APMA News Brief
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September 3, 2015 In This Issue
National News
What PATIENTS Are Reading
National News
Nearly a third of the roughly 50 million elderly Americans who depend on Medicare for their physician care and other health services could see their premiums jump by 52 percent or more next year.
 
We live in an era where health care consumers desire data to make informed decisions about where they will seek care and from whom. But what is full disclosure and is it healthy?
 
In early July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services struck a deal with the American Medical Association in which CMS agreed to a one-year Medicare payment accommodation period after the ICD-10 October 1 compliance date in which claims incorrectly coded would be paid as long as they are coded in the appropriate family of codes. But, what about state Medicaid agencies and private insurance companies? Where are their accommodations for providers?
 
Legislation overturning the Affordable Care Act's expansion of the small group insurance market is likely to get a look this fall, according to multiple sources on and off Capitol Hill, and it may be the Obamacare "fix" with the best chance of becoming law.
 
The Pedorthic Footcare Association and American Podiatric Medical Association Combined Meeting was the first of its kind, bringing podiatrists and pedorthists together to learn more about each other's work and the ways in which they can collaborate.
 
It’s estimated toenail fungus affects 2 to 18 percent of the worldwide population, or about 35 million people. It can be embarrassing and unsightly, but treatable. Laser treatment for toenail fungus is growing in popularity.
 
Darco International, Inc.
Naylor Association Solutions
What Patients are Reading
A class of diabetes drugs that include Merck & Co Inc's Januvia has been linked with severe joint pain, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.
 
Bunions, plantar fasciitis, hammertoes and pain in the ball of the foot, among others, can be treated, before a patient goes under the knife, podiatrists say.
 
More than 38 million people go hiking each year in the United States, but many do so without proper footwear and other gear that can reduce their risk of foot and ankle injuries, an expert says.
 
Patients with gout have a modest 13 to 21 percent increased risk for developing atrial fibrillation, a population-based study found.
 
Young adults with high blood pressure who drink four or more cups of coffee per day are four times as likely to have a cardiovascular event as those who abstain from the beverage, according to a 12-year study in Italy.
 
Diabetes drugs are the most expensive of any major class of pharmaceuticals. But why, and is anything being done about it?
 
Authors of a recent study at the Paul and Margaret Brand Research Center at Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine found therapeutic or protective footwear and insoles, coupled with additional footwear modifications and regular clinic visits, dramatically reduced the incidence of recurring foot ulcers among patients with diabetes.
 
TLD Systems
The Goldfarb Foundation
Texas Podiatric Medical Association
Bizmatics, Inc.
Last Thursday's "Countdown to ICD-10" MLN National Provider Call β€” featuring Andy Slavitt, Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Sue Bowman, Senior Director of Coding Policy and Compliance at the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), and Nelly Leon-Chisen, Director of Coding and Classification at the American Hospital Association (AHA), and other officials β€” aimed to educate and update the health care industry about ICD-10 implementation.
 
Medicare officials have before them a draft rule that would increase the suffering of hundreds of thousands of men and women who are working hard to make their way in the world as amputees. It is not an exaggeration to say that research into advanced prosthetics will not only cease but the standard of care will regress.
 
A patent law change sought by the pharmaceutical industry could cost federal health care programs $1.3 billion over a decade by delaying new generic medicines, an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office found this summer.
 
The Affordable Care Act served dessert first, offering subsidized health coverage across the country before some of its less popular provisions were scheduled to take effect. But the government soon will start asking the country to eat its vegetables as cost-control measures phase in β€” and a lot of powerful lobbies are going to fight back.
 
BNA Burz North America American Society of Podiatric Medical Assistants Ortho-Dynamics Orthotic Laboratory PAL Health Technologies
 

 

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