The American Medical Association is asking for our help in fighting Medicare payment cuts. The following information is from this week's OMA Update.

AMA MEDICARE PAY CUT SURVEY

Medicare’s trustees forecast that physician payment rates will be cut by 31 percent from 2006-2013; beginning with a 5.2 percent cut that will take effect January 1, 2006. The AMA wants to prevent these cuts and replace the current Medicare payment formula with a new system that appropriately reflects increases in practice costs.

To collect this valuable information, the AMA is conducting a survey to find out how physicians would likely respond to a five percent cut in Medicare rates for 2006 and a long-term cut of 31 percent. To receive a survey, go to: http://www.surveysolutions.com/ama/medpayrg.htm.

It is critical that the AMA get a good response rate for the survey. Encourage your colleagues to complete and return the survey. Physicians who are not AMA are also encouraged to fill out the survey. If enough responses are collected from your specialty or state, the AMA will develop a report showing the survey results specifically for physicians in your specialty or state.

The ASA has been successful in having the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services relax the requirements for post-anesthesia notes. Previously, CMS has required that the anesthesiologist who performed the anesthesia service personally complete a post-anesthesia note within 48 hours of surgery. This authority could not be delegated.

The Medicare Conditions of Participation now state that this responsibility may be delegated to another "qualified provider." For further details, please visit the ASA's website.

The Oregon Society of Anesthesiologists will be hosting the group's spring meeting at Salishan on May 21 and 22, 2005. OSA President-Elect John Evans has put together a great panel of speakers and topics.

Dr. Alexander Hannenberg, ASA's Vice President for Professional Affairs, will provide an ASA update and discuss current and future economic trends facing the specialty. Dr. Clifford Devney from OHSU will discuss management issues in bariatric surgery. And Stuart Rosenblum, M.D. from Legacy Pain Management will update us on pain management in the perioperative period. Of course, the spring meeting will also feature some extracurricular activities, such as golf and wine tasting, and will reserve time for dealing with society business.

The date for the Haugen Lecture has moved from the winter to the fall, taking place at OHSU on Septermber 17, 2005. Anesthesiologist Michael Roizen is well known for his interest in the differences between "real" and calendar age. Dr. Roizen is an excellent speaker and is sure to capture your interest! Check your newsletter and this website from time to time for updates on these meetings.

The American Society of Anesthesiologists is offering a one-year Public Policy Fellowship in Washington, D.C. The individual chosen will have the opportunity to work closely with ASA's Washington Office on healthcare issues. Read the letter from ASA President Eugene Sinclair to learn more.

Did you know that ASA includes a vibrant and active resident component and also has a committee of volunteers whose mission is to focus on the needs of residents and medical students?

OSAOnline now contains an archive of newsletters from the Oregon Society of Anesthesiologists, dating back to 2001. The archive is only available to registered members of OSAOnline. To view the Archive, log-in to the site, click on the "newsletters" menu toward the top of the page, and follow the directions.

The newsletters are Portable Document Format files (pdf) and will require a PDF viewer such as Adobe Acrobat Reader or Apple's Preview program.

As many of you know, your OSA leadership has been working with OMAP administrators on revising the recently implemented policy on obstetric anesthesia billing. We wanted to change the current policy, which only allows billing for face-to-face time, to a policy consistent with ASA recommendations on obstetric anesthesia billing.

Only a few days remain for Oregon voters to cast their ballots. If you have recently seen dramatic increases in your liability insurance premiums or have considered changing your practice in either scope or location due to the threat of lawsuits, consider voting YES on Measure 35. For more information, click HERE

The Oregon Society of Anesthesiologists welcomes you to our new home. Over the next several weeks, we will be adding content to serve the needs of anesthesiologists in our state. We will be posting reports on activities at the recent ASA Annual meeting, officer profiles, a calendar of future OSA activities, updates on the Oregon legislative session and regulatory activities of importance to our membership. You will also find links to other resources that you might find handy. Again, thanks for coming and let us know how we can make this site serve your needs.