HONORING OUR IMMEDIATE PAST CHAPTER SECRETARY:
Kathy Bosche, CMM, Secretary, was honored during the March Meeting for her amazing organization skills she has provided to Pikes Peak PAHCOM for more than 10 years. She was presented with the chapter's Secretary Award and a Lifetime Membership Certificate to Pikes Peak PAHCOM. Her organizational skills were a gift that we each received!
ICD-10 IMPLEMENTATION DELAYED: Officially delayed, President Obama signed the "Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014" legislation! No one expected this!!!! It was only added to the legislation 2-days before it was presented to Congress. Congressional leaders did not even debate the provision nor did they ask Medicare (CMS)! It is delayed at least a year but we have not heard any official date from CMS! What does this mean for your practice, PP-PAHCOM????? The words are: STAY CALM and CARRY ON!!! For This Week!!
UPCOMING MEETINGS: Mark your calendars!
· TOMORROW April 3, 2014 -- Employment Law -- Ray Deeny, Sherman & Howard Attorneys, MAC, 8:00 a.m.; 7:30 a.m. networking!
· April 9, 2014 -- El Paso County Medical Society Office Managers' Association (OMA) Meeting -- Stress Management-- MAC, 8:00 a.m.
· April 16, 2014 -- Special Breakfast Club Meeting & Co-Sponsor CMGMA -- 2014 Medical Education Collaborative Meeting with area educational institutions -Judy Boesen, Chair, MAC, 7:00 a.m.
· April 23-25, 2014 4-Corners MGMA Regional Conference, Phoenix, AZ. The conference theme: "Turn Your Health Care Mirage into an Oasis." Please visit the Colorado MGMA website -- www.cmgma.com for additional details.
· May 8, 2014 -- Patient Centered Medical Home & Specialty Practice Designation -- Dr. Austin Bailey, MAC, 8:00 a.m. & a Brief Update on where the Memorial Hospital System is with ICD-10. Event will be co-sponsored by Memorial Hospital and held at the Olympic Training Center Venue. You will need to show a Picture ID for security purposes. PP-PAHCOM will have a membership drive table.
DO NOT CHANGE YOUR PLANS FOR ICD-10 IMPLEMENTATION!! KEEP YOUR PLANS MOVING -- October 2015! MORE TIME TO TRAIN PROVIDERS IS NOT A BAD THING!!
A SUMMER OF ICD-10!!!!! You will be prepared!!!!
WHAT WILL EVERYONE LIKE TO SEE IN THESE MEETINGS???
· June 12, 2014--ICD-10 Workshop--Denny Flint, Complete Practice Resources, 4 hour meeting -- 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. *Different Location @ the MAC.
· June 14, 2014 (Saturday) -- AAPC -- Colorado Springs Chapter-- ICD-10 CM Coding Extravaganza! Speaker: Robin Linker: CPC-I, CHCA, CHCAS, CCS-P, etc. Good one to get billers & coders to attend. $125.00.
· July 17, 2014--More ICD-10 from one of our ICD-10 Consultants. ICD-10 is so important that we will schedule a regular meeting this year! No Boulder Park lunch!!, MAC, 8:00 a.m.
· August --TBD -- More ICD-10 and will be a regular scheduled meeting. MAC, 8:00 a.m. Two large payers in the COS area are UHC & Tricare. We will be inviting Aaron Sapp, ICD-10 Implementation Director for UHC & someone from Tricare to provide some tools and information regarding their progress and where they can help with helping practices with ICD-10 implementation & post-implementation?
FUTURE PROGRAMS IN DEVELOPMENT:
· September 18, 2014 -- The Annual Regional Payer Meeting. This will be after Labor Day and will not conflict with the Fall CMGMA Meeting in Denver. Breakfast Club will send "Save-The-Date Notice" soon to the payers. Mark Your Calendars Now!
· October 2014 -- No "Official" Chapter Meeting -- 26th Annual National PAHCOM Conference, Clearwater Beach, Florida!!!
· November 19, 2014, MAC, 8:00 a.m. -- Topic to be determined!
· December 11, 2014 -- Annual Holiday Celebration, Empty Stocking Fund Auction! MAC, 8:00 a.m.
· WINTER WEATHER -- MEETING CANCELLATIONS/POSTPONED: The Pikes Peak PAHCOM Meetings during the winter months will be postponed if District 11 (D-11) is closed on the meeting days. This is posted on all area TV stations and websites. If there is enough notice, something will go out through the national website email system and you would receive an email but otherwise we will follow the D-11 Rule. We really try not to cancel or postpone but many of our speakers come from Denver in inclement weather and it can be difficult travel.
MEMBERSHIP:
New Pikes Peak PAHCOM Members: Welcome to PP-PAHCOM!
Shane Everett, Assistant Manager, ExpressCare Plus
Teresa White, Practice Administrator, Blue Skies Center for Women
Membership with Pikes Peak PAHCOM requires both a National PAHCOM Membership and PP-PAHCOM Chapter Membership! Yes, there are separate dues $$! Renewals for National PAHCOM Membership are completed on-line; renewals for Pikes Peak PAHCOM will be emailed from the New Membership Director -- Val Chavez, CMM! Please keep both memberships current! If you are a CMM or HITCM-PP do not let your recertification(s) expire every other year.
· Did you know that you can save $100 when renewing the National PAHCOM Membership by choosing "auto renewal." This does require a secure credit card to be on file.
· PAHCOM's mission is about Sharing Knowledge ---- recruit your colleagues!! We need more Pikes Peak PAHCOM members!! Bonus $$ -- a discount on your next chapter renewal when you refer a new member to join!! Surprise, ICD-10 Delay, No One Expected!
OTHER IMPORANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:
· Visit the National PAHCOM Website often -- lots going on! www.pahcom.com. PP-PAHCOM Chapter Meeting Notices will be posted through the National PAHCOM website. You can now upload your photo to your membership profile.
· National Office: Please keep our National Executive Director, Karen Blanchette and her husband Dan Labelle in your thoughts and send "positive energy" and/or prayers their way as Karen has requested. Her husband Dan is currently undergoing second opinions. For those of you that have attended a last few National Conferences, Dan is Karen's right hand at these conferences and such a great person! Pikes Peak PAHCOM sends A LOT of Positive Energy to Florida to Dan & Karen!
· Physician Reimbursement: Medicare (Novitas) is holding claims until April 14th due to the law being passed "Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014" (temporary SGR Fix). Thank you to those who email your congressional leaders to help physician reimbursements not be decreased by -24%. ICD-10 Delay was not part of our request!!
· Two Important Colorado Salary Surveys :
PAHCOM National Salary Survey: Deadline has passed to complete and the results will be available later on - www.pahcom.com. The cost is $450 if you did not participate.
CMGMA State Salary Survey now open, please complete. In order to receive the information, you have to participate. www.checkpoint.cmgma.com
· United Healthcare Administrative Advisory Board Meeting Report : Did you know that three Pikes Peak PAHCOM Members serve on the UHC Advisory Board:
Chris Hall, CMM, Mountain View Medical Group
Judy Spurgeon, Colorado Springs Dermatology
Sandra Robben-Weber, CMM, HITCM-PP, Colorado Springs Pulmonary Consultants
The meeting was a full presentation on ICD-10 as noted previously!!
MARCH 2014 PIKES PEAK PAHCOM MEETING SPONSORS RECOGNIZED:
· Corporate Sponsor(s): Debbie Carlson, Sponsors' Director.
PENRAD IMAGING: Please contact PENRAD for all your practice's imaging needs. They are very helpful to your team's workflow processes: (719) 593-1799
Douglas L. Gibson, Chief Executive Officer -
Robyn Creech, Provider Relations Representative --
MEMORIAL HOSPITAL/UNIVERSITY of COLORADO HEALTH: Thank you for providing the education classroom and breakfast.
· Pikes Peak PAHCOM would like to thank ALL of OUR SPONSORS for all their support at each and every meeting! We could NOT provide such valuable education programs without ALL of their ongoing support!
QUOTE: Do what you know best; if you're a runner, run. If you're a biller, bill. If you're a practice administrator/office manager, then you're a SUPER-HERO in 2014!!!!! Ignas Bernstein (base quote)
Sandra Robben-Weber, CMM, HITCM-PP, PP-PAHCOM 2014 President
MARCH 2014 -- PIKES PEAK PAHCOM NEWSLETTER -- PPP-NPage 4