Sen.
Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is drafting legislation that would
provide universal, affordable health care to all Americans,
the Washington Times reported on Friday. The goal is to introduce
the bill at the beginning of the next Congressional session
and push for speedy passage, according to aides. The bill
was crafted with bipartisan input from a range of groups,
including lawmakers, business groups, labor unions, consumer
groups, insurance companies, medical professionals, drug manufacturers
and hospitals. The full Washington Times article
is available here.
From
The
Lewin Report: “Dear 44th President...”
Yesterday’s
post
from The Lewin Report, an online
forum for ACC members:
“Politico
on Monday featured my letter in response to the ‘Dear
44’ columns it has run recently offering suggestions
on health care reform — among other topics —
for the 44th president. In my letter, I emphasize the need
for systemic reform and ACC’s evidence-based approach
to high-quality, high-value health care, and...
...
actually, please
look at my letter. I’d like your feedback about
whether what I’m suggesting (ACC policy) is where
YOU think we should be heading.”
What do
you think? Is ACC policy on target? Share your thoughts at
lewinreport.acc.org.
REGULATORY
AND PAYER
Coming
Soon: 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
The
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) later this
week will release the final 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule,
which is likely to include revisions to the anti-markup rule,
RVUs, echocardiography services, cardiac device monitoring
services, the 2009 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative,
as well as interim regulations on electronic prescribing.
Watch ACC.org
for more information following the release of the final rule.
Register
Now for Cardiac Device Monitoring Webinar
In
2009, cardiovascular health care professionals will see a
fundamental shift in coding for cardiac device monitoring
services, including pacemaker and ICD interrogations and programming
sessions, remote monitoring, ICMs and ILRs. CPT 2009 includes
23 new codes for reporting these services. To help members
understand the new structure, the ACC and MedAxiom will hold
a Webinar on November 14 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.EST to discuss the changes. The Webinar is
designed for physicians, practice administrators, coders and
clinical staff and will feature presentations by physicians
who wrote the new codes. Click
here to register now! The Webinar will also available
by dialing (866) 847-7863.
ICD-10
Fact Sheet Now Available
The
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released
a fact sheet on International Classification of Diseases Version
10 (ICD-10) Clinical Modification/Procedure Coding System.
The fact sheet includes information on the benefits of adopting
the new coding system, structural differences between ICD-9
and ICD-10 and implementation of planning recommendations.
CMS has proposed a transition to ICD-10 beginning Oct. 1,
2011. While the ACC supports the transition to ICD-10, it
believes that the proposed timetable will lead to significant
short-term difficulty for the entire healthcare community
and will reduce the long term benefits of this switch. To
read more about the ACC’s position on this transition,
click
here. The CMS fact sheet can be viewed here.
FDA
News Updates
The
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has lifted its moratorium
on the approval of devices manufactured by Boston Scientific
Corp., and granted marketing approval for its Wallstent model.
The stent is intended to reduce the risk of strokes through
its placement in the neck’s carotid artery. In January
2006, the FDA issued a “corporate warning letter”
to Boston Scientific barring the approval of significant new
products because of quality control problems. Although the
ban has been lifted, the formal letter remains in place because
of continued problems with the reporting of complaints and
malfunctions in its devices. Visit Bloomberg/Boston Globe
for additional
coverage.
Thoratec
Corporation has issued a worldwide medical device correction
of the HeartMate II Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAS)
with Catalogue No. 1355 or 102139, which have been distributed
since November 2003. Over time, wear and fatigue of the percutaneous
lead connecting the HeartMate II LVAS blood pump with the
System Controller may result in damage that could interrupt
pump function, require reoperation to replace the pump and
potentially result in serious injury or death. More
information is available on the FDA Web site.
QUALITY
NIH
Gives Additional $1.5M to Study Resuscitation Devices
The
National Institutes of Health has granted an additional $1.5
million in funding for a study testing the results of using
two devices compared to the use of CPR in patients who experience
cardiac arrest outside of a hospital. The two devices, manufactured
by Advanced Circulatory Systems, are ResQPump, an active compression/decompression
device, and ResQPod, a device intended to increase blood flow
to the heart and brain. The funding will be used to increase
enrollment at six testing sites. The testing is necessary
because of the low survival rate for cardiac arrest outside
of a hospital, the company said. More
coverage is available from Cardiovascular Business
Magazine.
Join
a National Dialogue on Health IT, Privacy
Information
technology has the power to dramatically improve our health
care system. But concerns about protecting citizens –
and our most personal information – must be resolved.
How can we use information technology to improve health care,
while safeguarding privacy? Help us find the answer at: http://www.thenationaldialogue.org
Over eight
days beginning Oct. 27, thousands of experts, advocates and
citizens will discuss the thorny issues involved in leveraging
technology to enhance our health system. Sign
up now to participate and ensure your voice is heard.
The results of this online dialogue will be compiled into
a report to the incoming Administration and Federal CIO Council.
For more information about this project, click
here.
