Congress passed end-of-year legislation on December 21, 2020, that updated Medicare’s E/M cuts for orthopaedics, created a ban on surprise billing for emergency services, and added a new round of PPP. Updated Physician Fee Schedule Click here to view the E/M calculator:2021 Ortho codes only revised pro fee compare 2021 to 2020 Click here for…
Carl Nunziato, MD is an orthopaedic resident at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School. A California native, Dr. Nunziato completed medical school at the University of Vermont and received an undergraduate degree from Yale. Dr. Nunziato is a Lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserves. TOA asked Dr. Nunziato to testify before the Texas Legislature…
The 2019 Texas Legislature followed the lead of the New York Legislature by addressing surprise bills through an arbitration process that takes patients out of the middle by giving physicians an opportunity to challenge out-of-network payments made by commercial health insurance plans through an arbitration process. The New York system has worked. Click here to learn…
TOA takes three orthopaedic residents to Washington, DC every June to visit with lawmakers about musculoskeletal issues that affect Texas patients. TOA’s goal is to introduce advocacy issues to residents at an early age. Jordan Handcox, MD of San Antonio, Dylan Homen, MD of Lubbock and Max Danilevich, MD of Galveston were the three residents…
Over a dozen Texas orthopaedic surgeons will visit Capitol Hill on June 6 to discuss issues related to out-of-network balance billing, hospital monopolies, and antitrust regulations related to commercial health insurance plans. The orthopaedic surgeons will discuss initiatives that can lower health care costs for patients. The Texas Orthopaedic Association (TOA) will sponsor four orthopaedic…
The Texas Orthopaedic Association (TOA) is supporting HB 2088, which would direct the Texas State Board of Pharmacy (TSBP) to maintain and publish a list of drop-off locations for unused drugs. The legislation by Rep. Jay Dean (R-Longview) was heard in the House Public Health Committee on April 10, 2019.
The Texas House Committee on Pensions, Investments & Financial Services will consider HB 2367 by Rep. Greg Bonnen, MD in a committee hearing on April 18. The bill would prohibit health plans from bidding on the state’s contracts if the plans participate in the practice of dropping a physician from a plan for notifying a…
The Texas Orthopaedic Association (TOA) testified in support of SB 2316 in both the House and Senate as a bill that would enhance the state’s prescription monitoring program (PMP). Offered by Senator Chuy Hinojosa and Representative Senfronia Thompson, SB 2316 would create an advisory committee of physicians, pharmacists, and electronic health record companies to provide…
State Rep. Mary Gonzalez (D-El Paso) introduced HB 3468, which would allow multiple ASCs to operate within a single ASC on different days. Medicare recently approved the “timeshare ASC” model. However, Medicare indicated that state legislatures must approve the concept at the state level.
The Texas Orthopaedic Association (TOA) is encouraging Texas lawmakers rely on the Legislature’s supplemental funding package to fund the Texas State Board of Pharmacy’s request to acquire physician licenses to access the prescription monitoring program (PMP) database. The September 1, 2019 mandate for physicians to check the PMP is seven months away, and it is…
