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Edition: December/January – 2022 Holiday Edition   
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Table of Contents
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| Letter from the Editor |
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Season’s greetings!
It is difficult to believe that another year is coming to a close. The holiday season is here, with Thanksgiving and RSNA already passed. I hope this time will be joyful for you and your loved ones.
With the holidays’ arrival, I am reminded by what I am thankful for regarding the FRS. In addition to the work you all do for our patients and the specialty of radiology, I am thankful for the leadership and legacy of our members, like the one and only Dr. Charlie Williams. Dr. Williams and his story were recently featured in the ACR podcast for the Radiology Leadership Institute. I think you all would find it worth a listen. You can find the link to the podcast here: Click Here
Thank you for all you have done this past year!
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Andrew Bowman, MD, PhD
Secretary, FRS |
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| Meet Your 2022 – 2023 FRS Executive Committee |
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President
Chintan Desai, MD, FACR |
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President Elect
Laura Vallow, MD
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| FRS President’s Message |
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DECEMBER 2022
As you plan your holidays and welcome 2023, I urge you to reflect on your current health and wellness. Check your Well Being Score compared to your colleagues.
To view the Well Being Index provided by the ACR: Click Here
It is a very short questionnaire to evaluate your well-being and will provide you with a personalized scorecard on the following: meaning of work, likelihood of burnout, work-life integration, severe fatigue, risk of medical error, suicidal ideation.
For example, the scorecard is more like a dashboard (below) that helps you gauge your risk for medical error.
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Chintan Desai, MD, FACR
FRS President |
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Treasurer
Juan Batlle, MD |
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Secretary,
Andrew Bowman, MD, PhD |
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| FRBMA President’s Message |
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MEDICARE PHYSICIAN FEE SCHEDULE 2023 FINAL RULE- OR IS IT?
CMS published their finalized RULE for the MPFS on November 1, 2022 and the impact on radiology is once again significant.
Conversion Factor Adjustment
The CY2023 new conversion factor is $33.0607 which reflects a $1.55 reduction from our 2022 conversion factor of $34.6062. The calculation takes into account the removal of the 3% increase provided in 2022 by the Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act along with the budget neutrality adjustment of -1.6%. This represents an overall financial impact to our radiology practices of approximately -4.4% due to the new conversion factor.
RVU Adjustment
Changes in RVU values make up the second component of the MPFS. CMS is estimating the impact on radiology due to RVU adjustments to be -2% general radiology, -3% interventional radiology, -2% nuclear medicine and -1% for radiation oncology.
PAYGO AND MCR Sequestrations
The Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO) is scheduled to be enacted for 2023. This act requires cuts if government spending reaches a certain threshold, with the 4% cut set to go into effect next year.
Medicare sequestration of -2% was fully reactivated by July 2022 and will continue into 2023. These two sequestrations will add an additional 6% of cuts to the Medicare reimbursements on top of the reductions realized through the conversion factor.
The daunting reality of these reductions means that we, as radiology providers, face a financial impact of up to -10% when adding in the above scheduled conversions and sequestrations on top of the expiration of the 3% afforded to us in the 2022 sequestration cuts act.
It is important for everyone to be aware and participate in the support of a new House bill that has been introduced to eliminate the cuts outlined within the final rule and, in addition, stop the pending PAYGO cut of 4%. The Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022, led by Reps. Larry Bucshon, M.D., R-Indiana, and Ami Bera, M.D., D-California would increase the conversion factor by 4.42% and suspend or delay the PAYGO cuts. Click Here
The link above will take you to the congress.gov site where you can view the bill and view the list of current representatives that are co-sponsoring to date. It is not too late to contact your local House Representatives and urge them to support this bill. For those representatives listed as co-sponsors, we urge you to reach out to them and thank them for their support with your own personal impact statement.
Don’t forget to register now for the 2023 FRBMA Winter Retreat being held January 26th-27th, 2023 at the Renaissance Hotel Orlando at Sea World. We have 12 diverse speakers scheduled so please review the agenda online and bring additional staff as we work to enhance the knowledge base and networking for our teams. We are looking forward to seeing you! |
Lisa Adams, CEO, MBA
President, FRBMA |
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| Legislative Update |
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The elections have been held in Florida and all Republicans seeking office were elected with large margins. The race for Governor and US Senate were called in favor of Governor DeSantis and Senator Rubio before the polls in North Florida were closed. The Florida House and Senate both have super majorities and the Cabinet now consists of all Republicans.
The Legislature has held its Organizational Session on November 22 and Speaker Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo have officially taken command of their respective chambers and all the members have been duly sworn into office.
Speaker Renner and President Passidomo have partially announced their leadership teams. We now know that Rep Chuck Clemons (R), Gainesville is Speaker Pro Tempore and Sen Dennis Baxley (R), Lady Lake is the President Pro Tempore.
The House Appropriations Chair is Rep Tom Leek(R) Daytona Beach. Senator Doug Broxson (R), Pensacola is the Senate Appropriations Chair. Rep Mike Grant (R), Port Charlotte is the House Majority Leader. Sen Ben Albritton (R), Wachula is the Senate Majority Leader. He is also next in line to be Senate President. Rep Danny Perez (R), Miami is the Rules Chair and he is next in line to be Speaker of the House. Sen Debbie Mayfield (R), Melbourne, is the Senate Rules Chair.
There is a Legislative Special Session called for the week of December 12th and it is anticipated to address the insurance crisis in Florida. The official proclamation has not been sent out; so, what is in the call is not certain as we are anticipating other issues to be added. Legislatively they can only take up what is in the call for the special session.
Committee assignments, Capitol offices, and parking places have yet to be announced.
Committee weeks will start in December and go through February. Session commences March 7th and is scheduled to end May 5th.
I want to extend a special CONGRATULATIONS to newly elected Representative Karen Gonzalez Pittman. So proud of her and excited to work with her this upcoming session. She is our own, Dr. Chris Pittman’s wife.
As a point of personal privilege, I would like to highlight our own Dr. Charlie Williams who recently was featured on a podcast through the ACR. If you have not had an opportunity to listen to it yet, please do so at the link in the Letter from the Editor above.. It is simply wonderful.
Please stay healthy and safe during this upcoming holiday season.
Wishing one and all my best, |
Alison Dudley, FRS Lobbyist
AlisonDudley@dudleyandassociates.com |
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| Job Posting Opportunities |
| Florida Radiological Society is pleased to introduce the opportunity for interested parties to advertise for potential jobs in our monthly FRS Ebrief bulletin.
Advertisement pricing is as follows:
Ebrief Job Posting pricing:
3 months ($100 monthly)
6 months ($90 monthly)
12 months ($80 monthly)
Please contact Lorraine Roger, our Society Administrator for further information on how to advertise in our monthly publication.
Phone: (813) 806-1070
Fax: (813) 806-1071
Email: lroger@flrad.org
We feel that this will provide a valuable service to both our members and our Florida community of Radiology.
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| Become a PAC Member Today |
| Attention FRBMA Members! Please support the cause. We encourage you to be PAC members and supporters; you do not have to belong to the FRS. Donations can be made online through our PAC website www.FLRADPAC.org. Thank you for your donation: Dr. Letter, Mergo.
It is critical that we support both our Florida PAC and RADPAC in order to bolster our voice in Tallahassee and Washington, respectively. Please join FRS lobbyist Alison Dudley in her special appeal for all Florida radiologists to become Florida PAC members. If you would like to help FRS defend radiology against untoward legislation and introduce bills that have a positive impact on our practices, we need your financial support to re-elect our friends in the state House and Senate. The FRS can also show you simplified ways on how to sign up your radiology group. Contact Lorraine Roger or contact Alison Dudley at for more information. |
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Telephone (813) 806-1070 • Fax (813) 806-1071
5620 W. Sligh Avenue • Tampa, Florida 33634
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| The E-Brief is an exclusive member benefit of Florida Radiological Society, delivering monthly member, chapter and industry news. Please do not reply to this automatic e-mail. For comments or questions about the E-Brief, please contact lroger@flrad.org. |
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