Shaping LSMS Policy

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****CALL TO ACTION****

Dear OPMS ,

Take Action Now!!

House Bill 1030 by Rep. Karen St. Gemain seeks to exempt ANY publicly employed or fire department associated (i.e. in volunteer departments) EMT from certification and disciplinary actions by the LA Emergency Medical Services Certification Commission.

Please contact the members of the House in OPPOSITION to House Bill 1030 by clicking eAdvocacy to Read more and Take Action.

Louisiana State Medical Society
6767 Perkins Road, Suite 100
Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4263
225.763.8500 • 1.800.375.9508
225.763.9881 fax

A Word from Our LSMS President

January 8, 2010
A Word from Our President

This is my last President’s Update message, and I wish to thank all of you for the opportunity you have given me to serve as your LSMS president over the past year. Beginning with health system reform in our state and struggling with national health system reform over the last many months, it has been a busy year for LSMS. The LSMS President’s Update has attempted to keep our members informed and current on the many issues facing medicine and physicians in our state. We have received wonderful feedback and ideas from our members, and I hope that you will all continue to read this important information as Dr. Patrick Breaux assumes the presidency of the LSMS. The events of the past year have highlighted the great need for physicians to be involved in the LSMS and to have their voices heard in the public arena. Whatever the outcome of national legislation, there will be a monumental amount of work to do to properly influence the direction of health care reform in our state. Please stay involved and continue to urge our non-member colleagues to join us. The public and elected officials are looking to us for guidance on health care delivery issues. We cannot let them down. God bless you all and the happiest of New Years.

Roger D. Smith, M.D.

2010 Annual Meeting of the HOD

The 2010 Annual Meeting will be held January 29-30 at the L’auberge du Lac Casino and Golf Resort in Lake Charles. LSMS Members are encouraged to log in and access specific information regarding the House of Delegates, including guidelines for submitting and formatting resolutions. Look for Governance in the Members Only menu. The House of Delegates is the legislative and policy-making body of the LSMS and is composed of elected and special delegates and others as provided in the LSMS Bylaws. The House of Delegates transacts all business of the Society not otherwise specifically provided for in the LSMS Charter and Bylaws, elects general officers (in accordance with the Bylaws), adopts an annual budget and establishes the official policies of the Society.

Luck of the Draw!

In addition to the items offered by our event sponsors and exhibitors, meeting attendees may participate in the LSMS Luck of the Draw game for a chance to win up to $500 in cash. Five marked cards, each worth $100, will be randomly placed within decks of playing cards given to each sponsor/exhibitor. When visiting a sponsor/exhibitor’s booth, participants will have a chance to draw a playing card from the deck. The more cards you draw, the higher your chances to win!

The names of the winner(s) will be announced at approximately 11 am on Saturday, January 30, 2010. Winner must be present with a photo ID to claim prize.

National Health System Reform
The Kaiser Family Foundation has updated its interactive side-by-side health reform comparison tool to reflect the Senate bill as passed by the full Senate on Dec. 24. A separate interactive calculator helps to illustrate what assistance the uninsured would get with premiums under the House and Senate reform plans. To view the comparison, go to www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm. Continue to check www.LSMS.org for breaking news and the latest information on national health care reform.

DHH Outlines Mid-Year Reductions

On December 30, 2009, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine announced mid-year reductions in department spending of state general funds, and proposed utilization of other means of financing, in order to offset a $108 million deficit in available funding. DHH's reductions are part of an overall across the board mid-year reduction plan for each agency to help address the state's mid-year budget deficit, and is supplemental to the Department's now downward-revised mid-year expenditure deficit in the Medicaid private provider program of $46.9 million. Read the entire news release for details on mid-year cuts.

Payment for Claims to be Held Until Jan 15

Annual Participation Enrollment Period Extended

In the last weeks of 2009, Congress acted to avert the 21.2% Medicare physician payment cut and on December 19, the President signed into law the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3326) which will stop the cuts until March 1, 2010. Other changes reflected in the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule will still take effect on January 1, 2010 and may have a slight impact on the conversion factor used for the first two months of 2010. For more information visit www.lamedicare.com/provider/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=8034. Consequently, CMS has extended the 2010 Annual Participation Enrollment Program end date from January 31, 2010, to March 17, 2010, therefore, the enrollment period now runs from November 13, 2009, through March 17, 2010. The effective date for any Participation status change during the extension, however, remains January 1, 2010, and will be in force for the entire year.

CMS Transmittal on Consultation Codes

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published an article pertaining to Change Request (CR) 6740, which alerts physicians and non-physician practitioners that effective January 1, 2010, the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) consultation codes (ranges 99241-99245 and 99251-99255) are no longer recognized for Medicare Part B payment. Effective for services furnished on or after January 1, 2010, physicians and non-physician practitioners should code a patient evaluation and management visit with E/M codes that represents where the visit occurs and that identify the complexity of the visit performed. For more information, please view the article located at: www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM6740.pdf on the CMS Web site.

LSMS Expands Member Benefits with Venyu’s AmeriVault Backup Service

The LSMS has partnered with leading offsite data backup and recovery provider, Venyu to bring you secure patient and practice data backup through their proven AmeriVault backup service. LSMS members will receive discounts on Venyu’s competitive subscription rates. As an independent subsidiary of healthcare IT services provider, PHNS, Venyu leverages vast experience and capabilities that enable deep understanding of the needs specific to the medical field. From HIPAA compliance to military-grade security controls, Venyu’s backup solution will ensure rapid recovery of information in the event of an outage or data-loss event.

Venyu is the official backup provider of the LSMS – join the growing number of healthcare providers who depend on Venyu for reliable and secure data backup. Setup is easy with the ‘hands-on’ assistance of Venyu’s support team, there is no hardware to buy, and you can start with a 30-day trial evaluation. Call or email Andy Piner to schedule a trial or to learn more: 225-214-3800 or apiner@venyu.com.

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Shaping LSMS Policy

How to Submit a Resolution to the LSMS House of Delegates

You are encouraged to evaluate medical policy, medical practice, and/or marketplace concerns which affect your ability to provide quality patient care as possible resolutions.

OPMS Members

OPMS participation ensures our voice in medical policy and medical practice issues. In addition, the decisions made at the House of Delegates drive the actions of the office of Governmental Affairs during the legislative sessions. Moreover, actions taken at the LSMS level are advanced to the AMA level by our AMA Delegation at the Annual and Interim meetings. We have offered a number of resolutions over the years which have influenced AMA policy on a national level.
If you or other OPMS members have issues which could best be addressed by submitting a resolution for House consideration, please use the following format and submit to Susan D'Antoni 45 days before the LSMS House of Delegates meeting. (See calendar for dates.) These resolutions can be submitted through a standing committee of OPMS to the Executive Committee or the Executive Committee directly. You are encouraged to evaluate medical policy, medical practice, and/or marketplace concerns which affect your ability to provide quality patient care as possible resolutions.
If you have any specific questions, e-mail Susan D'Antoni, OPMS Executive Director.

LSMS Message

The House of Delegates is the legislative and policy-making body of the LSMS and is composed of elected delegates and others as provided by the Bylaws. The House of Delegates transacts all business of the Society not otherwise specifically provided for in the Charter and Bylaws, and elects the general officers, except as otherwise provided in the Bylaws. The apportionment of delegates from each parish society is one delegate and one alternate for each 25 members or fraction thereof of the active, dues-exempt, academic and resident members recorded in the office of the Secretary-Treasurer of the Louisiana State Medical Society on June 1 of each year.
OPMS has 44 delegate seats for 1998.

Who May Submit a Resolution

Resolutions may be presented by a delegate, an alternate delegate, a component society, a general officer of the Society, the Board of Governors, a standing committee of the LSMS, or a standing committee of the House of Delegates. (LSMS Article VIII, E; Article IX, F; Article XI, G., 2.)

Procedure for Submission

To be considered regular business, resolutions must be presented in writing to the Speaker of the House of Delegates, at LSMS Headquarters no later than 45 days before the opening session of the House of Delegates. (Article XI, G., 2.)
Before submitting a resolution, chekc the LSMS Policy Compendium, available fro LSMS Headquarters or your Component Society, for existin policies that may already address the subject of your resolution.
A resolution presented later than 45 days will be considered new business by the House only when it meets one or more of the following criteria: (1) It is presented by the President of the LSMS; (2) It is presented by the Board of Governors; (3) It is declared an emergency item by the President, Speaker and Vice Speaker acting as a committeeof the House; or (4) It is accepted by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the House. Resolutions requiring two-thirds (2/3) vote will be referred to the Committee on Rules and Order of Business. The author of the resolution or their designee will meet with the Committee to discuss the reasons for the late submisstion. The committee then submits a report to the House with its recommendations concerning these resolutions.

Explanation of Guidelines

Resolutions must be submitted in the manner and time frame outlined above to allow the Speakers time to review resolutions to make sure their content can be clearly understood and to arrange the order of consideration. Resolutions are grouped by subject when presented to the House. Also, the staff must have adequate time for retyping, printing and sorting for the advance mailing to delegates and component societies, and for the inclusion in the Delegate's Handbook.

Formatting the Resolution

Resolutions should be submitted in the form outlined in the Sample Resolution (shown below). The title reflect the action for which the resolution calls. The whereas should accurately support or document the resolve(s). It is the responsibility of the author to ensure the accuracy of the material contained in the resolution. The resolve(s) should not stand alone, since the House adopts only the resolve(s) and not the whereas section of a resolution. A fiscal note should be attached if any expenditure of funds is anticipated. Attention should be paid to grammar, spelling, and sentence structure to ensure that the intent of the resolution is stated as clearly as possible.
If you would like assistance with the mechanics of writing a resolution, send a rough copy and the fiscal note, if appropriate, with any supporting documents to Society Headquarters.

Sample Resolution Resolution No. 37

INTRODUCED BY:	Board of Governors
SUBJECT:	Patient Advocacy

    WHEREAS, the physician has the duty to care for and about his or her patient as well as possible, and
    WHEREAS, the patient should look to the physician for scientifically shoud, cost effective, and artistically delivered medical and surgical management, be it therefore
    RESOLVED, that the LSMS undertake a public relations project to emphasize to LSMS members and to the public-at-large the logical and legitimate role of the physician as the patient's advoc ate in matters of health care delivery.
FISCAL NOTE:    None

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