WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS
WAPA Spring Conference 2020
Save the date and join us April 25-28, 2020
Seattle Airport Marriott Hotel
Seattle, Washington
Online registration is now open!
Questions? Please email WAPA at: [email protected]
Message from the WAPA President
December 2, 2019
You Matter!
Dear Colleagues,
Your voice matters! The short legislative session begins on January 13, 2020 and this will be an uphill battle my friends. We need PAs to organize legislative outreach immediately!
WAPA represents ALL Physician Assistants in Washington state, both members and non-members and it is the membership dollars that makes this work possible. We listen and take action regarding PA concerns with the medical commission, advancing legislation/modernize PA practice and laws that affect PAs-both state and federal. This work is never done. Please ensure we can continue to be your voice. Because YOU matter!
The delegation agreement issue with the medical commission is resolving. The commission recently launched a one- day approval process on their website. We are thankful to the commission for their responsiveness to this pressing issue. I am grateful to those affected PAs who reached out for help.
A huge thank you to Danielle Satow, PA-C our videographer, the legislative committee, board of directors, regional directors and our lobbyist Chelsea Hager, JD for their hard work in organizing this outreach. If there is one thing I have learned since assuming this role, after 50 years, we need to continue to educate employers on the value we bring to all specialties and understand the imperative to dispel misinformation.
A template letter in support of our bill SB 5411 will be posted soon for your convenience on our website: www.WAPA.com Enlist your supervising physician and as many PA colleagues as possible to send an email to your representative. It is extremely important to be heard by YOU to your representative.
Additionally, PAs will be at the capital to speak to legislators in person on February 5, 2020. Establishing the message prior to February 5th paves the way for these crucial conversations and demonstrates our commitment to this endeavor.
Recently, we met with WAPA past presidents to discuss how to move Washington PAs toward membership. It is a nationwide issue. We agreed that education and communication is essential. WAPA is launching social media platforms to keep you informed. We will be posting webinars in January on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and the WAPA website to educate PAs and physicians about our upcoming bill, SB 5411. We will also post a webinar directed toward Human Resource managers on advantages of hiring a PA. Please feel free to view these technology outreaches and share them.
Register today for WAPA PA Lobby Day: 2020 PA Lobby Day Registration Form
We look forward to seeing you in Olympia!
Best regards,
Eileen Ravella PA-C
2020 WAPA STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS
Deadline for submission for the Spring 2020 student scholarships is April 10, 2020.
Veteran Student Scholarship Veteran Scholarship Application
WAPA Student Scholarship WAPA Scholarship Application
Faculty Reference: 2020 Faculty Reference
2020 WAPA Lobby Day | February 5, 2020
Senate Bill 5411
*The major changes are listed on the first 9 pages of this pdf. WAPA worked with WSMA to bring this bill to legislation
PA Talking Points
WAPA Legislative Work Plan 2020
WAPAs 2020 PA Lobby Day is Wednesday, February 5, 2020. We will meet up at the Governor hotel in Olympia.
An agenda for our lobby day will be available in January 2020.
WAPA will set your legislative appointments for you.
NEWS
AAPA: HR 1052 | Physician Assistant Direct Payment Act
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Feb. 7, 2019)-Today, the American Academy of PAs (AAPA), the professional organization representing more than 131,000 PAs (physician assistants) across the country, applauds members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Adrian Smith (R-NE), for introducing H.R. 1052, the Physician Assistant Direct Payment Act, to authorize PAs to receive direct payment under Medicare.
Currently, PAs are the only health professionals who are authorized to bill Medicare for their services but are not able to receive direct payment. Medicare permits all health professionals-physicians, advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), physical therapists, psychologists, podiatrists, social workers, and others-to receive direct payment under their own name and National Provider Identifier number.
When PAs cannot be paid directly by Medicare, they are unable to reassign their payments in a manner similar to physicians and APRNs. The inability to be paid directly further hinders PAs from fully participating in the increasing number of innovative value-based payment arrangements and emerging models of healthcare delivery. For example, the restriction means PAs are often unable to work for healthcare staffing companies or group practices, which are increasingly used by hospitals to deliver care, because they cannot reassign their Medicare payments to their employer.
"When enacted, this legislation will improve access to care for patients. By removing unnecessary administrative burdens and restrictions, it will enhance the ability of PAs to bring their proven clinical competence and skill sets to patients in need," said Jonathan E. Sobel, DMSc, MBA, PA-C, DFAAPA, FAPACVS, president and chair of the AAPA Board of Directors. "We look forward to continue working with Congresswoman Sewell and Congressman Smith to improve access to healthcare."
"Our country is facing a significant shortage of healthcare providers, and this needed legislation will help ensure that PAs are a part of the solution" Sobel continued. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of PAs is expected to increase by 37 percent from 2016 to 2026.
Enactment of this legislation will not change how PAs currently practice and it will not change PA scope of practice.
HCA Update: WSMA seeks delay in potentially burdensome HCA change to home health and DME orders
The WSMA is seeking to delay the Jan. 1 effective date of a new state Health Care Authority Apple Health (Medicaid) policy regarding home health services and durable medical equipment that threatens to increase the administrative burden on physicians.
As reported in the Nov. 28 Membership Memo, the HCA has amended its rules for home health services and medical equipment to align with federal law. Under the new policy, starting Jan. 1, only physicians will be authorized to order home health services and medical equipment for Apple Health patients—advance registered nurse practitioners and physician assistants wishing to place a home health or DME order will be required to have a physician's signature.
WSMA's concerns over these changes are essentially twofold:
- A requirement to have physicians review home health and DME orders by ARNPs and PAs to confirm medical necessity is administratively burdensome, adding more tasks for busy physicians to absorb, even if there is a mechanism whereby physicians can bill for that activity. This requirement impedes the delivery of care and appears contrary to the spirit of the current administration's "Patients Over Paperwork" initiative.
- The requirement does not appear to address the reality that here in Washington, ARNPs have independent practice authority, and in many practice settings, ARNPs in independent practice have little or no oversight by a physician and therefore are not positioned to comply with this requirement.
The WSMA is seeking an opportunity with HCA leadership to, at least, forestall temporarily the Jan. 1 implementation of these policy changes. This would allow time to explore with both the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the HCA the feasibility of addressing these two concerns in a more reasoned manner and timeframe, particularly in view of the holiday period when communications among parties will be impeded by vacation schedules.
We will keep you apprised of further developments.
NEW: January 29, 2019 | State of Washington Health Care Authority Clarification on Home Health Services
