Wisconsin Society of Orthotists, Prosthetists & Pedorthists
April 25, 2008 Meeting
The following minutes are a condensed summation of the actual recorded minutes. For a copy of the full minutes, please contact Andrea Pavlik, CO at (920)-803-9610.
The meeting was called to order at 3:00 PM by President Dennis Janisse. Dennis addressed the membership about the direction WSOPP has taken and some of the work to date. Dennis also indicated that although great progress is being made it is being accomplished by a very limited amount of members. Dennis requested that every WSOPP member advocate for additional members and additional volunteers to assist us in accomplishing our goals.
Minutes
The minutes form the October 5, 2007 meeting were distributed and accepted by a unanimous vote.
Treasury Report
Jim Sadjak, treasurer, announced that the balance in the WSOPP account is at $22, 501. Expenditures this year have been made for postage, printing, CEU applications and Membership Meeting costs.
Committee Reports
Medicaid Committee
Pam Hoffman, RN, Mary Chukka, OTR and Matt Fanale from Medicaid presented in the morning session. Their presentations included tips on writing better PA's, and upcoming changes to the Medicaid program and computer systems. They will be announcing training sessions later this fall on their new automated systems.
Greg Gruman, chair of the Medicaid Committee made note that the morning presentation session by Medicaid Representatives was very informative and evoked great group discussions.
Greg announced that the Wisconsin Medicaid Program, has done a review of their current fee schedules for O&P services and will be increasing the allowable rates in the upcoming months. This was done in an effort to more closely match current CMS policies.
Greg further explained that through WSOPP's efforts, Pam Hoffman, RN and Mark Chukka, OTR- from the Prior Auth Dept.- have now made a formal request to the state program to budget for an O&P consultant internal position within Medicaid to assist in processing and reviewing O&P prior authorization requests.
Greg closed his committee report by pointing out that within the past 1 year WSOPP has been able to establish an increased trust and improved relationship between Wisconsin Medicaid and the O&P profession. He indicated that Medicaid representatives continue to be interested in presenting at future Membership Meetings.
Licensure Committee
The licensure committee has completed a second draft of the proposed Licensure Bill. This was distributed to all members present, followed by a brief discussion. Tom Current, acting Licensure Chairman stated that continued work is being done to begin to analyze the fees involved in producing and carrying the bill, along with analyzing proposed practitioner fees for licensure. Tom indicated that the licensure committee is in need of additional volunteers to analyze the remaining data. The next Licensure committee meeting will be on May 12, 2008.
Parity Committee
Jake Wood distributed a "Parity Packet" to all present membership containing a draft letter, timetable, flyer and poster for review. These materials will be produced and sent to all O&P facilities in the state once the Parity Bill is assigned a draft number. The packet will provide all the information needed to assist in the promotion and support of the Parity Bill.
The Parity committee plans on hosting a series of "Town Hall Meetings" across the state to rally the support of the general public. These meetings are proposed for Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay and Wausau.
The ACA has offered their assistance in providing and obtaining media coverage and obtaining patient support sources. This will be in addition to their support of HR5615 for National Parity.
Activities in the near future for the Parity Committee include sponsoring a table at "Running for Hope"
Communication Committee
Andrea Pavlik, CO reported that the committee is currently exploring website administration firms to assist in prompt updating of the current website: www.wsopp.org. This is necessary due to the need to rapidly disburse information regarding Parity and Licensure bills.
The Communications committee also has been working on securing a site for the fall 2008 Semi-Annual Membership meeting. The meeting will be held on Septamber 26, 2008 at Olympia Resort, Oconomowoc, WI. Meeting notices, along with 2009 election ballots, and the next Newsletter will be mailed out in August 2008.
