AOPA In Advance SmartBrief
Breaking News
December 6, 2012
Medical Device Excise Tax -­‐ Update from the IRS This email below carrying the good news on AOPA securing the exemp:on for O&P Medical Devices from the 2.3% excise tax was sent to all AOPA members yesterday and posted on AOPA's web site. The IRS called AOPA late yesterday aHernoon to clarify the somewhat murky wording in the final regula:ons of what O&P providers and suppliers must do to enjoy the exemp:on. AOPA reproduced that wording in the announcement to members as below:
Manufacturers whose products that are exempt from the tax will initially need to file a
Consolidated Form 637 registration to effectuate tax-free sales. But once an entity is registered
for a particular activity, the registration does not expire. Contact AOPA for more details if some
of your products subject to the tax which will require filing of Form 720. According to the IRS clarifica:on, the filing requirements do not apply to domes:c O&P devices exempt from the excise tax. As always, on any new regula:on there will be further clarifica:ons so stay tuned. But, the boPom line is O&P pa:ents, providers and suppliers dodged what could have been an excise tax bite amoun:ng to about $100 million each year.
Email sent to members on December 5, 2012: HUGE, BIG Win for O&P – Most Devices Are Exempt from 2.3% Excise Tax at Both the Component Manufacturer and PaTent Care Facility Level!
AOPA is pleased to inform members that the Treasury Department has today released the final rule for the medical device excise tax. Broadly speaking, and most importantly, Treasury has confirmed what they had stated in the proposed rule—that “prosthe:c and ortho:c devices,” DO qualify for exemp:on from the 2.3 percent medical device tax under the retail exemp:on provided in the Affordable Care Act. The technical jargon in the final rule confirmed “prosthe:c and ortho:c” devices as defined in 42 CFR 414.202, that do not require implementa:on or inser:on by a medical professional; and “(T)herapeu:c shoes,” as described in 42 CFR 414.228(c) qualify for the safe harbor provision“ considered to be of a type generally purchased by the general public at retail for individual use” (and so, qualify for retail exemp:on). AOPA had several specific mee:ngs and consulta:ons with IRS and Treasury beginning nearly two years ago explaining why we believed O&P devices were eligible for this retail exemp:on.
To read the email in its en:rety, please click here. As updates become available, they will be published in the AOPA Breaking News and on AOPA’s website.
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DMEPOS Supplier Enrollment/RevalidaTon Fee Increase to $532 For 2013
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that for calendar year 2013 the Medicare supplier enrollment fee will increase to $532. The fee, authorized by the Affordable Care Act was ini:ally set at $500 and is increased by an infla:onary factor each year.
The $532 fee applies to all new Medicare supplier enrollments, re-­‐enrollments, and revalida:ons. While you may con:nue to complete the paper version of the 855S supplier enrollment form if you choose to, the fee must be paid electronically through the PECOS system. This is the link to the payment site.
If you are not currently registered in PECOS and would like to register so that you may complete the enrollment, re-­‐enrollment or revalida:on process electronically, the main PECOS sit may be accessed at through this link.
Ques:ons regarding the 2013 fee amount or general ques:ons regarding using the PECOS system may be directed to Joe McTernan at [email protected] or Devon Bernard at [email protected].
The InternaTonal Society for ProstheTcs and OrthoTcs -­‐ 14th World Congress -­‐ February 2013
The Interna:onal Society for Prosthe:cs and Ortho:cs will hold their 14th World Congress in Hyderabad India on February 4-­‐7, 2013. This unique interac:ve forum is where representa:ves of the P&O profession and others involved in taking care of people in need of a prosthesis or an orthosis come together to learn about scien:fic and clinical advances, latest products, innova:ve technologies and newer designs and materials in prosthe:c and ortho:c care. Register before December 20, 2012 to receive the discounted early-­‐bird registra:on rate. For more informa:on, visit www.ispo2013.org or contact [email protected] (registra:on) or ispo2013exhibi:[email protected] (exhibi:on).
Don’t Forget Your AOPA Membership
The holidays are coming, so go ahead and check one thing off your list by renewing your AOPA membership today! Make sure to con:nue your access to our coding and billing experts, Lcodesearch.com, AOPAversity online educa:on, UPS discounts, and more by renewing today at www.AOPAnet.org. Your support will help us to con:nue our ambi:ous legisla:ve agenda, including figh:ng the harmful RAC and CERT audits that are threatening your business. If you need your AOPAnet login, or another copy of your invoice, please contact us at [email protected] or (571) 431-­‐0843.
Not a member? Give your employees the giHs of AOPA membership for 2013. Join today at www.aopanet.org/join!
O&P PAC Corner As you have read and heard, O&P is exempt from the 2.3% Medical Device Excise Tax and this is great news and it was a long hard fought win. However, AOPA can't accomplish these types of wins without your help. How can you help? Simple, have you signed an O&P PAC Authoriza:on form?
The purpose of the O&P PAC is to advocate for legisla:ve or poli:cal interests at the federal level, which have an impact on the ortho:c and prosthe:c community. The O&P PAC achieves this goal by working closely with members of the House, Senate and other officials running for office to educate them about the issues, and help elect those individuals who support the ortho:c and prosthe:c community. In order to par:cipate in and receive informa:on about the O&P PAC, federal law mandates that you
must first sign an authoriza:on form. 2013 World Congress Call For Papers Announced
The American Ortho:c and Prosthe:c Associa:on (AOPA) and its partners, The U.S. Na:onal Member Society of the Interna:onal Society for Prosthe:cs and Ortho:cs (USISPO); and the German Associa:on of Orthopaedic Technology/Con.fair.med are pleased to announce this call for papers for the 2013 World Congress to be held Sept. 18-­‐21, 2013 at the Gaylord Palms Resort, Orlando, Florida, USA. The World Congress program commiPee has made a commitment to having a strong scien:fic program and is solici:ng scien:fic and clinical case study abstracts for the congress. The commiPee invites you to submit an abstract to be considered for presenta:on at the congress. The commiPee has also made a commitment to have extraordinary plenary sessions with invited speakers who are leading experts from the world over, such as the following esteemed professionals.
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Roy D. Bloebaum, Ph.D. -­‐ is a Research Scien:st and Co-­‐Director of the VA Bone and Joint Research Lab at the Dept of Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System. Dr. Bloebaum's publica:ons include 113 peer reviewed manuscripts on bone and total joint replacement related topics and he has been a guest lecturer on these topics all over the world.
Heinz Trebbin, CPO, MSc -­‐ is an interna:onal ac:vist, speaker and founder of the renowned Don Bosco P&O educa:onal program, the only fully accredited P&O program in all of La:n America. Dr. Andrew Hansen, Ph.D. -­‐ is the Director of the Minneapolis VA Rehabilita:on Engineering Research Program and Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Hansen is an •
interna:onally recognized expert in ankle-­‐foot prosthe:cs. His team is ac:vely developing rehabilita:on technologies and performing research studies to evaluate effects of medical devices on user performance.
Dan Berschinski, a decorated war veteran, lost both of his legs during Opera:on Enduring Freedom. This has not slowed him down. He recently founded and will serve as CEO of Two-­‐Six Industries LLC, a service-­‐disabled veteran-­‐owned small business. Two-­‐Six Industries produces injec:on molded plas:c components; new research will explore the commercial feasibility of prosthe:c socket designs. He also serves on the board of directors for the Amputee Coali:on.
Strong scien:fic and clinical case study submissions are expected from around the world. The format of the conference will provide a substan:al audience for novel research focused on ortho:cs and prosthe:cs. The AOPA hosted World Congress will bring together prosthe:sts, ortho:sts, physicians, scien:sts, researchers, engineers, programmers, clinicians, technicians and other professionals. This diverse community of professionals focusing on different aspects of ortho:cs and prosthe:cs will provide a unique and powerful environment to advance the field forward. Before submiung a paper we ask that you review the model for the abstract format that also provides addi:onal informa:on about the submission process. Papers are being accepted for podium, poster and/or symposium sessions. For more informa:on or to submit a paper use this convenient link. For general informa:on about the congress, we invite you to visit www.opworldcongressusa.org, email [email protected] or contact Tina Moran at (571) 431-­‐0808. We look forward to seeing you in Orlando in September 2013 for the largest and most significant event for ortho:cs, prosthe:cs and pedorthics in the Western Hemisphere.
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