| 12/7/09 – The Fall 2009 ACRO Bulletin has been posted on the website. |
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| 12/3/09 – In mid-November, CMS announced the results of the 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). Read more in the ACRO Economic/Legislative/Regulatory Affairs portal. |
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| 12/3/09 – Fellowship Application Deadline December 14: Fellows of the American College of Radiation Oncology are active members who are able to display meritorious service to the College or the field of radiation oncology, actively attend annual meetings (2 in the past 5 years) and express a significant interest in the continued development of the College. Current members with 10 or more years of consecutive active membership are encouraged to apply. Click here for an application. Click here to view fellowship criteria. |
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| 12/2/09 – Medicare Eliminates Payment for Consultation Codes: Effective January 1, 2010, Medicare will no longer pay for services billed using consultation CPT® codes, except for telehealth services. This change was made in a budget neutral manner, such that Medicare increased the payments for new patient visits. Click here to learn more. |
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| 11/30/09 – ACRO has just posted important information from RCI regarding Medicare ("Description of 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule" and "Description of 2010 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Payment System Final Rule"). View this information along with the latest economic and legislative affairs here. |
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| 11/5/09 – 2010 Final Rule for the MPFS: Click here to review an outline of the procedure codes commonly utilized in the radiation oncology setting with the RVUs from the 2010 Final Rule. The payments have been calculated showing the 2010 payment with the reduction in the conversion factor as finalized in the 2010 Final Rule and also with the legislative increase of a 0.5% higher conversion factor than the 2009 conversion factor, i.e., $36.066, in order to show all of the possibilities. |
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| 11/2/09 – CMS Releases New Fee Cut Structure: According to an October 30 press release by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), on January 1, 2010 CMS will institute a 1% cut to radiation oncology payments. The following three years, 2011-2013, will see cuts as well, totaling a 5% decrease from the current rates on January 1, 2014. This is in stark contrast to the original CMS plan of the much larger 19% cut for radiation oncologists. ACRO will review the entire Federal Rule and submit comments as necessary. |
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| 9/25/09 – ACRO Needs Your Help to Continue the Fight to Overturn the Flawed Policies in the CY 2010 Proposed Physician Fee Schedule Rule. Click here to learn more. |
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| 8/26/09 – The Summer 2009 ACRO Bulletin has been posted on the website. |
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8/26/09 – Only a few days remain if you want to help ACRO address the impact of the 2010 Proposed Medicare Physician's Fee Schedule.
Regulations Would Dramatically Affect Radiation Oncology. The last two ACRO Alerts have addressed aspects of the proposed cuts in the Medicare fee schedule for radiation oncology services. There are a few days remaining if you wish to help in this effort. Read below and feel free to use the pre-written draft letters to make your voice heard. Click here to take action.
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| 8/12/09 – Request for Action! The 2010 proposed medicare physician fee schedule is out and it has dramatic impacts for radiation oncology. See how ACRO can help get your voice heard on this topic in the latest ACRO Alert. Submit comment letters to CMS by August 31. |
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| 8/5/09 – New Gating Code Released. The American Medical Association recently released early information on code 0197T, a CPT® category III code, to describe 4-dimensional tracking. Read more in the latest ACRO Alert. |
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| 7/9/09 –
ACRO Government Day. Wednesday, June 10
On Wednesday, June 10, several ACRO representatives flew to Washington D.C. to discuss healthcare reform with the U.S. Congress. These physicians met with several Members of Congress and their staff who sit on the relevant authorizing committees of jurisdiction in the House of Representatives and the Senate. ACRO representatives also met with committee staff for the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. More ...
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| 7/2/09 – Be sure to read all about the great success at the 2009 American College of Radiation Oncology annual conference in the latest ACRO Alert by Paul J. Schilling, MD, FACRO. |
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| 6/4/09 – The Spring 2009 ACRO Bulletin has been posted on the website. |
