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(Sponsor: District of Columbia Chapter)
WHEREAS, the Board of Governors passed Resolution 4-S13, the Board of Regents subsequently approved a modified version of the Resolution after review by the Medical Practice and Quality Committee, and the ACP then signed on to a letter sent to Andrew Slavitt (Acting Director, CMS) asking that the concerns expressed in this resolution be addressed; and
WHEREAS, the problem described in Resolution 4-S13 has now escalated with not only retail clinics performing wellness visits but organizations such as Lifeline; and
WHEREAS, situations are occurring where Medicare patients are receiving wellness exams from organizations such as Lifeline without understanding that once they have had their Annual Wellness Visit through such an organization they cannot see their usual medical care provider for such an exam; therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Board of Regents takes concrete action in support of Resolution 4-S13 and requests CMS to require that only clinicians currently involved in or initiating the provision of ongoing medical care of a patient be reimbursed by Medicare for the Annual Wellness Visit (rather than simply ask CMS "to engage with our organizations in a conversation about creative ways to ensure that the benefit of the Annual Wellness Visit is preserved rather than perverted. And at a minimum, .. require anyone performing the Annual Wellness Visit to provide results to a patient's designated primary physician or usual source of care" as requested in the letter of April 30, 20151); and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Board of Regents calls upon CMS to require that a clinician performing an Annual Wellness Visit sign a formal attestation statement that he/she is currently or is planning to provide ongoing longitudinal care to the patient receiving the Wellness Visit; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Board of Regents disseminates information to its membership regarding the way in which private organizations are usurping their role in providing Annual Wellness Visits to their patients so that clinicians may educate their patients regarding the implications of this development.
1 https://www.acponline.org/acp_policy/letters/annual_wellness_visit_sign_on_cms_2015.pdf