CMS Holds E-Rx Conference, One Month Remains until Release of Final Rule

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) last week held its National E-Prescribing Conference in Boston, Mass., in advance of the release of the final Physician Fee Schedule, which will include instructions on how physicians can report e-prescribing under the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA). The conference provided health care professionals with the knowledge and tools to integrate e-prescribing into their business and generated discussion on e-prescribing. In addition, the conference educated health care professionals about plans surrounding e-prescribing and the PQRI, and addressed concerns about privacy, security and risk management. More than 1,400 health care professionals and industry leaders attended.

Under MIPPA, for 2009, e-prescribing will be removed from the PQRI and included specifically in the e-prescribing incentive program. MIPPA allows physicians who are successful e-prescribers to begin reporting on Jan. 1, 2009, to receive incentive payments of 2 percent of the Medicare-allowed charges. The size of the incentive will decrease to 1 percent in 2011-2012, and 0.5 percent in 2013. Beginning in 2012, physicians who have not adopted e-prescribing will be penalized at 1 percent of Medicare-allowed charges. The penalty size will increase to 1.5 percent in 2013 and to 2 percent in 2014 and thereafter. Physicians may continue to report e-prescribing in the 2008 PQRI (measure #125). The ACC offers tools and resources to members to assist in the adoption and use of health information technology, including a “how-to” guide to help clinicians make informed decisions about how and when to transition from paper to e-prescribing systems. Visit ACC’s Web site at http://www.acc.org/HealthIT for more information.

Deadline Approaches for ICD-10 Comments

October 21 is the deadline for submitting comments to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on its proposed rule that would mandate the use of the International Classification of Diseases Version 10 (ICD-10) on all health care transactions starting on Oct. 1, 2011. This would replace the 13,000 existing ICD-9 diagnosis codes with more than 68,000 ICD-10 diagnosis codes. ICD-10 codes are a different format, and thus would require all codes to be reformatted. The proposed rule does not include a transition period during which both sets of codes may be used.

Although use of the ICD-10 classification system could result in more precise descriptions of diseases that would improve public health reporting and pay-for-performance reporting, it might also result in significant costs and administrative problems for hospitals and offices. The ACC is drafting a comment letter that will outline the College’s serious concerns about the implementation timeline and urge HHS to adopt a slower transition. The proposed rule can be found in the Federal Register here. The ACC encourages chapters and members to comment on the rule. To submit comments, visit http://www.regulations.gov and enter “E8-19298” in the search box, or send written comments to:

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services

Attention: CMS -0013-P
P.O. Box 8016
Baltimore, MD 21244-8016

Medicare Web Site Includes New Rx Drug, Health Plan Information

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last week announced that its Web site (http://www.medicare.gov) now features prescription drug plan and health plan information, in advance of the open enrollment period from November 15 through December 31. The 2009 Plan Finder allow beneficiaries to compare prescription drug coverage from both stand-alone Prescription Drug Plans and Medicare Advantage plans that provide prescription drug coverage, and to view premiums, formularies and availability of coverage in the gap. Additionally, the 2009 Medicare Options Compare tool allows beneficiaries to compare Medicare health plans options, among many other tools. The same information is available to individuals without Internet access by calling 1-800-MEDICARE or by visiting a local State Health Insurance Assistance Program office. For more information, click here.

FDA News Updates

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted market approval to Boston Scientific for its second-generation Taxus Liberte paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system. The company will begin to market the device after it completes the introduction of its Taxus Express2 Atom paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system, which the FDA approved last month. FDA in 2006 banned for two years the Taxus Liberte system because of manufacturing violations. View additional coverage from Cardiovascular Business Magazine.

The FDA on October 7 approved a Humanitarian Device Exemption for the first heart pump that provides certain critically ill patients with temporary support for the hearts right ventricle, to be used when other therapies have failed. The pump, call the CentriMag Right Ventricular Assist System, passes oxygen-depleted blood to the lungs to be refreshed with oxygen. Safety data from two multi-center clinical trials showed that the CentriMag system does not expose patients to an unreasonable risk and the probable health benefit from use of the device outweighs the risk. For more information, visit the FDA Web site.

Recent CVN Segment Discusses Health Care Reform

Cardiosource Video Network’s (CVN) “The Lewin Report” recently featured a segment on the importance of health care reform. The segment features comments from ACC President Douglas Weaver, M.D., F.A.C.C., ACC CEO Jack Lewin, M.D., and Reps. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas), at a press briefing held last month. Rep. Capps said, “The Quality First campaign ... I think says it all. Patients -- people in general -- want quality care, and have always expected it and now finally ... there’s kind of a wake up call in the country about that something’s not quite right in health care. We need to be really working on this.” View the segment in full by clicking here.

Health Care’s Future, According to the Candidates

The ACC’s Quality First Web site features a new document that compares the health proposals of the major presidential candidates, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), to the health care reform vision of the College. The College is actively pursuing areas of synergy in which it can work collaboratively with the future president on health care reform.

From The Lewin Report: A Scary Fix

A recent post from The Lewin Report, an online forum for ACC members: The Congressional $700 billion fix of the Wall Street banking and credit mess might have stabilized our 401(k)s for awhile, but doesn’t leave much on the table for health care next year. Note that the SGR “fix” would add over $300 billion to the national debt. But major leaders in the House and Senate still believe major reforms will proceed in 2009.

What do you think? Will major health care reform proceed, despite the economic fallout? Share your thoughts at lewinreport.acc.org.