News from ACOI

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.

Enhance your patient care and management for patients with diabetes with a new certificate program* on the ACOI Online Learning Center. Comprehensive Care for Persons with Diabetes is a 12-part course encompassing the clinical aspects of diabetes care as well as the supportive social pieces.

Read the latest from ACOI members who have received awards, promotions, and other recognitions.

Join Dr. Hermann on this week's podcast and learn how OMT can improve patient outcomes, what additional tools OMT gives osteopathic internists, and more.

Remembering those who have recently passed on.

As many members may know, I am the Dean & Chief Academic Officer of the Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine (OCOM), Central Florida’s first osteopathic medical school. Since I frequently get asked about OCOM by ACOI members, I thought it may be of interest to readers.

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.

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.

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!