APWCA News

In support of its ongoing efforts to enhance quality wound care through promoting inter-professional collaboration, the American Professional Wound Care Association (APWCA) is launching several Special Interest Groups (SIGs). We are inviting interested individuals to join and participate in these SIGs.

• Advanced Practice Providers
• Coding, Compliance, and Reimbursement
• Hyperbaric (HBO/HBOT)
• Limb Preservation
• Nurse Practitioner (NP)
• Nutrition (RD/RDN)
• Physical Therapy (PT)
• Physician Assistant (PA)
• Podiatry (DPM)
• Research
• Mobile Wound Care

Ever wish your MAC (Medicare Administrative Contractor) had a report card you could fill out? They do! 

How Can I Give Feedback About My MAC?

· J5 - Wisconsin Physician Services

· J6 - National Government Services

· J8 - Wisconsin Physician Services

The links above send you to an email address specifically for provider and beneficiary feedback regarding their specific MACs. Send a shout out for a great interaction, or a wish list for interactions that may not meet your expectations.

Highlights from the ASP Quarterly Update

ASP Skin Substitute Codes added effective April 1, 2024

Packaged Skin Substitute Codes added effective April 1, 2024

The 2024 JWC Award winners have now been announced!

The American Professional Wound Care Association (APWCA) is honored to be the recipient of the Silver Medal in the award category of Cellular, Acellular, and Matrix-like Products (CAMPs). This achievement was made possible thanks to the innovative research carried out by our exceptional APWCA members.

The JWC awards event, also known as 'The Olympics of Wound Care,' held its annual celebration of excellence in research on February 23rd. Nominees included individuals, teams, organizations, societies, companies, and charities whose work has made a significant impact over the previous year.

Congratulations to all the winners of the Journal of Wound Care Awards 2024. Your remarkable contributions to the field of advanced wound care have had a substantial impact on the lives of patients worldwide. You can find the complete list of winners at https://lnkd.in/gcbrJ7tp.

The American Professional Wound Care Association (APWCA) is pleased to introduce our newest educational offering. Throughout 2024 there will be quarterly webinars sponsored by our generous sponsors each season. Please save the dates to join us for these informative online events:

• SPRING: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
• SUMMER: Wednesday, June 12, 2024
• AUTUMN: Wednesday, September 11, 2024
• WINTER: Wednesday, December 11, 2024

APWCA is pleased to announce that ARANZ Medical will be sponsoring our second webinar in the 2024 Quarterly Series!

In thanks to their generous sponsorship, this webinar is FREE TO ALL!

• There were around 230 people onsite
• Over 100 exhibitor representatives from:
• 34 different companies & other non-profits
• 18 different educational sessions presented by:
• 32 faculty presenters
• A dozen companies participated in the Hands On Skills Workshop
• 2 Preconference Workshops and:
• 1 Post Conference Workshop were offered
• The American Board of Wound Healing (ABWH) Exam was conducted
• 8 MAPWCA designations were awarded
• There were nearly 60 poster presentations and:
• A half-dozen oral abstracts were presented
• 27.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for Physicians were available.
• The same 27.75 ANCC were available to Nurses and CEPU to Dietitians

Great News!!! CMS has issued a correction to the 2024 rates for outpatient hyperbaric oxygen therapy, reversing the 41.5% rate cut and increasing reimbursement from the 2023 rates. This would not have been possible without the advocacy of wound care providers, such as our APWCA members, as well as from the support of health care institutions, associations and stakeholders which included NetHealth, RestorixHealth, the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society, The National Group, Epstiein Becker & Green, Healogics, the American Professional Wound Care Association, Dobson and Davanzo, The Alliance of Wound Care stakeholders, and the American Hospital Association.  The CMS took extraordinary efforts to investigate this matter and to issue a correction prior to the end of the year.

The CY 2024 HBO₂ APC rate is $132.21. The APC rate increased $7.14 or 5.7% over the current year 2023.

You can find the updated payment files here for OPPS and here for ASCs. 

May this make your Holiday Season a little Merrier. 

Collective letter to the HSS Secretary Xavier Becerra and CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure

As you may be aware, Medicare reimbursement for hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) therapy will be cut by 41.5% in 2024 if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) does not issue a correction to the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) fine rule. These cuts will devastate patient access to HBO2 therapy across the United States.

Stakeholders are encouraged to sign this letter to the HSS Secretary Xavier Becerra and CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to urge CMS to reverse these cuts and implement a 3% increase in the reimbursement that was initially noted in the 2024 OPPS proposed rule.

If you are inclined, please click this link to sign the letter here, along with the hundreds of other stakeholders.

Signatures due by Friday, December 8th!