News from ACOI

On February 21, Change Healthcare, which is owned by UnitedHealth Group (UHG), experienced a cyberattack that has taken its systems offline. Change’s IT platform connects health care providers and pharmacies with payers. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced physician practices impacted by the Change Healthcare cyberattack can request advanced Medicare payments to help with cash flow disruptions.

Peter G. Gulick, DO, MACOI, and Jeffrey A. Gulick, DO, FACOI, and Robert L. DiGiovanni, DO, MACOI, and Ernest L. DiGiovanni, DO, FACOI, are the first father/son pairs in recent history to be inducted as ACOI Fellows and Master Fellows simultaneously. While the Fellows Convocation featured 35 individuals receiving their FACOI designation and 15 DOs receiving their MACOI designation, rarely has an event featured family duos.

Since early 2023, ACOI, alongside the entire physician community, has been calling on Congress to stop the entire cut. Over the past six months, ACOI members sent more than 750 messages to Congress asking for payment cut relief.

I had the honor of giving the “first lecture” in the brand new OCOM (Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine) building recently as part of our faculty development series. My presentation was focused on how to give effective presentations.

Telemedicine was in use before the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) with specific rules and regulations published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

For over three decades, when you think about the American College of Osteopathic Internists (ACOI), you think about Susan Stacy, FACOI. Her retirement signals the end to a remarkable journey marking over 30 years of service to the ACOI.

February is Black History Month. Environmental justice will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards, and equal access to the decision-making process to live, learn, and work in a healthy environment.

As we embark on another year of celebrating excellence in osteopathic internal medicine, the American College of Osteopathic Internists (ACOI) is pleased to announce that nominations are now open for the 2024 Awards.

On January 17, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a long-awaited final rule that makes improvements to prior authorization practices used by health insurers. Under the rule, Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations, state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Fee-for-Service (FFS) programs, Medicaid managed care plans, CHIP managed care entities, and Qualified Health Plan (QHP) issuers on the Federally Facilitated Exchanges (FFEs) will be required to streamline prior authorization processes.

As a physician, you've dedicated years to honing your skills, earning the trust of your peers and patients alike. Now, it's time to showcase your commitment to excellence by becoming a Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Internists (ACOI). Nominations for the prestigious Fellow designation are now open, with the application deadline set for May 31, 2024.

A bipartisan group of senators have joined together to tackle Medicare physician payment reform. The senators have committed to investigating shortcomings of the physician fee schedule (PFS) and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) to propose long-term reforms. The announcement of the working group comes as physicians are suffering a 3.37% Medicare payment reduction that took effect on January 1, 2024. Congress still has the opportunity to reverse or mitigate the cut. ACOI encourages our members ask lawmakers to intervene.

This year we’re giving members the chance to choose your own adventure—access to both meetings at a discounted cost. Select the sessions that make the most sense for you. You can keep up with the latest in hospital medicine with the 2024 Clinical Challenges in Hospital Medicine and review core topics with the 2024 Internal Medicine Comprehensive Update.