WVPTA JANUARY 2014 BULLETIN

1/15/14

Presidents Column
Eric Tarr, PT, DPT, MBA, OCS WVPTA President Happy New Year! Before I say anything else, I want to thank the volunteer army of the West Virginia Physical Therapy Association for another incredible year. I am constantly amazed at the challenges that your committees, Chair Persons, liaisons, and elected board volunteer to tackle for the sake of protecting and supporting us as we practice physical therapy in what can be a very chaotic health care arena. Please be sure to take a look at the victories and issues of concern that each person contributing to the newsletter has taken time to share with our PT community. Also as the year comes to a close, I want to thank Nancy and Wanda of Tonkin Management Group for their years of extraordinary service and partnership. As many of you know, Nancy has been diagnosed with non-small cell carcinoma with metastasis. Once again I am impressed with her character. She has been exceedingly strong both in spirit, drive, and sense of service even upon being faced with this challenge. Given the battles the Association has charged in the past 10 years, I cannot imagine the WVPTA having done it with any other leadership than Nancy and Wanda have provided. They both have demonstrated a sense of ownership for our success or failure by the extra time, stress, patience, and friendship to our members that went well beyond any contractual requirement. We have 600+ members in this association with access to many prayer chains. Please add Nancy, Wanda, and their friends and family to your prayers and prayer chains. In preparation for her fight ahead Nancy has decided to step away from association management and lobbying. Ive hade the privilege of working with Nancy for more than 10 years now, and while she and Wanda are being very helpful with finding a new Executive Director and lobbyist, their individual talents, experience, and dedication may be impossible to replace. Speaking for your Board of Directors and for Nancy, we hope to start the transition to a new director and lobbyist very soon, and have begun the interview and vetting process. Nancy and Wanda, thank you with all my heart for your dedication, service, and partnership over the past decade.

State Legislative Committee Prepares for 2014 WV Legislative Session: WVPTA Lobby Day Set for February 24, 2014
Eric Shaw PT, Cert. MDT Preparations are now under way for the regular session of the West Virginia Legislature which will convene on January 8, 2014. The regular session will run through March 8, 2014. This link will take you to the full legislative calendar for 2014: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bulletin_Board/calendar_2014.pdf. As part of ongoing government relations the WVPTA will hold its annual Lobby Day on February 24, 2014. This could be a pivotal time during the legislative session if there are any pending bills that the WVPTA may be working on as it is just before crossover day. Crossover day is the 50th day of the session and the last day to consider bills in their house of origin. It is important for you to make plans to attend Lobby Day in order to meet your state legislators, and let them know about the important work that physical therapists do for their constituents. You will be able to find Lobby Day information including registration information and a detailed schedule of events at: www.wvpta.org in early January. The WVPTA Board of Directors has decided not to introduce insurance reform legislation in 2014 as they monitor the effects of Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act. This will mark the first time in five years we are not sponsoring major legislation. However, it does not mean that there will be no action in Charleston for physical therapists. We will monitor the legislation introduced for its impact on health care, the practice of physical therapy, health insurance, public health and the education of health professionals just to name a few topics. The WVPTA will continue to provide legislative updates through our social media sights: www.facebook.com/wvpta and at www.twitter.com @wvpta. The 2014 session of the WV Legislature will also be the first time in 12 years that Nancy Tonkin and Tonkin Management Group will not be our primary lobbyist. Nancy will be cutting back on her work load and advising the WVPTA and our new lobbyist during this transitional session. Nancy has taught me a great deal about the WV Legislature over the years and I greatly appreciate her on a personal level and her work as our lobbyist on a professional level. I remember the early years sitting with her in the gallery on the last night of the session as we sweated out a bill that could have adversely affected the practice of physical therapy. She was able to build the reputation of the WVPTA in the Capitol and teach a bunch of therapists how to effectively lobby. This was a many year process that culminated in a new practice act, and rules. Nancy was patient with us and built the foundation that was necessary to accomplish our goals. Now we have a strong group of physical therapists who can also lobby for our positions. We are also a player in health related issues that legislators want to consult regarding health related issues. Nancy, here is a big thank you for your hard work and dedication over the past 12 years. You have made the practice of physical therapy stronger in West Virginia. I appreciate your friendship and guidance over the years. Stay strong, and we will see you at the well soon!

WV Physical Therapy Association LOBBY DAYFebruary 24, 2014

The purpose of WVPTA Lobby Day is to build support and educate others about legislative issues affecting physical therapy practice. As part of Lobby Day, you will be briefed about the current status of key legislation and each participant will be provided with talking points and materials to prepare you for individual meetings with your elected officials. For strategic and consistency purposes, we urge that you attend the briefing session so you are prepared to speak with legislators. To ensure that our lobby day is a success, it will be important to make appointments with Legislators prior to your arrival. Please make your appointments with the members that represent your geographic and practice area between 10:00-2:00 p.m. For more information on your legislators, please call WV Legislative Information and Reference Center at 1-877-565-3447 or visit: www.legis.state.wv.us To Register: To help us in planning for Lobby Day, please pre-register your attendance by February 20, 2014 by contacting Wanda Hymes at Tonkin Management Group at 345-6808 or by e-mail at wanda.hymes@wvtmg.com Additional Tips: Be prepared to discuss your issues a packet of information will be provided to you, but personal stories are also effective! Wear comfortable shoes and bring business cards with you. Call your legislators and make appointments prior to your trip Schedule for WVPTA Lobby DayFebruary 24, 2014 9:00 Legislative Issue Briefing Session Tonkin Management Group Offices, 2110 Kanawha Blvd., E. Charlestonparking available (call for directions) 10:00 Individual Visits with Legislators Attend Committee Meetings of Interest 11:00 Observe Senate and Floor Sessions Senate and House Galleries 12:00 Lunch on your own at the capitol 1:00 Individual Visits with Legislators or Attend Committee Meetings of Interest 2:00 Debrief at Chapter Office Issues for 2014 Dry Needling: a bill prohibiting use by physical therapists is possible this session Athletic Trainers will likely introduce a bill for licensure vs. registration Military personnel spouse reciprocal licensure bill may be introduced Health care reform and other health care related issues Student Loan forgiveness for PT's who practice in shortage areas

Insurance Updates
Sally Oxley Chair, Payer Relations Committee The West Virginia Payer Relations Committee has had a busy several months with most of the activity occurring with Highmark, Humana and Medicare. Highmark BCBS Four of our members, Lori Lovern, Cindy Skiles, Bob Swinehart and Sally Oxley had a conference call with Glenn Miller and Joyce Landers from Highmark 11/14/13. The committee had been working for several years to get Highmark to reconsider a payment policy that reimbursed beneficiaries 80/20 for the first 20 units of physical therapy, then 50/50, rather than 20 visits, as it had previously been. They reported that as the 2014 Highmark plans come out that policy change will be there. Maximum PT visits will be 30 per year. Highmark will pay 80/20 for all in network visits and 60/40 for all visits out of network. There will be no co-pay just co-insurance, 20% in network and 40% out of network. Co-insurance will go toward the out of pocket maximum. At this time after 30 visits PT will be a non-covered benefit. The 30 visits per year will be for physical therapy alone and not bundled with other disciplines. Occupational therapy and spinal manipulation will each have 30 visits. Highmark is the only insurer to offer plans in the Exchanges in WV. There will be 11 individual plans and 4 small business plans. The PT benefit will be the same in these plans. All PTs that are in the Highmark network will be included in the Exchanges. Humana Clinics in WV have received requests for paybacks to Humana following their application of MPPR (multiple procedure payment reduction) 4/14/2012. Humanas computer system is unable to compute the changes so they were paying as usual then asking for paybacks. This poses a huge administrative burden trying to determine if the payback amounts are accurate. Thanks to the efforts of Bob Swinehart, the Executive Director of the Mid American Rehabilitation Network, (previously the Ohio Physical Therapy Network) Humana is not going to pursue take backs from the members of the network and those that had paid would get their money refunded. There are 12 clinics in WV that are members of the network and 60 clinics in Ohio. The representative from Humana indicated they would not pursue MPPR recoupment until their computers could compute it up front so the EOBs would be accurate. The process to make the refunds may take 2-3 months, but the halt to the take backs should take place immediately. This information was sent in to Karen Jost at APTA and they were going to pursue this policy for all physical therapy payments affected by MPPR. Medicare - Short-Term SGR/Cap Fix Congress is expected to pass a 3-month patch before adjourning for the holidays. The patch will take effect on January 1, 2014, avoiding the 20.1% payment cut to the conversion factor announced by CMS in the physician fee schedule and extend the current therapy cap exceptions process through March 31, 2014. The legislation also includes a 0.5% payment increase for providers through March. This short-term fix will give the House and Senate time to reach a final agreement on the permanent SGR reform package.

PTA SIG REPORT: Become a Part of WVPTA History

Bryanna Ordiway, PTA PTAs, are you interested in expanding your career? Would you like to increase your participation in activities that support your career? Do you want to meet other practicing PTAs from around the state and share your experiences? Would you like to increase your leadership skills/activities to better prepare you for a successful career? The WVPTA has the answer! SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATIONS FOR AN OFFICER POSITION IN THE FIRST EVER WVPTA PTA SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (PTASIG) Available positions include: President Vice President Secretary/Treasurer Not only will you be making WVPTA history, but you have the ability to be a part of developing and shaping the focus of the group. What does that mean? It means the officer responsibilities are very general at this point. Once the group is formed and officers are elected, the officers and members will be able to determine more detailed responsibilities and agendas for each officer, as well as the group as a whole. This group is not intended to be an extra burden on your already stressful lives. Instead it is meant to help you develop as a professional and improve your experiences to help guide you into a more successful career! SO APPLY TODAY! Applications can be sent to Bryanna Ordiway, PTA at b_ordiway@yahoo.com and are DUE BY February 1, 2014. Please include the following in your application: Name Volunteer/Work Activities Awards/Achievements Length of APTA/WVPTA membership and any APTA/WVPTA activities you have participated in (i.e. National Student Conclave, Combined Sections Meeting, National Conference, WVPTA Spring or Winter Conference, WVPTA PT After Hours, etc.) Officer position you are interested in with a brief explanation of why you are seeking this position/what would make you a good candidate for this position.

Publication and Public Relations Committee Report

Brandon Beacom DPT Publication and Public Relations Committee Chair

Facebook competition! Congratulations to Amanda Stutchell and Billie Jo Johnston, winners of our Facebook competition! You both will receive your $25 gift cards shortly! Remember to like our Facebook page if you havent done so already. We use this page to provide our members the majority of news and information affecting our organization and members alike. Heres the link: http://facebook.com/wvpta Call to sign up for Celly! The 2014 legislative sessions are right around the corner and will be here before you know it. Please opt in to our Celly network to receive "urgent" text messages for immediate responses regarding legislation. Here's the direct link: http://cy.tl/Y2zSjA. Once you arrive to the main page, click join. Once you sign up using a username, password, and cell phone number; shortly after you will receive a text to confirm. This site may appear intimidating at first, but it is really very simple once you get started. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Brandon Beacom at beacom2012@gmail.com. Website Forum: If you have an interest in blogging and would like an avenue to blog about your interests in physical therapy, nutrition, fitness, or health in general, please contact Brandon Beacom at beacom2012@gmail.com. You may have an opportunity to blog to a 600+ member audience!

Electronic Voting We did it...finally!

Who? What? When? All WVPTA members Please exercise your right to vote select 2014 WVPTA officers and committee members by completing your online ballot. January 5, 2014 visit the chapter website @ www.wvpta.org and login to the members only section to review our slate of candidates and read their bios. January 19, 2014 Members can nominate additional candidates until this date. February 5, 2014 Check your inbox for a blast email with a link containing the ballot in order to complete your online voting. You will have 30 days to capture your vote. March 5, 2014 - Ballot closes and we will begin tallying votes. April 5, 2014 Come to 2014 Spring Conference to hear the election results! 6

Where?

From the comfort of your home or office PC, voting is no longer limited to Spring Conference attendees. Although we still want to see you there! You pay your dues; you want to see the WV chapter grow: you appreciate the service, lobbying and advocacy provided by WVPTA towards the professional of Physical Therapy in the Mountain State. Check your in box for blast emails from wanda.hymes@wvtmg.com at the chapter office click the link and complete your ballot. Its that easy!

Why?

How?

Student Report from National Student Conclave 2013

Olivia Novotny, PT student WVU Attending the National Student Conclave in Louisville, Kentucky was one of the best things I could have done this semester as a second year WVU PT student. I will admit I was growing a little stale with constant classes and bookwork, and I was losing sight of the light at the end of the tunnel. I knew that this experience would reignite my passion for this profession and give me the motivation I need to keep pushing through the struggle of graduate school. Not only was it a great educational experience with the different seminars they offered, I feel it was a nice bonding experience with the other classmates that attended. We were able to bond with each other and students from other schools on a more professional level. Upon entering the exhibit hall, I was completely stunned to see all of the different vendors, and the amount of people that were rushing around to get the information they desired from particular booths. Being in a crowd of so many people interested in physical therapy was a very heartwarming experience. It allowed me to relax my mind from the incessant nature of my current classes, and I was able to explore my own individual interests. Although it was a bit overwhelming, this was an experience that will allow me to happily move forward with my school work, to feel empowered by the written and practical exams that stand between myself and my future physical therapy career and to be thankful for the fact that I can identify myself with a profession that will be rewarding for my soul and my future patients.

WVPTA Student Scholarship Program and Poster Abstract Submissions

ATTENTION STUDENTS! Are you planning on going to a national APTA conference this year? The WVPTA is excited to support qualified candidates in attending these great events! For consideration, please fill out our online scholarship application at least 60 days prior to each event. Go to www.wvpta.org for application and submission information (must sign as a member to see this. Once you sign in, it is on the drop down menu below your name with title of Student Information). We look forward to hearing from you!

APTA Membership Update

APTA membership at the end of September stood at 90,331an overall increase of 4.00% (3,474 members) from September 2012. Within the PT category, the number of PT Fulls increased by 2.09% (1,018 members), for a total of 49,786. Within the PTA category, the number of PTA Fulls increased by 2.66% (111 members), for a total of 4,284. Overall, the student category increased 9.86% (2,178 members), for a total of 24,261. Membership remains strong and were on track to close 2013 with 88,000+ members, an historic milestone for APTA. With the influx of new student members, membership traditionally peaks in October and levels off/dips slightly during the fourth quarter. This year, APTA is embarking on several innovative retention and lapsed member win-back strategies that we hope will help keep the road to 90,000 members streak alive. Forty-one chapters and 14 sections increased membership. The top 3 chapters and sections are:

West Virginia: up 12.83% (68 members) North Dakota: up 11.94% (59 members) Utah: up by 11.57% (103 members) Research: up 14.20% (571 members) Federal: up 10.06% (48 members) Health Policy and Administration: up 8.35% (185 members)

Mark Your Calendars/Deadlines:

Poster Abstract Submission deadline is January 15, 2014 The 2014 Spring Conference, April 4-6, 2014 at the Stonewall Resort in Roanoke, WV. It is being planned in conjunction with the WV Orthopaedic Society with the general topics being hips and pelvis. Watch for more information coming very soon.