March 2017
Welcome to BOC Now! This newsletter is a way to share information from our recent meeting and communicate with our constituents: practicing orthopaedic surgeons, colleagues, new candidates/fellows, residents and fellows, state societies, our leadership line and the BOS and LFP. Take what you’d like out of this newsletter and SHARE it with your key stakeholders! Attached is word document version which you can edit.
NOLC 2017: An excellent array of speakers will present seven Symposia in Washington, DC, April 27 – 29, 2017. The NOLC meeting agenda is available online: http://www.aaos.org/About/House_of_Orthopaedics/Events/NOLC/NOLC_Meeting_Registration/. Housing and registration are closing soon, so be sure not to miss the deadline.
BOC Booth at Annual Meeting 2017: The BOC had a kiosk within the AAOS Resource Center (Booth #1423) which was directly adjacent to the PAC booth (Booth #1625). Our goals were to increase awareness of the BOC, educate the membership about the BOC’s role within the Academy, and to promote PAC participation. Thank you to those that volunteered your time! The space served the Fellows of AAOS by familiarizing them with and connecting them to their state or regional Councilors. Booth traffic and return on investment is currently being analyzed and future plans will be discussed by the BOC Executive Committee.
Key BOC Committee Takeaways
Economics Committee:
- ACA healthcare “repeal & replace” reform current issues. It is a complicated process initiated by the “American Healthcare Act”. AAOS is interested in issues of IPAB repeal, tort reform, physician owned hospitals, and decreasing administrative burdens for physicians. http://www.aaos.org/Advocacy/AffordableCareAct/.
- Bundled Payments. There is general consensus that this form of payment for services will steadily expand in coming years. The AAOS and current presidential administration support voluntary implementation rather than mandated geographic based as the optimal process for success.
- MACRA from CMS for Medicare reimbursement is not likely to see any significant structural changes from the final rules published recently. The AAOS seeks any tweaks that will decrease administrative burdens.
Contact Catherine Boudreaux or Jeffrey Angel, MD for more information.
State, Legislative and Regulatory Issues Committee (SLRI):
- SLRI has $90,000 in grants per year that they have available to award to state orthopaedic societies. Priority is given to states which are involved in legislative battles that other states orthopedic societies could potentially face. For instance, a recent grant has enabled the South Carolina Orthopaedic Association to finally win a judgment from the SC Supreme Court against the South Carolina Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association that will allow physicians in that state to employ physical therapists.
- Another grant helped to win a ruling that will allow Massachusetts orthopaedic surgeons to build ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Previously, only hospitals in Massachusetts could qualify for a certificate of need for ASCs.
- Many states are looking for revenue sources to make up for economic shortfalls. The New York State Society of Orthopaedic Surgeons successfully led efforts to oppose sweeping workers’ compensation changes proposed under the Governor’s budget. They used a grant from the SLRI to organize grassroots action to oppose the changes that would significantly decrease compensation.
- Another issue that comes up frequently pertains to the scope of practice of other medical providers. A grant was given this year to California in their legal fight to keep podiatrists from being labeled as “physicians and surgeons.” If they are given this designation then they would become eligible to participate in a wider array of insurance plans.
- Insurance companies are increasingly subjecting policy holders to narrower networks of physicians to decrease costs. Balance billing refers to the out of network physicians’ ability to bill patients for an outstanding balance not paid by the insurance company. At least two bills dealing with balance billing are expected to be filed this session in the Tennessee legislature – one from the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance and one from the Tennessee Farm Bureau. A grant was given to the Tennessee Orthopaedic Society to thwart unfair restrictions on balance billing.
Contact Manthan Bhatt and Chris Kontogianis, MD for more information.
State Societies Committee:
The BOC SOS committee met at the AAOS Annual Meeting and reviewed the AAOS State Orthopaedic Society Assistance Fund grant history with discussion of beneficial key grants since the start of the fund in 2008. This funding, all states initiatives, and networking has been extremely beneficial to state orthopaedic societies and it was strongly recommended that this funding continue. Ongoing membership assistance, resource sharing, and state PAC guidance is needed to be responsive for members, particularly for smaller states with less resources. There was a review of BOC strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, and a reaffirmation of the SOS committee goals and charges.
The April 2016 State Orthopaedic Society survey was reviewed and key points will be shared at the NOLC during the Symposium: The Viability of State Orthopaedic Societies in the Future, which will be on Saturday morning. The symposium will provide a forum to focus on the ways in which state societies have succeeded and struggled, ultimately the lessons learned from those successes and struggles, and to discuss resources available from the AAOS to encourage state society membership.
Contact Jim Slough, MD, Greg Gallant, MD, or Erin Volland.
Advocacy Resource Committee and Communications Committee: Did not meet in San Diego.
For more information about ARC, contact Dean Schueller, MD or Julia Williams, or for Communications, contact Thomas Muzzonigro, MD or Lauren Pearson Riley.
BOC Awareness Video: Councilors are encouraged to share this video at any state or regional society meeting. The video can be downloaded and is posted online at http://www.aaos.org/About/Board_of_Councilors/.
A new pilot program, Communities in Motion, was held on Tuesday, March 14, 2017 in San Diego at the Spring Valley East Community Center, the location of the Academy’s 2011 Family Fitness and Fun Park playground build. More than 100 people came out to participate in the event which featured orthopaedic surgeons leading interactive exercise stations to encourage families to be active together to help build strong bones for life. Photos are available at ANationInMotion.org/communities and the AAOS Communications Cabinet will evaluate success and determine next steps for a 2018 event. Thank you to all our sponsors and volunteers.
Upcoming BOC projects include leveraging the AAOS Community as a repository for BOC-business, slides, toolkits, etc. Each Councilor will be auto-subscribed soon, so keep an eye out for that email. You will have to go into the Community and update your preferences to determine how frequently you’ll receive information. In the meantime, visit www.aaos.org/BOC to learn more about how the BOC works with and for you.
Thank you to our BOC volunteers who helped assemble this BOC Now content. A special shout-out to BOC members Jeff Nakano, Todd Schmidt and Dave Cannon for content creation and to committee chairs Jim Slough, Jeff Angel, and Christopher Kontogianis for content creation and review.
Please feel free to reach out directly to me at Muzzy@tririversortho.com, 412-780-9961, or Lauren Pearson Riley at pearson@aaos.org, 847-384-4031 with comments, suggestions and ideas for improving the BOC Now. See y’all in DC at the NOLC.
Muzzy
Tom Muzzonigro, MD
BOC Communications Committee Chair