Welcome to the IOMA Website
The Iowa Osteopathic Medical Association is a voice for osteopathic physicians in Iowa. There are over 1,000 osteopathic physicians licensed in Iowa. There are approximately 61,000 D.O.s in the United States practicing in all areas of medicine from neurology to sports medicine to dermatology to emergency medicine.
As complete physicians, D.O.s are able to prescribe medication and perform surgery. In addition, D.O.s have added training in Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT), a hands-on treatment tool that they can use to diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses. OMT can be used in conjunction with and sometimes in place of medication or surgery to restore mobility and function.
The Iowa Osteopathic Medical Association is located at 950 12th Street, Des Moines, Iowa. The phone number is 515-283-0002 and fax is 515-283-0355.
| CMS Postpones Enforcement of Version 5010 Again The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) Office of E-Health Standards and Services (OESS) will not enforce compliance of HIPAA Version 5010 and NCPDP Versions D.0 and 3.0 electronic transaction standards until July 1, 2012. On November 17, 2011, OESS announced that, for a 90-day period, it would not initiate enforcement action against any covered entity that was not compliant with the updated versions of the standards by the January 1 compliance date. This was referred to as enforcement discretion, and during this period covered entities were encouraged to complete outstanding implementation activities including software installation, testing and training. OESS announced that progress is being made, noting successful receipt and processing of over 70% of all Part A claims and more than 90% of all Part B claims in the Version 5010 format; commercial plans are reporting similar numbers. State Medicaid agencies are showing progress with some having made a full transition to Version 5010, while covered entities are making similar progress with Version D.0. However, there remain a number of outstanding issues and challenges impeding full implementation and OESS believes that these issues warrant an extension of enforcement discretion to ensure that all entities can complete the transition. OESS expects that transition statistics will reach 98% industry-wide by the end of the enforcement discretion period. The Medicare fee for service (FFS) program will continue to host separate provider calls to address outstanding issues related to Medicare programs and systems and the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MAC) will continue to work closely with clearinghouses, billing vendors or health care providers requiring assistance in submitting and receiving Version 5010 compliant transactions. The Medicaid program staff at CMS will continue to work with individual States regarding their program readiness. Entities experiencing difficulties reaching a MAC should contact Karen Jackson; for implementation problems with states please contact Medicaid5010@cms.hhs.gov. |
| Ask Congress to Repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board; Approve HR 452 Congress is scheduled to vote on the “Medicare Decisions Accountability Act” (H.R. 452) the week of March 19th. H.R. 452 would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). The legislation has already garnered bipartisan support. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) created IPAB, a 15 member panel appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate charged with, beginning in 2015, extending Medicare solvency and reducing the growth in spending through the implementation of a spending target system and a fast-track legislative approval process. Through the creation of IPAB, Congress effectively cedes responsibility over Medicare physician payments to a body of unelected officials with no accountability to any constituency. Tell Congress that this is unacceptable and will prolong the dysfunctions inherent in our current health care system. Ask them to repeal IPAB by approving the “Medicare Decisions Accountability Act” (H.R. 452). |
| Effort Underway to Repeal SGR in 2012 Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) is authoring a congressional sign-on letter to House and Senate leadership asking for repeal of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) offset with Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds. Prior to Congress approving a 10-month extension of current physician payment rates earlier this month, support grew on both sides of the aisle to eliminate the SGR using OCO funds as the offset. In a letter to his colleagues requesting their support, Rep. Crowley stated "We now have a chance to not only repeal the SGR, but to pay for this repeal with excess funds planned for overseas operations, like the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which would otherwise go unused. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated that there will be over $800 billion in these unused funds, enough to offset the full cost of a permanent SGR repeal. This is not an opportunity that we can afford to miss." Ask your Representative to support the Rep. Joe Crowley Congressional Sign On letter to eliminate the SGR by using OCO funds. |
| HHS Announces Intent To Delay ICD-10 Compliance Date HHS announces intent to delay ICD-10 compliance date As part of President Obama’s commitment to reducing regulatory burden, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen G. Sebelius today announced that HHS will initiate a process to postpone the date by which certain health care entities have to comply with International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition diagnosis and procedure codes (ICD-10). The final rule adopting ICD-10 as a standard was published in January 2009 and set a compliance date of October 1, 2013 – a delay of two years from the compliance date initially specified in the 2008 proposed rule. HHS will announce a new compliance date moving forward. “ICD-10 codes are important to many positive improvements in our health care system,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “We have heard from many in the provider community who have concerns about the administrative burdens they face in the years ahead. We are committing to work with the provider community to reexamine the pace at which HHS and the nation implement these important improvements to our health care system.” ICD-10 codes provide more robust and specific data that will help improve patient care and enable the exchange of our health care data with that of the rest of the world that has long been using ICD-10. Entities covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) will be required to use the ICD-10 diagnostic and procedure codes. |
