A M E R I C A N A S S O C I A T I O N O F H E A L T H C A R E A D M I N I S T R A T I V E M A N A G E M E N T. President s Message

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1 A M E R I C A N A S S O C I A T I O N O F H E A L T H C A R E A D M I N I S T R A T I V E M A N A G E M E N T Mountain Buzz SUMMER 2013 President s Message Inside this issue: Board Members 3 Legislative Day 4 Save the Date 5 Board Meeting 10 Members Moving 15 Annual Sponsors 17 Dear Valued AAHAM Members: A warm summer s greeting to our Rocky Mountain AAHAM members! The summer is already heating up and many of us are enjoying taking some time off to enjoy our families and loved ones and to take advantage of everything our beautiful state has to offer. But, alas, the time comes we have to return to our jobs in the ever changing world of healthcare. By now most of you are seeing the effects of the sequester with the 2% cut in Medicare payments beginning April 1, 2013, as part of the spending reductions required by the Budget Control Act of It is anticipated Medicare providers will see $11 billion in reimbursement cuts in 2013, according to preliminary OMB estimates. Ouch! This certainly will have an effect on us as our financial leaders work their magic to come up with our facility budgets. It seems that many of our education budgets are being cut which makes it that much more difficult to attend meetings that provide many of us with the CEUs needed to maintain our certification. We hope to be able to bring you affordable education that provides value and meaning to our jobs. I encourage you to seek out any of the Rocky Mountain AAHAM Board Members with ideas and suggestions for meeting topics and become involved as we work to bring you valuable education. We are planning the AAHAM Fall Meeting to be held in Rifle on October AAHAM s ANI will be held in New Orleans October 16-October 18. On December 3 rd, AAHAM joins with CO HFMA and CMCC (Colorado Managed Care Collaborative) to bring you All Payer s Day. When budgets are slashed, I understand the difficulty of being able to attend meetings so we must make decisions that will be of the most benefit to us. I hope you will be able to join us for at least one, if not more, of our meetings we have planned. Have a safe rest of your summer! Danette

2 Chapter Operations Report On 6/13/13 word was received from the chairperson of AAHAM s National Development Committee, Mike Dobbs, that the Rocky Mountain Chapter had scored an 86 out of 100 possible points on the 2012 Chapter Operations Report! The COR provides a sketch of our finances, IRS responsibilities, bylaws, and other items necessary for our chapter to succeed. Points are awarded according to the chapter s activities and operations and each chapter is assigned to a category based on its total points. Because of the score we received there is no immediate action required as far as assistance and guidance that might be needed. Great job to everyone in the chapter who helped us to achieve this score! Page 2 Mountain Buzz

3 Rocky Mountain AAHAM Board Members Danette Coulter, President ( ) PFS Director Pioneers Medical Center Committee Chair: Sponsorship Judy Griffith, Board Member ( ) Regional Director Business Development Healthcare Resource Group Committee Chair: Communications Laura King, Vice President ( ) Access Manager Valley View Hospital Committee Chair: Education Sarah Moore, CPAM, Board Member ( ) Billing Manager Valley View Hospital Committee Co-Chair: Professional Certification Nancy Coppom, Secretary ( ) PFS Director Boulder Community Hospital Committee Chair: Technical Certification Stephanie Warth, Past President -Chairman (2013) Revenue Cycle Director Gunnison Valley Hospital Committee Chair: Voting Pilar Mank, Treasurer ( ) Revenue Cycle Director Healthcare Management Committee Chair: Membership Adam Plotkin, Attorney Healthcare Outsourcing Network Legal Counsel Craig Deehring, Board Member ( ) Director of Network Services Western Healthcare Alliance Page 3

4 AAHAM LEGISLATIVE DAY 2013 WASHINGTON, DC Submitted by Danette Coulter, CPAM/CCAM The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was again the focus of AAHAM s Legislative Day, held on April 3-4 in Washington, DC. Thanks to our local Rocky Mountain AAHAM Chapter for providing me the opportunity to represent them and Colorado as we lobby for this important piece of legislation. As with every Legislative Day, there is always an orientation meeting the first day for first-time attendees as well as some tips on grass roots lobbying and an overview of AAHAM s position on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). On Thursday April 4, our man in Washington, Paul Miller from Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies, was one of the main speakers at our morning meeting along with several others, including representatives from the US Chamber of Commerce. This year the Chamber of Commerce is leading the way, along with the American Bankers Association, Hotel & Lodging Association, Cargo Airlines Association, National Association of Retailers, the National Retail Federation, and AAHAM to get the language in the TCPA amended to reflect the changing technological times. Specifically, the topic was modernizing the language of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) enacted in It was originally passed in response to concerns about the increasing number of telemarketing calls and prerecorded calls made to consumers homes. Currently as it is written the TCPA prohibits anyone from using this type of technology to call wireless numbers, including healthcare providers or their agents. What AAHAM is lobbying for is to amend the Act to improve the communication infrastructure between and among consumers and those service providers with which consumers choose to engage. What this means is that if you provide your cell phone number to a business with whom you have established a relationship, then consent is given to receive calls to your cell phones by means of an automated dialer or pre-recorded message. In 2012 cell-phone-only households was at 35.8%. 60% of year olds and 51% of year olds live in cell-only households. The trend of landline-only homes is expected to continue to decrease while cell- phone-only homes will continue to rise. In 1997 there were 56 billion minutes of cell phone usage; in 2012 it was 2.32 trillion minutes! Nearly one of every six American homes (16%) receives all, or almost all, calls on wireless phones despite also having a landline. This has a significant impact on the way business is conducted, especially for those businesses that make large volumes of calls utilizing technology that assist in the dialing process. Although auto dialers are quite often considered a tool of telemarketing, retailers, utility companies, schools, and financial institutions, and those of us in the healthcare business also know that our own facilities, extended business offices, and collection agencies use these tools as well. Lack of proper communication could have damaging effects for the consumer if they are unable to receive information that could affect them such as negative credit reporting, foreclosure, adverse financial action, or litigation. Prohibiting contact via cell phones can ultimately result in greater uncollectible balances for healthcare organizations and that bad debt will end up increasing the cost of healthcare. (continued on pages 14-15) Page 4 Mountain Buzz

5 SAVE THE DATE OCTOBER 24TH & 25TH We have an exciting agenda filled with a variety of topics from communication to healthcare exchange updates. We look forward to seeing you in October! Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 5

6 Page 6 Mountain Buzz

7 CERTIFICATION UPDATE 2013 AAHAM Certification Calendar August 12-23, 2013 CPAT/CCAT/CCT exam period September 2, 2013 Registration Deadline for November CPAT/CCAT/CCT exams October 28-November 2, 2013 Fall CPAM/CCAM exams Pictures from the Medicare Boot Camp held in March November 11-22, 2013 CPAT/CCAT/ CCT exam period December 2, 2013 Registration deadline for February 2014 CPAT/CCAT/CCT exams Page 7

8 WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS Tracy Wilson Manager Longmont United Hospital Mary Ann Jones PFS Director Estes Park Medical Center Janet Accomando-Petty PFS Director Montrose Memorial Hospital SAVE THE DATE AAHAM ANI OCTOBER Page 8 Mountain Buzz

9 CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM Annual Fee: $750 GOLD Three free registrations Vendor display (2) Full page color ad in the Quarterly Newsletter Introduction of a speaker FOR SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Danette Coulter Chapter President: dcoulter@pioneershospital.org SILVER Annual Fee: $500 Two free registrations Vendor display (2) 1/2 page color ad in the Quarterly Newsletter Introduction of a speaker BRONZE Annual Fee: $250 One free registration Vendor display (1) 1/4 page color ad in the Quarterly Newsletter Introduction of a speaker Page 9

10 Rocky Mountain AAHAM Board Meeting Minutes June 27, 2013 Phone meeting called to order at 12:09 p.m. by Danette Coulter Roll Call: Present: Danette, Laura, Nancy, Pilar, Judy, Stephanie, Sarah Absent: Craig, Adam No changes to previous board minutes of 3/18/13. Approved as written. President's Report: Received a score of 86 out of 100 points on the 2012 Chapter Operations Report. No assistance or guidance is needed from the National office with this score. All the changes to the by-laws were passed as follows: 1. Should the motto of the Rocky Mountain Chapter be changed from Moving Patient Accounting into the Future to Moving Revenue Cycle into the Future? 100% approved. 2. Should a Communications Committee be added to the organization to develop newsletters and blasts? 100% approved. 3. Should a copy of the chapter bank statement be sent to the chapter president as well as the secretary? 93.3% approved. 4. Should all Board Members attend at least 50% of the membership meetings per year? 93.3% approved. 5. Shall a Board Member who fails to attend two Board meetings per year be required to voluntarily resign from the Board? 86.7% approved. 6. Should the duties of President include filing the appropriate IRS forms as directed by the National office as well as the periodic reports required by the state of Colorado? 73.3% approved. No Vice-President's report. No Secretary s report. Treasurer s Report: We have another new sponsor (Passport) that came in as a gold sponsor. We have had no expenses since last quarter. Amount in checking is $14, which includes some exam fees and tech exam deposits. Pilar will confirm if this amount includes reimbursement from the All Payers Day 12/12. Stephanie reminded group that if we exceed $15,000, we will need an outside audit. Danette to review. Amount in savings is $3, Page 10 Mountain Buzz

11 National AAHAM Report: Danette will have a report to Judy for the newsletter regarding the April Legislative Day. Big topic TCPA. Certification webinar series coming up: 7/19 and 8/2. Sarah will tag team with Danette on the billing section for the 8/2 webinar. Committee Reports: Education: Chair: Laura King Upcoming Rural Road Show notices sent out by Fall meeting is confirmed for 10/24 and 10/25 at Grand River Health in Rifle. We will begin noon Thursday and end at noon Friday. They have catering capabilities and a smaller conference room if we decide to offer CPAT education prior to noon Thursday. There are no discounts available for hotels. The Hampden Inn is next door and Laura is negotiating discount. The agenda is close to being set. Laura is checking on pricing for Lifestyle coach, Paula Friedland. If not, what about Todd Hunt? A documentation specialist would be great to have and John Currier has been suggested. He is a National Officer. Another thought is ICD-10. Nancy Coppom to follow up with Claire Riley. Pilar will reach out to Shelly regarding Physician Billing. COHAM meeting will be August 8-9. Laura and Greg Sauer from Valley View will have a shared presentation; Quality Assurance for Revenue Cycle. Membership: Chair: Pilar Mank We had 2 new national members join in June: Mary Ann Jones from Estes Park Medical Center and Tracy Wilson from Longmont United Hospital. Certification Passed CPAT certification out of 5. No one is signed up currently for the CPAM or the CPAT in August. There will be 1 retake of the Billing portion of the CPAT. No one has asked for manuals but they can be loaned out. Suggested to have a blurb in the newsletter letting people know of their availability. Fundraising/Sponsorship: Chair: Danette Coulter Deadline for the newsletter is 7/12. Danette will contact Passport for a logo since with a Gold sponsor, they will have a full page ad. We will need another ad from PFC. Judy will them. Nothing to report for fundraising. Page 11

12 Rocky Mountain AAHAM Board Meeting Minutes June 27, 2013 (continued) Nominating: Chair: Stephanie Warth Stephanie will prepare a recap for the newsletter on the survey she sent out. The great news is that 50% of those who responded are satisfied with the chapter and 50% are Very satisfied. Old Business: Danette suggested we reset the Board meetings so we can report on them in the Newsletters. Friday, September 20 will be an in person luncheon meeting at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs, following the Great Fall Rural Conference. Danette asked if anyone has reached out to Ira Palmer and Richard Candelaria who had expressed an interest in volunteering. Laura had left a message for Ira but no response back. Laura will reach back out as she would really like help with the Education committee. Danette submitted the application form with fee for our Tax ID. Payment was processed 4/29 and 5/30 it was sent to the exempt organizations function office for screening and processing. It will take about 45 days to hear back. New Business: None Danette adjourned the meeting at 12:51 p.m. Second by Pilar Mank. All approved. Motion passed. Respectfully submitted, Nancy Coppom Secretary Page 12 Mountain Buzz

13 AAHAM LEGISLATIVE DAY 2013 WASHINGTON, DC (continued) With our talking points in hand, the attendees at Legislative Day met with aides of Congressmen and Senators from their respective states to explain the topic and ask if they would be willing to support the issue with the possibility of sponsoring the legislation Even though this was only my 2 nd Legislative Day, I still had butterflies and was pleased when Tom Woods from the PFS Group accompanied me to the three pre-scheduled meetings. Tom and I met first with Roma Shah, Legislative Fellow to Senator Michael Bennet (D) followed by Kim Corbin, Legislative Counsel to Senator Mark Udall (D). Our last meeting was with Jeff Small, Senior Legislative Assistant to Congressman Scott Tipton (R), Third District. Time will tell if AAHAM is successful in our lobbying efforts. I encourage everyone to write to our Senators and Congressmen and ask they support the modernization of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for the 21 st century. Contact information: Senator Michael Bennet (D) Russell Building Washington DC (p) (toll free) (f) Rina Shaw, Legislative Fellow rina_shah@bennet.senate.gov Senator Mark Udall (D) Hart Office Building, Suite SH-328 Washington, DC (p) (toll free) (f) Kim Corbin, Legislative Counsel kim_corbin@markudall.senate.gov Page 13 Mountain Buzz

14 Jeff Small, Senior Legislative Assistant For information on who to contact if Congressman Tipton is not your district representative, go to and click on Colorado. On 4/29/2013 National AAHAM members should have received the that AAHAM s position on the TCPA was recognized in Politico, a Washington, DC political newspaper. So, it seems as if we are making some headway! A copy of the article can be found at: If you want to take action right now, click on the following link which will take to the AAHAM website where you can our representatives about the TCPA. Just fill in the blanks and click send! If you would like additional information on Legislative Day or the position paper, I would be happy to visit with you. Please contact me at or dcoulter@pioneershospital.org. MEMBERS ON THE MOVE Janet Accomando-Petty is the new PFS Director at Montrose Memorial Hospital in Montrose. Page 14

15 EDITOR S NOTE: The Rocky Mountain AAHAM Chapter Newsletter is published quarterly and provides general information about the Rocky Mountain AAHAM Chapter. Opinions expressed in articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Chapter or its members. Members are encouraged to submit educational articles that would be of interest to the members. Articles may be edited for clarity, length, and grammar. The editor reserves the right to accept or reject any submission. Information considered for publication should be submitted to the Communications Chair, Judy Griffith, via at: jgriffith@hrgpros.com Page 15

16 BY-LAW AMENDMENT SURVEY RESULTS Thank you to those AAHAM members who responded to the survey that was sent out on 6/17/13 regarding amending language in several of the Chapter s by-laws. As stated in the current by-laws, 2/3 majority vote of the membership must approve the changes. The results: 1. Should the motto of the Rocky Mountain Chapter be changed from Moving Patient Accounting into the Future to Moving Revenue Cycle into the Future? 100% approved. 2. Should a Communications Committee be added to the organization to develop newsletters and blasts? 100% approved. 3. Should a copy of the chapter bank statement be sent to the chapter president as well as the secretary? 93.3% approved. 4. Should all Board Members attend at least 50% of the membership meetings per year? 93.3% approved. 5. Shall a Board Member who fails to attend two Board meetings per year be required to voluntarily resign from the Board? 86.7% approved. 6. Should the duties of President include filing the appropriate IRS forms as directed by the National office as well as the periodic reports required by the state of Colorado? 73.3% approved. Page 16

17 THANK YOU TO OUR 2013 CORPORATE SPONSORS GOLD SILVER

18 THANK YOU TO OUR 2013 CORPORATE SPONSORS BRONZE