Healthcare Reform and other News
5 October 2009
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Healthcare Reform
Talk of healthcare reform is dominating the news these days and for good reason since it will directly affect each of us as citizens. It’s especially important as physician assistant students that we understand how reform relates to us as future members of the healthcare team. There are many proposals in the Senate and House bills that will positively impact PA education and practice. Some of those are listed below:
1) Recognizes PAs for chronic care management bonuses in Medicare Advantage
2) Medicare change to allow PAs to order skilled nursing facility care and to provide hospice care
3) Additional federal funds for PA educational programs
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The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) has stated their desire for healthcare reform:
“Enacting Meaningful Health Care Reform: AAPA is committed to working with the 111th Congress to enact health care reform legislation that meets the needs of the American people and encompasses the Academy’s health care reform principles, including: access to quality, affordable, cost-effective health care for all Americans; the use of evidence-based medicine; physician-directed teams of health care providers; optimal utilization of primary care; emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention; medical liability reform that treats both patients and providers equitably and encourages health care professionals to apologize for an adverse outcome without increasing risk; and sustainable financing and payment mechanisms that take into account comparative-effectiveness information. In addition, the Academy will support federal initiatives to strengthen the viability of Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).”
(courtesy of the AAPA federal advocacy resource webpage)
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Other PA news:
1) “Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) recently introduced legislation (S.1664) to elevate the rank of the Chief of the Army’s Medical Specialist Corps (AMSC) to Major General. The AMSC, which includes physician assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and dieticians, is one of the few medical corps not headed by a General. The elevation of the AMSC Chief is viewed as a means to bring about better representation of the professions in the Army.”
(courtesy of the AAPA advocacy connection, 10/2/09)
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