News

ISASS signed on to a letter to Congress authored by the Alliance to Prevent the Abuse of Medicines (APAM) in support of the reauthorization of NASPER, the federal program providing support for state Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs. APAM is a multi-stakeholder coalition composed of representatives of each industry involved in the manufacture, distribution, payment, prescribing and dispensing of pharmaceuticals and is focused on building consensus and promoting solutions to our nation’s opioid abuse epidemic. Letter to Congress

In a letter to Aetna, ISASS expressed concern with Section IX – Intervertebral Body Fusion Devices (Spine Cages) of Aetna Back Pain – Invasive Procedures Policy Number 0016 (“Policy”). Section IX of the Policy allows coverage of cages for cervical fusion under the following indications: A. Multilevel (three or more vertebral bodies) corpectomy (removal of half or more of vertebral body, not mere removal of osteophytes and minor decompression) in the treatment of one of the following: 1. for tumors involving one or more vertebrae, or 2. greater than 50 percent compression fracture of vertebrae, or 3. retropulsed bone fragments, or 4. central canal stenosis with myelopathy. B. Multilevel (three or more vertebral bodies) fusion for pseudarthrosis in persons with […]

News and noteworthy information for January: 2016 Physician Fee Schedule Correction Notice CGS Finalizes LCD for MIS SIJ Fusion FDA Releases Draft Guidance on Public Notification of Medical Device Risks Califf Confirmation as FDA Commissioner Garners Opposition CMS Announces 2015 PQRS Data Submission Deadlines CMS Updates Open Payments Data and Adds New Features to Website EHR Incentive Programs EHR Hardship Exemption Process What’s Next for the EHR Incentive Programs? Senate HELP Committee Releases Draft Bipartisan EHR Legislation Some Employer Health Plans Lack Outpatient Surgery Coverage Research & Reimbursement Course Scheduled for ISASS16   2016 Physician Fee Schedule Correction Notice On January 11, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2016 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Correction Notice. […]

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and safe 2016 from all of us at ISASS and IASP. News and noteworthy information for the month of December: Research & Reimbursement Course Scheduled for ISASS16 AMA Wire: Court decides whether insurers can be sued for underpaid claims CMS Releases 2014 National Health Expenditure Data New Data Posted on Physician Compare 2016 Federal Tax and Spending Agreement Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act CDC Proposes Guidelines for Opioid Prescribing   Research & Reimbursement Course Scheduled for ISASS16 The ISASS Research Committee and the ISASS Coding & Reimbursement Task Force will host an exciting new session, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Reimbursement in a Value-Based World: A Forum for Surgeons and Industry” […]