September 2005 | Vol. 23, No. 9

Plan Now to Attend SVU’s 2005 Current Issues Conference

Plan now to attend SVU’s 2005 Current Issues Conference on the latest regulatory and legislative advocacy developments affecting the vascular ultrasound profession, November 4-5, at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, VA, one mile from Reagan National Airport. The Sheraton Crystal City Hotel provides free shuttle bus service from the airport to the hotel and back. This will be the first time since November 2003 that SVU has had a Current Issues Conference. Following the 2003 Current Issues Conference the SVU Board decided to hold this legislative and regulatory update conference every other year.

This year’s Current Issues Conference will include sessions on:

• Overview of SVU’s Government Relations Committee efforts
• Latest info on the Medicare Carrier’s Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs), especially as they relate to including an accreditation and/or credentialing requirement for reimbursement for vascular ultrasound studies.
• Medicare Compliance Issues
• Fraud and Abuse Issues and False Claims Litigation
• CME Policy/Regulatory Issues such as the 2006 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule and a proposed Pay For Performance Policy
• Vascular Lab Survival: Fundamentals of Medicare Reimbursement
• Medicare Audits
• Status of the SAAAVE Act in Congress
• Status of the Preserving Patient Access to Physicians Act in Congress
• And much more.

The Current Issues Conference will offer experienced government relations /reimbursement speakers from both the vascular ultrasound profession, such as Bill Schroedter, Frank West, Anne Jones and Bill Sarraille, as well as from federal government agencies and law firms.

Complete program details and a registration form for the SVU 2005 Current Issues Conference are available on the SVU website home page under Upcoming Events at www.svunet.org/events/currentissues/index.htm.

If you are involved in billing and claims reimbursement for your independent vascular lab or hospital imaging department, you need to attend this important two-day SVU Current Issues Conference.