Read the latest updates from ACOI members who have received promotions, awards, and other recognitions. Hear about new and exciting projects spearheaded by members. ACOI also remembers those who we have lost.
Still No Action from Congress on Medicare Payment Cut
ACOI is renewing its Call to Action and encouraging every ACOI member to ask their members of Congress to make physician payment relief a priority. With the payment cut already in place, if lawmakers do not hear from physicians, they may construe the silence as a signal the 3.37 percent cut is not being felt by physicians and will not harm beneficiary access to care.
Turning Frustration into Action – Dr. Tatapudi is on a Mission to Bring Humanity to Medicine
A first-generation American, Suhas Tatapudi, DO, PGY-1, grew up always wanting to become a doctor. In high school, Dr. Tatapudi, DO, PGY-1, felt frustration standing at his mother’s hospital bedside. A chronic illness kept her in and out of hospitals during his teen years and what he witnessed was a system that didn’t compassionately conform to the needs of patients. Unfamiliar jargon, disturbing noises, robotic-acting medical teams, and minimal communications began to form his perceptions of healthcare. A loving son witnessing his mother being treated impersonally - as simply a cog in an inefficient wheel - didn’t sit well with him.
What does it mean and when can it be used? The descriptor for this add-on code reads, “Visit complexity inherent to evaluation and management associated with medical care services that serve as the continuing focal point for all needed health care services and or with medical care services that are part of ongoing care related to a patient’s single, serious condition or a complex condition.” After the 2021 PFS Final Rule was released, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021 imposed a moratorium on Medicare payment for this service. It prohibited CMS from making payment for the G2211 code before January 1, 2024. The code was assigned a bundled payment status.
The ACOI 2024 Spring Meetings are being held earlier this year and they’re going to be here before you know it. This year they are scheduled for April 8-12. That’s good news for internists looking to get a head start on their 2024 CME goals!
2023 was the warmest year on record in the United States and abroad. Climate change is already exacerbating existing health problems and leading to the emergence of new health threats.
As we begin a new year, many of us will think of new beginnings. We don’t need to wait until January of every year to start fresh. Popular poet, Juansen Dizon, wrote “I hope you realize that every day is a fresh start for you. That every sunrise is a new chapter in your life waiting to be written.” We can write new chapters every day, and our story can take a new course any time in the year, not just on January 1.
Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule for 2024 Highlights
The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Final Rule was released on November 3, 2023. Included in the final rule are significant policy changes for 2024 of which offices and physicians should be aware.
Joanne K. Baker, DO, FACOI, ACOI 2023 Teacher of the Year, Reflects on her Career as an Education Pioneer
“It really took me back when I when I found out I was getting this; it was so humbling,” she says. “My entire career has been about teaching, and I've been involved with students and residents since I was a resident. That's when I fell in love with teaching. I don't do it for awards or accolades. So, it caught me off guard to even think that one of my residents would even think to nominate me because it's just part of what I do every day and I get such joy out of it”.
ACOI Congratulates Jennie H. Kwon, DO, MSCI on PACCARB Appointment
ACOI was honored to help support Dr. Kwon’s nomination to PACCARB.
“Dr. Kwon has an impressive track record of antimicrobial resistance research (AMR),” said ACOI President Robert T. Hasty, DO, FACOI, FACP. “PACCARB is fortunate to have the value of her expertise, including her work on strategies to prevent transmission of AMR.”
The CY 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule released on November 3 finalizes a 2024 conversion factor — the starting point for calculating physician payments — of $32.74, a decrease of $1.15 (or 3.37%) from the CY2023 conversion factor of $33.89. Roughly 90 percent of the cut is attributed to fee schedule budget neutrality requirements triggered by the impending January 1, 2024, implementation of G2211, an office/outpatient evaluation and management visit complexity add-on code.
