News from ACOI

What does it mean and when can it be used? The descriptor for this add-on code reads, “Visit complexity inherent to evaluation and management associated with medical care services that serve as the continuing focal point for all needed health care services and or with medical care services that are part of ongoing care related to a patient’s single, serious condition or a complex condition.” After the 2021 PFS Final Rule was released, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021 imposed a moratorium on Medicare payment for this service. It prohibited CMS from making payment for the G2211 code before January 1, 2024. The code was assigned a bundled payment status.

The ACOI 2024 Spring Meetings are being held earlier this year and they’re going to be here before you know it. This year they are scheduled for April 8-12. That’s good news for internists looking to get a head start on their 2024 CME goals!

2023 was the warmest year on record in the United States and abroad. Climate change is already exacerbating existing health problems and leading to the emergence of new health threats.

As we begin a new year, many of us will think of new beginnings. We don’t need to wait until January of every year to start fresh. Popular poet, Juansen Dizon, wrote “I hope you realize that every day is a fresh start for you. That every sunrise is a new chapter in your life waiting to be written.” We can write new chapters every day, and our story can take a new course any time in the year, not just on January 1.

The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Final Rule was released on November 3, 2023. Included in the final rule are significant policy changes for 2024 of which offices and physicians should be aware.

“It really took me back when I when I found out I was getting this; it was so humbling,” she says. “My entire career has been about teaching, and I've been involved with students and residents since I was a resident. That's when I fell in love with teaching. I don't do it for awards or accolades. So, it caught me off guard to even think that one of my residents would even think to nominate me because it's just part of what I do every day and I get such joy out of it”.

ACOI was honored to help support Dr. Kwon’s nomination to PACCARB. “Dr. Kwon has an impressive track record of antimicrobial resistance research (AMR),” said ACOI President Robert T. Hasty, DO, FACOI, FACP. “PACCARB is fortunate to have the value of her expertise, including her work on strategies to prevent transmission of AMR.”

The CY 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule released on November 3 finalizes a 2024 conversion factor — the starting point for calculating physician payments — of $32.74, a decrease of $1.15 (or 3.37%) from the CY2023 conversion factor of $33.89. Roughly 90 percent of the cut is attributed to fee schedule budget neutrality requirements triggered by the impending January 1, 2024, implementation of G2211, an office/outpatient evaluation and management visit complexity add-on code.

The American College of Osteopathic Internists Board of Directors welcomes its new Resident Representative, John A. Arthur, DO.

At the Annual Member Meeting, ACOI officially announced the Board of Directors Appointments.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is accepting applications through December 14, 2023, for new voluntary payment and delivery model — Making Care Primary (MCP). Eligibility requirements and additional details can be found in the request for applications. The model, which will run 10.5 years, will be launched on July 1, 2024 and will be tested in eight states: Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New Jersey, North Carolina and certain counties in New York.

ACOI announced the appointment of Robert T. Hasty, DO, FACOI, FACP, as President for 2023-2024 during the ACOI 2023 Annual Convention & Scientific Sessions in Tampa, Florida last week. Dr. Hasty, who has served on the ACOI Board of Directors since 2015 enters the presidency with clear objectives in mind. “My goals are to grow ACOI’s advocacy efforts, while also continuing to advance our world class education that we know many osteopathic internists count on. Plus, we’ll focus on further increasing leadership and community opportunities for our internists.”