R- TN 1)
Phil Gingrey (R- GA 11) GI Bill Cassidy (R- LA 6) CT Surgery Charles Boustany (R- LA 7) Larry Bucshon (R- IN 8) Orthopedics John Barrasso (R- WY) Tom Price (R- GA 6) General Surgery Dan Benishek (R-MI 1) Anesthesia Andy Harris (R- MD 1) Ophthalmology Nan Hayworth (R- NY 19
Rand Paul (R-KY) Emergency Medicine Ways to Get Involved Leadership Program (sectional program) Northeastern New England New York Mid Atlantic 2 South Central 2 Western 2 North Central 2 Southeastern 3
3 3 3 AACU States Society Network Annual Meeting Every September in Chicago Joint Advocacy Conference AUA/AACU, annually in March in Washington DC Ways to Get Involved Gallagher Health Policy Scholarship Annual award in its 7th year Biannual HP meetings Brandeis (ACS) Health Policy/Leadership course (1 week) AMA RUC meeting
Section Level Participation Section representatives to AUA Board Practice Management Committee Young Urologists Committee Health Policy Council Ways to Get Involved State-level advocacy development Critical unmet need Opportunity for the motivated to immediately assume a leadership role Assemble critical mass of practices Mix of all practice models
Get experienced healthcare counsel Get a lobbyist Incorporate Start making relationships with lawmakers Attend/host fundraisers IF YOU ARE NOT AT THE TABLE YOU WILL SURELY BE ON THE MENU Ways to Get Involved Contribute THANK YOU
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