Melody Short-Boice L.Ac.

Copied from a colleague:

EMERGENCY!!!
All Acupuncturists

The Federal Government through the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) – Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing changes to the 2021 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). CMS is proposing a crosswalk between our current procedure codes (CPT) of ‪97810 – 97814‬ and CPT codes for Dry Needling ‪20560 - 20561‬ as follows:��Page 286 of the Federal Register lists the proposed rule changes, stating:��"...That the RVUs for the acupuncture codes were based on a pair of crosswalks to two recently reviewed codes in the Dry Needling family…Due to the similar clinical nature of these services and their nearly identical work times, we believe that it is more accurate to propose cross walking CPT codes 97810 through 97814 to the work RVUs of the Dry Needling codes, which were finalized last year, as opposed to proposing work RVUs from 2004, which were never reviewed by CMS."��This dramatically decreases our value and places acupuncture in the same category as dry needling which is not acceptable. The CMS is currently accepting public comments ‪until October 5, 2020‬, by ‪5:00 PM‬. We must each submit a public comment and encourage our colleagues, friends and family to do the same. The comments from acupuncturists should be professional and personal from their experience as a practitioner and include a true account of how we work. Acupuncturists who do not accept insurance should also be encouraged to comment because this change will have an impact on our profession.


Please Review ASA's official comment on CY 2021 by clicking HERE
(Please feel free to include content & research for your own letter).


Submit Your Comments: CLICK HERE

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/08/17/2020-17127/medicare-program-cy-2021-payment-policies-under-the-physician-fee-schedule-and-other-changes-to-part -comment


1. For your Patients - Please encourage them to write about our PROCESS as practitioners, not just effectiveness. We gather their complete medical history and review their medications, labs and systems. We perform comprehensive physical examinations. We assess their overall wellbeing, not just their physical wellbeing - these are critical points. We are different from, and go beyond dry needling.��2. For Acupuncturists - Remember to tailor the letter to your experience as a practitioner, and talk about your PROCESS as well. For example, you may describe a real account of how you perform an intake assessment and form a treatment plan, and how involved our treatment process is. You can also talk about how we detect red flags, refer patients to medical doctors and the ER, urgent care and more. We are central and essential to the patient's whole health, and these details are critical to express. Pass this information along to your colleagues.


SAMPLE LETTER for ACUPUNCTURISTS�and PATIENTS to submit, below:

Sample letter for Licensed Acupuncturists:� �Public Comment to Proposed PFS Fee reductions� �To Whom It May Concern:� �I am a licensed acupuncturist. I am opposed to the proposed changes to the 2021 CMS Fee Schedule for CPT Codes ‪97810-97814‬.� �I currently take Insurance, however if Medicare rates are reduced even further from current reimbursement rates I, and many of my colleagues will not be able to afford to treat Medicare beneficiaries now or in the future.� �I am concerned that this will create additional barriers to care for my patients.� �Sincerely,�(Name)� � �Sample letter for Patients:� �Public Comment to Proposed PFS Fee reductions� �To Whom It May Concern:� �I am an acupuncture patient who has been informed that my acupuncturist will not be accepting Medicare patients if this new policy is put in place.� �I use acupuncture for my pain management and do not want to have to use opioids or other medications with side effects. Therefore I was grateful to hear about the CMS Acupuncture policy for chronic low back pain and was hopeful that CMS would continue to expand covered conditions. Acupuncture is an important part of my healthcare.� �I oppose the reduction in payments for acupuncture treatment.� �Sincerely,
(Name)

Tiny Dragon Apothecary update! We are just adding in a few last bits to our website like FAQs. We should be ready for everyone to come and peruse our site in just a couple more hours! I'm so ridiculously excited! I'll keep you posted :-)