APMA News - January/February 2018 - 6

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6 APMA News January/February 2018

President's Message

Time Flies ...
I never thought a year could go by so fast. This is my final message to you as
president. In March, I will turn over the presidential gavel to Dennis R. Frisch,
DPM, who I know will lead APMA to great new heights.
As I reflect on the past year, I remember the promise I made to the membership to build new relationships and strengthen existing ones for the benefit of
the profession. I hope you agree that those relationships have borne fruit.
By the time this article goes to press, I'm hoping we will have celebrated a
major legislative victory with the passage of the VA Provider Equity Act. If it has
not yet passed, it is closer than it ever has been before, having passed the House
of Representatives on unanimous consent and being up for consideration in the
Senate as part of a major VA omnibus bill. We have brought the bill to this point
by nurturing relationships-relationships that have not always been positive.
We worked closely with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and
the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society to build a stronger, more
collaborative relationship and obtain their support for the legislation. That support ultimately helped us to bring the bill to the Senate.
Relationships have also been the foundation of many of our most successful
payer advocacy efforts. We owe Frank Kase, DPM, member of the Health Policy
and Practice Committee and Private Insurance Subcommittee, a debt of gratitude. In fact, the medical profession at large owes him a debt of gratitude. Dr.
Kase has used his relationships at Anthem to help APMA delay (and perhaps
even mitigate) an onerous policy that would have significantly cut reimbursements for evaluation and management (E&M) services billed with CPT modifier
25 when reported with a minor surgical procedure code or a preventive/wellness
exam. Thanks to APMA's vigorous advocacy efforts and Dr. Kase's connections,
we have delayed implementation of the policy, and Anthem has agreed to reduce
its initial decrease by half. We're still in vigorous discussions and hope to eliminate the policy altogether, but the delay and the modification have effectively saved
podiatrists about $100 million annually.
APMA has focused on its relationship with its members during my tenure, as
well. We've listened to your needs and responded. I hope you've had time to peruse our redesigned website. The navigation is more intuitive, the search functionality is world-class, and the design is sleek and modern. You told us you
needed more convenient access to your member benefits, and we've delivered.
We've also listened to our young physicians. Many of you have probably read
the proposed changes to the APMA bylaws that will be considered at the 2018
House of Delegates meeting. If you have not, I encourage you to visit www.apma.
org/hod, read the document, and speak to your state delegates. You can also register for webinars to discuss the changes at www.apma.org/webinars. These proposed changes would open pathways for younger members to get involved. Not
only would these changes encourage involvement and ideas from new physicians,
but they would encourage our component societies to look toward the future
and succession planning.
Serving as your president has been a labor of love. It has not been a job, but
an honor. I could not have done it without the relationships I have with my
fellow board members, the APMA staff, and-most importantly-our members.
I thank each of you for your efforts to cultivate an honest, productive relationship with the leadership of your profession. Together, we have done great things.

Ira H. Kraus, DPM, President
@APMAPresident; APMAPresident@apma.org

http://www.apma.org/hod http://www.apma.org/hod http://www.apma.org/webinars

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - January/February 2018