Traditional Media - Another Year and It's Still Alive
After yet another year of being declared dead and buried, television and even newspapers are still alive. Yes, they've been hurt like every other business, but like every other business, they are refining their business model. Before leaving them out of your 2010 marketing plan, consider this:
• Television: 99% of tv viewing was done on a television in the past year; less than 5% was done on a DVR or TiVo playback. (Source: Ball State University's Center for Media Design)
• Newspapers: 74% of adults read newspapers both online and offline. In addition, 82% of households with incomes greater than $100,000 read the paper online and offline. (Source: Integrated Newspaper Audience Report from Scarborough.com)
The Marketing Department at Precision Vein & Vascular finds the best patient cost per lead is yielded by combining a more traditional print and broadcast plan with a good, strong message with the online advertising available on newspaper and station websites. Most media are willing to offer good rates when bought in tandem with their traditional component, and buying both forms of advertising allows you to reach both the inactive and active vein patient.
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Temporary SGR Reprieve
The impending 2009 year-end 21.2% cut in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule has now been suspended for two months, through the end of February 2010. This reprieve was tacked onto a Department of Defense appropriations bill that was passed into law this week by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. While this delay may not seem like much of a victory for physician practices, it is noteworthy that Congress found a way to avoid having the Medicare cut take effect at year end, all while hectic scrambling is taking place with respect to passage of general healthcare reform and other year-end issues. It indicates that radical modification of the SGR mechanism or more likely, permanent elimination of the SGR by Congress is increasingly likely in 2010. That is the very good news that the temporary reprieve is suggesting. >>Back to top |
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Consultation Codes
Note that the SGR reduction was complemented by other upcoming changes in Medicare reimbursement. The overall “reimbursement mix” is of course changing, as it typically does each new calendar year, with the most notable negative shift being directed toward certain diagnostic codes. Consult codes are being eliminated completely as of January 1, but there appear to be a number of issues that will flow from that, including an apparent discrepancy between Federal Register and CMS rules and policies on the subject. Also, it is currently unknown whether commercial carriers will follow the Medicare lead on consult code elimination, and if they all do not follow Medicare, how claims will be properly submitted when Medicare and a commercial carrier are primary and secondary on the same claim is not determined. Things could get very messy for awhile in this area.
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Health Care Reform Bill
As of today, both the Senate and the House have passed their own version of a healthcare bill, and now the task is to put the two together in a form that Congress as a whole can approve. As there are still significant differences between the two bills (e.g. the public option, the manner in which the reform will be paid for, and whether or not abortions will be paid for with federal funding), it is unlikely that we will have this work completed until sometime in January. There appears to be much more compromising and political wrangling ahead, but it is not likely that the entire process will collapse at this point under its own weight. We will have healthcare reform shortly, but we just don’t yet know exactly what it is going to look like.
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PQRI
The Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) has been from inception quite complicated and its rules difficult to comprehend. For that reason and despite the promise of a two percent Medicare reimbursement supplement, many if not most practices passed on attempting to qualify in the past. Many practices submitted PQRI data all year long only to find out that an unsuspected and sometime undeterminable error resulted in no Medicare payment. However, the 2010 PQRI program update is now out (see www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI) and it now appears to be much easier to qualify and receive reimbursement than was the case previously. Claims-Based measures difficulties and costs have not improved much, but complying under one of the several Measure Group criteria and submitting measure information via a Registry is proving to be both cost-effective and minimally problematic for most practices. PQRI is still not for everyone, but in 2010 it will become much more mainstream than previously.
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Precision Vein & Vascular offers the most
comprehensive and experienced vein center
support in the country. We provide a
complete, customized range of services and
products to new and existing vein practices,
including:
Upcoming Shows &
Exhibits
- American College of
Phlebology 23rd Annual
Congress November 5-8 at the Desert
Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Palm
Desert, California
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Precision Vein & Vascular
689 Craig Road
St.
Louis, MO 63141
(314)
993-8346
Questions?
Contact Shelly Paule,
Chief Operating
Officer
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