Volume 2, Issue I
February 2008

Message From President

I am proud to be the second president of the Wisconsin Society of Orthotists, Prosthetists and Pedorthists (WSOPP). I have had the privilege of working with our past president, Jake Wood and the Board of Directors, since the start of WSOPP. It is so exciting to know where we started and where we are only few years later. Our membership has grown, though not near enough; our meetings are providing valuable educations, CEU's , the opportunity to interact with our colleagues and most importantly a part of the future of orthotists, prosthetists and pedorthists in Wisconsin.

Please look at the Committee reports highlighted in this issue, including exciting dialogue with some of the powers that be in Wisconsin Medicaid - by the way, we will have two representatives from Wisconsin Medicaid at our April 25, 2008 meeting.

The parity committee has been working hard and is getting close to possibly submitting a bill to the Wisconsin legislature. You have received (via email) a draft of the proposed licensure bill that our Licensure Committee has done a wonderful job preparing, this is a place we require everyone's input ASAP! Both Parity and Licensure needs everyone's review and input - it will impact not only our futures, but those of our patients also. Please do not take your responsibility lightly; if you don't get involved not, don't complain later.

You are reading our second newsletter, may have attended one of our wonderful meetings, or checked out WSOPP's website. Andrea Pavlik and the Communication Committee has been working hard to organize and provide all of these extra benefits to WSOPP Members. I urge you to renew your membership and/or join WSOPP to gain the benefits of our committees work.

WSOPP may be small, but we can be a big force - not only in reimbursement and legislature, but also in patient care and in changing peoples lives. But it all depends on you. Please get involved: volunteer, run for office, or sit on a committee - the opportunities will never run out.

See you in April for a fantastic meeting!

Dennis Janisse, C.Ped
President, WSOPP

Calendar of Events

Semi-Annual Membership Meeting

Inside this issue

• UPDATE: Parity Committee
• 2008 officers
• Minutes - 10/2007 meeting
• UPDATE: Licensure Committee
• Treasury report
• UPDATE: Medicaid Committee
• 2007 membership / sponsors

UPDATE: Parity Committee

The Parity committee met on October 24, 2007 to review the model parity bill which was previously discussed at the membership meeting on October 5, 2007. The WSOPP Board of Directors subsequently reviewed the draft and approved submission of the bill for introduction into the legislature for the 2008 session. Martin Ryan, CP, has provided tremendous assistance In directing our efforts and serving as our liaison. Thanks Marty!!

The "Preliminary Draft" has now been received back from the Legislative Reference Bureau along with a few key questions regarding language relative to specific definitions within the bill.

The parity committee is scheduled to meet on January 16, 2008 to discuss these questions and to send a final draft back to the WSOPP Board for their approval. At that point the Bill will be sent back to Martin Ryan who will relay it for official legislative introduction. Once the bill has been assigned a legislative number we will initiate the process of identifying co-sponsors. A copy of the final bill, as well as an information packet will be sent to all practitioners, facilities and members of WSOPP. We are planning a major "grassroots" effort to support and promote the bill. All of these efforts will be coordinated with the Amputee Coalition of America, as well as other allied groups.

Once the bill has been assigned a legislative number we will initiate the process of identifying co-sponsors. A copy of the final bill, as well as an information packet will be sent to all practitioners, facilities and members of WSOPP. We are planning a major "grassroots" effort to support and promote the bill. All of these efforts including patients, associations and allied health professionals.

Parity Committee Members

Following are WSOPP members that are active on the Medicaid committee:

If you would like to join the Parity committee, or have questions, comments or concerns regarding this committee, please contact the chairman:

Dennis Farrell, CP
414-259-1950
dennisfarrellcp@aol.com

2008 WSOPP Leadership

The 2008 elected officers/ leadership are:

Minuets: October 5 Membership 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 (414) 778-4500.

The meeting was called to order at 3:00 PM by President Jake Wood. Jake announced the results of the 2008 election of officers. Results are: President, Dennis Janisse; CPed, V. President, Dennis Farrell, CP; Secretary, Mick Batton, CO; Treasurer, Jim Sajdak, CPed; Director (3 years), Andrea Pavlik, CO.

The original ballots will be held for one year at the law office of attorney Raoul Ehr.

By Laws

The proposed change to the By Laws to include the position of Immediate Past President as a non-voting member was accepted without opposition on the floor. These changes will go into effect January 2008.

Minutes

The minute's form the April 2007 meeting were distributed and accepted by a vote on the request that future minutes contain more detail.

Committee Reports

Medicaid Committee

Pam Hoffman, RN from Medicaid presented in the morning session.

Greg Gruman, CP, and chair of the Medicaid Committee made note that the morning presentation session by Medicaid Representatives was very positive and informative. Mr. Gruman recommended that as part of improving the PA process, we as practitioners need to learn the skills that will allow us to "write to the standards". Mr. Gruman plans on continuing to lead the committee to meet with Medicaid representatives to discuss other relevant issues such as: reviewing lifetime and replacement requirements, expand the list of approved items, administrative matters such as EDS still not recognizing NPI identifiers and the fact that are 4-5 moths late in implementing other updates such as CMS guidelines, new HCPCS billing codes and for these changes to be concurrent with CMS timelines.

The Medicaid Committee will follow up with Pam Hoffman in 3 months. Requests from the floor were made to obtain statistical information pertaining to PA submission and denial rates. Mr. Gruman and his committee will compile information as Medicaid prepares information for us.

Licensure Committee

The licensure committee has completed a review of all existing licensure bills and is preparing to adopt Wisconsin's first proposed licensure bill. A discussion ensued regarding the economic impact on individuals and companies to maintain their licenses.

Parity Committee

ACA presented information in the morning regarding parity issues in the nation.

A sample of the first draft of the Wisconsin Parity Bill was distributed to the Members for review. An intensive debate/ review of the bill ensued regarding language and revision from the initial draft...

The Parity Committee will begin to plan outreach efforts with WSOPP members, O and P and Pedorthic. Facilities, patients, allied health professionals, association and business partners, coordination with licensure committee activities, possible fund raising and potential contact with the insurance industry.

Communication Committee

Andrea Pavlik, CO reported that the committee continues to work with Aetrex, who is sponsoring the WSOPP website, to upgrade and improve the site. A suggestion was made to add an interactive discussion area to the website. This will be researched for its feasibility in the future. The communication committee also announced the beginning of a semi-annual newsletter to improve communication with WSOPP members and the O and P industry in the State of Wisconsin. Andrea requested that anyone with ideas for topics or articles to include in the newsletter contact her so the committee can continue to improve the publication.

The Communications committee also has been working on securing a site for the spring 2008 Semi-Annual Membership meeting. The meeting will be held on April 25, 2008 at the Howard Johnson/ Antiqua Bay Resort, Wisconsin Dells, WI.

UPDATE: Licensure Committee

Since the October 5, 2007 meeting the Licensure committee has devised the initial draft of the Wisconsin Licensure Bill. This draft Bill was sent via email to all registered members of WSOPP with requests for input. A deadline of January 11, 2008 was established for all requests for changes and revisions to be submitted to Chairman of the Licensure Committee, Mick Batton, CO.

A second draft of the Wisconsin Licensure Bill will be presented to the Board of Directors prior to the upcoming April 25, 2008 meeting. This draft will be presented back to the membership at the April meeting.

Once the Wisconsin Licensure Bill has been approved by both Board of Directors and WSOPP Membership, the committee will begin the process of preparing the bill for presentation to the Wisconsin State House for voting.

To date, WSOPP has been working with several legislators to identify a sponsor for the bill.

The draft of this bill has been emailed to all current members. If you did not receive an email draft, or for non-members, would like to receive a copy of the current Draft, contact Andrea Pavlik, CO, Communications Committee Chairperson, at Andrea.Jeske@Physiocorp.com Or (414) 778-4500

Licensure Committee Members

Following are WSOPP members that are active on the Medicaid committee:

If you would like to join the Medicaid committee, or have questions, comments or concerns regarding this committee, please contact the chairman:

Mick Batton, CO
920-725-6200

Treasury Report

The books for Fiscal Year 2007 have been completed and reconciled. Following is a report of expenses for the year:

Account Current Balance:

$16,668.82

Total costs for 2007:

Seminars: $1782.48

Accounting: $250.00

Mailings: $621.47

Phone Charges: $ 132.00

Total: $2785.95

Treasury files and materials will be transferred to the 2008 treasurer, Jim Sajdak, C.Ped

UPDATE: Medicaid Committee

Since the October 5, 2007 Membership Meeting, the Medicaid Committee has focused on two areas of issue. Firstly, Greg Gruman, CP, Committee Chairman, has been in contact with both the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) and EDS, a private vendor of state Medicaid services, regarding fee schedules. The effort was to ensure that EDS would follow DHFS mandates to implement CMS directives. In the past, DHFS annually sends a notification to EDS to implement the new codes and updated fees. SHFS is under the impression that EDS follows and adheres EDS has not done this. DHFS realizes now that this failure to have compliant contractors puts the Department in non-compliance as well, according to Federal Stature. DHFS has initiated follow-up requests to ensure compliance.

The second effort made by the Committee was to secure Medicaid speakers for the upcoming April 25, 2008 meeting in Wisconsin Dells. Pam Hoffman (from the Prior Authorization Unit) and Matt Fanale (from the Policy Area) have agreed to attend the meeting to address the group. WSOPP has provided ample time in the meeting agenda to ensure that everyone present is able to ask any questions and voice concerns to the Medicaid representatives.

For more information on Medicaid Committee activities, contact:

Greg Gruman, CP ggruman@winkley.com or 763-546-1177

Medicaid Committee Members

Following are WSOPP members that are active on the Medicaid committee:

If you would like to join the Medicaid committee, or have questions, comments or concerns regarding this committee, please contact the chairman:

Greg Gruman
763-546-1177
ggruman@winkley.com

Your Assistance Please...

There has been a flurry of activity within the WSOPP committees, activity done by the work of our dedicated volunteers. But, to continue to move forward at the pace we are, we will need many more volunteers.

Volunteers are especially needed to assist the parity committee in starting a grassroots campaign to gain awareness and momentum for our parity bill to be able to be carried through the legislative process. Volunteering can be as simple as agreeing to collect the names of patients who have been affected by a lack of parity in the state and who are willing to contact their legislature to express their support or to assist in fund-raising efforts. Please contact a committee chairperson to find our how you can join the committee and become a volunteer. Jake Wood, CP, immediate past president of WSOPP is allow volunteering to collect new and/or used prosthetic items that you may want to clear out of your office. Jake will them take them to some of the organizations that volunteer prosthetic services in third world countries. If you would like to make a donation, please contact Jake Wood at:

Jake Wood, CO
414-257-2727
kwoodk@aol.com

Or send to
10506 W Bluemound Road
Wauwatosa, WI 53226

WSOPP Members

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AFFILIATE MEMBER

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