APMA Committees, DME Stakeholders Discuss Common Issues and Set Strategy | News

May 9, 2022

APMA held its annual DME Stakeholders meeting virtually on May 11. APMA has been conducting these meetings in some form since 2012. Participants have included representatives from the following groups:

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)
American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS)
American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS)
American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)
Pedorthic Footcare Association (PFA)
American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA)
American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)
American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT)

On May 20–21, APMA will hold in-person meetings for two of its most active committees: Coding and Health Policy and Practice. These committees work aggressively throughout the year to address ongoing and contemporary issues that directly impact you, our members, as well as your patients.

Health Policy and Practice Committee Meeting

The Health Policy and Practice Committee (HPPC) will meet on Friday, May 20, in Arlington, VA. The committee, chaired by Ed Prikaszczikow, DPM, will discuss the numerous efforts surrounding member education and advocacy on a number of issues including:

-59, -25 Modifier, and NCCI advocacy;
Anthem/AIM Surgical Guidelines Workgroup;
ongoing LCD, LCA, and MAC issues, including new policies on surgical nail and CPT and wound care;
DME Same or Similar and other concerns; and
member problems with Medicare Advantage coverage policies and chart reviews.

The committee will set out its member education plan and advocacy priorities for the upcoming year, as well as make plans for cross collaboration with other committees, and additional outreach to other industry stakeholders to collaborate on shared advocacy concerns.

Coding Committee Meeting

The Coding Committee will meet the following day, Saturday, May 21. Committee Chair David Freedman, DPM, will lead the committee through a very thorough discussion on coding policy concerns and updates. Ongoing concerns include amniotic products and the changes to E/M coding, as well as prior authorization issues. The committee will discuss what CPT recommendations could be made for the upcoming year—new codes, code revisions, as well as recommendations related to procedures with no codes. In addition, the Coding Committee will set out its member education plan for the year, including APMA News articles, webinars, and infographics.

Send Us Additional Discussion Topics

The Committees welcome your input. Do you have additional items for the committees to discuss? Here’s how to submit them:

Health Policy and Practice Committee: Submit discussion topics to hpp@apma.org.
Coding Committee: First complete this survey, then visit www.apma.org/coding for more details.