Board of Directors

June 7, 2002

Minutes

 

The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. by WCA President Sherry Walker, DC at the WCA building in Madison. Board member absent Dr. Baker.

 

A new board member Tom Scherer, DC representing the Northeast district was welcomed to the board. Dr. Scherer was provided with the information necessary for him to understand the responsibilities related to his position and the antitrust laws.

 

Motion One: Moved by McMahon, seconded by Davis to approve the minutes of the April 4, 2002 meeting. Motion carried.

 

Motion Two: Moved by Varish, seconded by McMahon to approve the following:

 

Applicants seeking regular membership:    

                Dale W. Brockman, DC                                       Madison

                Charles Fleuchaus, DC                                        Milwaukee

                Jeremy J. Fritz, DC                                                Kaukauna

                Lisa J. Humfeld, DC                                             Fairbault, MN

                Richard L. Hruby, Jr., DC                                    West Allis

                Brian E. Palevac, DC                                            Franklin

                Dustin D. Riddle, DC                                           New Berlin

                Ryan R. Sommers, DC                                         Wauwatosa

                Kurt R. Stein, DC                                                  Barneveld

                Jon Stowe, DC                                                      Black River Falls

                Mark S. Tonn, DC                                                Hancock, MN

                Jill K. Williamson, DC                                          South St. Paul, MN             

 

Applicants seeking student membership:     

                Angela M. Biesteveld                                         Palmer

                Andrew D. Kiefert                                                Palmer

                Ryan E. Leibfried                                                  Palmer

                Jared A. Plemon                                                   Palmer

                Jeremy F. Weisz                                                   Logan

                Timothy Wilbanks                                               Palmer

 

Motion carried.

 

Motion Three: Moved by Douglas, seconded by Davis to table the admission of Mark S. Tonn, DC. Motion carried

 

Motion Four: Moved by McMahon, seconded by Lyne to approve the following:

 

Members seeking change in status:

                Barbara K. Bergman, DC                                     Active to retired

                Sandra Chilson, DC                                             Active to semi-retired

                Darcy Keehn, DC                                                 Active to semi-retired

 

Motion carried

 

Motion Five: Moved by Henrichs, seconded by Lyne to approve the following:

 

Members wishing interim status:                   

                William M Bauer, DC                                          

                Leslie Best, DC                                                    

                Anthony Hall, DC                                               

                Chad Hoffman, DC                                              

                Fred Hastings, DC                                              

                Mark Koch, DC                                                   

                Jane Kocol, DC                                                    

                Jerry Nolan, DC                                                   

                David Sawicki, DC                                              

                Tim Smykal, DC                                                   

                Bryan Varichak, DC                                            

 

Motion carried

 

Motion Six: Moved by McMahon, seconded by Lyne to approve the following:

 

Members wishing to cancel membership:     

Todd W. Blan, DC                                              

Joseph Hansen, DC                                            

Timothy Kroneck, DC                                        

Steve Owens, DC                                                

Christopher Severt, DC                                      

Michael Vandecastle, DC                                  

Gene Vradenburg, DC                                        

Scott Wruck, DC                                     

 

Motion carried.

 

Medical Assistance     Effective July 1, 2002 (subject to the state budget) the State of Wisconsin is raising the Medical Assistance Fees as follows:

 

Procedure Code                     Current Rate              New Rate

       98940                                     $12.94                        $17.31

       98941                                     $12.94                        $23.90

       98942                                     $12.94                        $30.97

 

Chiropractors will be allowed to use a broader range of x-ray codes beginning later this fall. Fees for services other than the chiropractic adjustment are expected to increase about 1%. Medical assistance informed the WCA that chiropractors were allowed to limit the number of MA patients they accept as long as they did not discriminate based on race, sex, color or creed.

 

Radiation Rules The state is in the process of updating the rules that regulate the use of ionizing radiation. Chiropractors will be subject to these rules, as well as the inspections and fees that result from the rules.

 

Fee Survey  The WCA will distribute its 2002 fee survey on July 1, 2002. The survey will be conducted under the rules established by the FTC with all results being reported to an outside accounting firm. The staff will also develop a fee survey for the managed care component of a doctor’s practice.

 

CA Delegation Classes    Beginning this fall the WCA will offer a trial program whereby CA Delegation classes will be offered on a Fri-Sun basis instead of three consecutive Thursdays.

 

 Medicare – Federal Law Proposals  Congress has yet to act on Medicare. The WCA will send a brief survey to determine the number of letters that have been written by patients and to encourage our members on the importance of this initiative.

 

Motion Seven: Moved by McMahon, seconded by Davis to offer the ACA the opportunity to host a reception at the 2002 Fall convention.  Motion carried. Should the ACA accept the invitation to host a reception, a similar offer would be made to the ICA.

 

Channel 58 – Chiropractic Stroke Story

 

The board discussed the story that ran on Channel 58 regarding the Canadian study of the risk of stroke for patients that have cervical adjustments. The consensus of those that saw the story was that the commercials hyping the story were outrageous while the story itself was less exploitive.

 

Worker’s Compensation Research Institute – PPD Benefits  The WCRI has released a draft report comparing PPD benefits among six states including Wisconsin. WCRI represents an anti-provider bias in most of their reports and this report is no exception. Instead of attempting to do real analysis on the issues surrounding PPD they attempt to blame providers for the high cost of PPD benefits. Wisconsin chiropractors looked favorable when compared to providers in other states. When finalized, the report will undoubtedly be presented to the Worker’s Compensation Advisory Council.

 

Motion Eight: Moved by Masche, seconded by Davis to defer action on the request by Olu Akinshemoyin, DC to assist in the funding of a school of chiropractic in Ghana, Africa until a more detailed proposal is presented.

 

Fee Splitting

 

The equipment financing plan offered by Innovative Healthcare Solution was discussed because of concerns that paying for the equipment based on a “per use” fee may be a violation of the fee splitting rules. The WCA has asked the legal counsel for IHS for a letter from Regulation & Licensing authorizing this type of transaction before the WCA will accept IHS advertising.

 

97140

 

CMS has announced that they are changing the edits so that under certain conditions a 97140, 997124, and 97112 code could be billed in conjunction with CMT codes. In order to qualify, the procedures must be done to different spinal areas in the time prescribed in the CPT manual.  Members will be provided with a memo explaining this change in CMS policy.

 

Motion Nine: Moved by Douglas, seconded by Varish to request that staff prepare a preliminary draft of the legislation necessary to initiate the concepts described in the “Future of Chiropractic” article published in the January edition of the Wisconsin Chiropractor. Motion carried. This is a preliminary draft that will used to guide future board discussions. The board has yet to take a position on any of the specific alternative raised in the article.

 

Medicare ABN Notices   CMS has rejected the WCA request for multiple signature lines on the ABN form but indicated they are studying our request to use a single signature for a range of treatment dates covered by a specific problem.

 

External Review Process  The board reviewed the steps necessary for a doctor to request an external review as of June 15, 2002. This information was published in a recent article in the Wisconsin Chiropractor and members with questions were encouraged to contact the WCA office.

 

The meeting was adjourned approximately 2:00 p.m.

 

Table to August Mark S. Tonn application for membership